We found Carmelo's to be mostly okay with a few delicious exceptions. The restaurant itself is…read morerustic and comfortable and large.
We started with a few appetizers:
Calamari - Fried squid, olives, blistered shishitos, parmesan and red sauce with crushed herbs. Our dining mates enjoyed the squid. I tried one of the olives, which appeared to be fried. The olive was good; it did not taste like an olive, which made it interesting.
Sesame Sourdough - Local seeded bread served with house red gravy and olive oil. Four huge wedges of sesame sourdough bread. The texture was very good. The dipping sauce was okay. I thought the pieces were too big. Everyone ended up tearing them in half. It might be better to serve eight smaller pieces. Oh, the red gravy looked and tasted like pasta sauce from a jar. I am not saying it was; I believe it was house-made, but we found it rather bland and nondescript.
Potatoes - Crispy potatoes, garlic confit, Parmesan, and Calabrian chili mayo. Definitely the best bit of the night. These little potatoes were bursting with flavor. Highly recommend!
Green Beans - Local green beans swimming in brown butter topped with lemon and almond crunch. Two folks really liked the green beans. I had one and maybe it was missing all the flavor of the rest of the serving, but for me it didn't sing. I was in the minority here.
On to dinner...
Mushroom Marsala - Casarecce with sautéed mushrooms, garlic, Marsala sauce, toasted breadcrumbs and crushed herbs. I had high hopes, but I found it boring. My nephew and I agreed something seemed to be missing. I also had Garlic Soup. I love garlic. When I cook I always feel more is better. I don't know about this soup. It was somewhat bland with an undertone of sharpness from the garlic. The garlic flavor was muted and again, it felt like something was missing, as if it needed just one more ingredient to elevate it to delicious.
We all agreed salt and pepper on the table would have helped. We should have asked.
Tomahawk Fried Pork - Crispy fried pork smothered in a spicy vodka sauce topped with hand-pulled mozzarella. My nephew's dish looked amazing. The flavor didn't match the beauty of the dish. See "something is missing" comment above. He also ordered a side dish of Crispy Garlic Alfredo - House linguine smothered in local cultured butter and parmesan, topped with Calabrian chili garlic crunch and chives. He was interested in this for dinner. Our server suggested having it as a side and he was all about that. He was thrilled he hadn't ordered it as his meal. He found it lacked flavor, even with the chili crisp.
Spaghetti and Meatball - Classic spaghetti blanketed in our rich red gravy, topped with a tender, house-made meatball. Mark thought this dish was bland. Given the name of the sauce, it matched the flavor of the sauce served with the sesame sourdough bread.
Oxtail Ragu - Oxtail and osso buco ragu served with macaroni rigati, topped with a mountain of Pecorino Toscano and fresh chives. My niece absolutely loved this dish! She raved about it and as the rest of the table mentioned being underwhelmed, she repeated her meal was outstanding. Given her review, I highly recommend this dish.
Dessert:
The gelato was outstanding. I believe Morgan said it comes from Golden Gelato. I had Salted Caramel and Mark had Mint Chocolate something or another. The melt factor was off the chart (this is a GREAT thing). They had six options.
Budino - Rich chocolate pudding layered with candied hazelnuts and whipped cream. My niece loved it! Mark tried it and agreed it was delicious. Silky smooth and chocolatey, with punched up sweetness from the hazelnuts. Overall, not too sweet, but delicious!
Panna Cotta - This was not on the menu. It had strawberries on top, a cookie crust and it sat on what I believe was a strawberry gelée (I had to look this word up and I do not know if that's what it was, but it conveys the texture). My nephew loved it and my niece would have licked the plate if we weren't in a restaurant.
Overall, it was okay with flashes of good.