{"id":14755,"date":"2014-07-15T13:30:43","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T17:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.extrawdwmagic.com\/?p=14755"},"modified":"2014-06-10T16:18:26","modified_gmt":"2014-06-10T20:18:26","slug":"il-mulino-a-repeat-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extrawdwmagic.com\/?p=14755","title":{"rendered":"Il Mulino, a repeat visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

This dining experience took place on May 23, 2014<\/p>\n

We returned to Il Mulino for dinner on a Friday night, thankfully, it wasn’t a Friday associated with a holiday or a Disney Running event\u2026 We had no trouble getting a table, but we discovered why we hadn’t heard back from Angela (GM), she’s moved on to Garden Grove!<\/p>\n

Our servers were Rebecca (she served us on our last visit<\/a>) and Howie (from Liverpool, England)…<\/p>\n

Let’s start with the bread service, olive oil, caponata, and salumi\u2026\u00a0The\u00a0olive oil was distinctly different from the olive oil we get at Spice Road Table, this olive oil is more grassy and that is more fruity.<\/p>\n

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the usual gratis starters at Il Mulino – eggplant caponata and a house made salumi<\/p><\/div>\n

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we really enjoy this dried sausage\u2026 tasty, salty in the right amount, very good with the bread service<\/p><\/div>\n

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the caponata is very tasty but tonight it was really cold<\/p><\/div>\n

We tried two new cocktails…\"#ilmulino<\/a><\/p>\n

Nick had the Testarossa – Red Head (signature cocktail) made of Ketel One Vodka, Grand Marnier and Cranberry Juice, Muddled with Strawberries and Fresh Basil Leaves, Topped with Ground Pepper\u2026 We were a little cautious because of the basil leaves and the black pepper (they can be off-putting for Nick)…<\/p>\n

\"Testarossa<\/a>

Testarossa Red Head<\/p><\/div>\n

This was slightly spicy with a good balance of sweet and sour – we liked it better than our other choice.<\/p>\n

I ordered the Brusco Red Sangria (seasonal sips) made of Fresh Orange Juice, Raspberry Peach Grand Marnier, Korbel Brandy, A Splash of House Limoncello, and Simple Syrup, then topped with Riunite Red Lambrusco garnished with Seasonal Berries…<\/p>\n

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Brusco Red Sangria<\/p><\/div>\n

this was a bit too sweet for us, not likely to order again…<\/p>\n

\"blackberries<\/a>

blackberries in the bottom of the glass, not particularly muddled though<\/p><\/div>\n

Word of Warning if you continue to read this\u2026 This was the highlight of our meal\u2026 It goes downhill from here. The service was fine, in fact we were really pleased with Howie and Rebecca. The food was a disappointment.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: we were quite displeased with the food but we weren’t nasty about it, we were calm and polite and just said we didn’t particularly care for it; some of our meal was comped, we were appreciative, but it wasn’t necessary\u2026 when you eat out a lot, you’re going to run into food that you just don’t care for (either because of how it was cooked or because of how it tastes).<\/p>\n

We decided to start with Calamari Fritti \u00a0(fried calamari with red sauce) – lots of photos…<\/p>\n

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the portion was very large, easily big enough for four – there were clearly more rings than tentacles<\/p><\/div>\n

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the breading was perfectly light, perhaps a bit salty<\/p><\/div>\n

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we both loved the red sauce, very very good – should have just put this on the bread we had left and forgot about the calamari<\/p><\/div>\n

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the calamari was too chewy, clearly over cooked or not tenderized in buttermilk or other mild acid – this is what we sent back uneaten…<\/p><\/div>\n

Next up, we split a half order of Frutti Di Mare – we asked Rebecca to bring us two wines to pair with the pasta course:<\/p>\n