It was a brisk Tuesday evening in April, the kind of weather where you go without a jacket but regret it. I found myself slowly cruising down a maze of one-way side streets looking for a place to park my wheels and be sure of finding them still attached when I came back. Sometimes a place gets a sense you’re looking for it and makes a spot for you. Rosalina’s Kitchen on Hamilton Street was one of those places.
I walked in through a curtain: someone had gone to a lot of trouble to make things look sophisticated in an “it’s ok to put your elbows on the table” kind of way. It was a good start, so I sat down with some folks I knew. In the dog-eat-dog world of monthly dining groups, carbs can add up quick unless you have the moxy to take a stand. Enter the Tomatoes and Feta appetizer, a scrappy dish with fresh basil, oregano, and olive oil that packs a large, delicious punch for a lightweight dish. It whet my appetite just in time the walloping I didn’t see coming.
A dish called The Avalanche should make you stop and reconsider, but I’ve always had a bull head and a food heart that have lead me down some seedy back alleys with uncomfortably full bellies. I’ve sharpened my claws and played cat and mouse with some dense gastronomical creations, but the eggplant, chicken parmesan, meatballs, and sausage over linguini left me happily licking my mousy whiskers, thankful the cat decided to let me go with a warning.
As I licked my wounded pride and tried to talk myself out of retiring my fork, I figured there’s always another day, another meal (or two, from the looks of what was left) and average Joe’s and Jane’s like me are all that stand between hunger and not knowing where to make it go away. My gut told me I’d be searching for a spot outside this kitchen again, and it wasn’t being quiet about it.
