Sauce Italian American Kitchen — Restaurant in Flint

First time visit on a whim.

2022-02-14 1609 local time.

Server was Taryn.

First things first there are two items that I need to speak about. The atmosphere at this location is just plain phenomenal. Secondly, I don't think I can say I have had better service at any restaurant I have ever been to including high-end steakhouses with table scrapers at your beckoning.

As my norm... Dessert first.

The ricotta cheesecake had a very firm yet giving texture. Chocolate chips and a strawberry coulis were an unexpected but good surprise. The bitter from the dark chocolate chips complemented the sweetness from the strawberry. The silkiness of the cheesecake was very pleasurable.

I asked Taryn to pull me a double espresso and the crema was on point. The pull was proper and not under or over. I do not know if this was a manual pull or not but it was great.

The tiramisu was a solid interpretation but not really in line with my expectations. The dessert is still something I would recommend but if you had to choose I would push you towards the cheesecake. The fingers were not soaked but were not fully crunchy due to the moisture from the layers. The flavor was quite good but I think my expectation were looking for more coffee flavor to compete inside the dish

The tomato and pepper soup was exquisite. Roasted and pureed with good seasonings added to a perfect hot temperature made this soup something to get every single time. I added a couple of spoonfuls of the oil and pepper flake and parmesan dipping oil that was provided for the focaccia bread to the soup. Please make sure you do this for your soup.

The first main course that I had was a special for today... mahi-mahi on a bed of rice. The sauce on this fish was just phenomenal. The rice was cooked to a perfect texture and consistency. I had a slight overcook on the thin part of the mahi-mahi but the crunch from the skin and the overall moistness of the rest of the fish more then made up for one small slightly overcooked bite of the corner of the portion. The bites that included fish, sauce, and rice were quite delectable.

The second main course and the highlight of my entire evening was a simple hand rolled gnocchi platter with a tomato vodka cream sauce. The gnocchi was cooked perfectly. The sauce had the perfect bite. I would go back for this plate every single day of the week.

This experience with the food and the service and the atmosphere has made this restaurant one of my top five Italian restaurants in the...

On 11/20/2024, my wife and I were out for dinner. We have frequented this place before; besides the one time I found hair in my food, the food was delectable. However, we were seated at the door booth after being told to sit on this occasion, and many free tables were dirty.

However, the staff member who said to sit was cleaning our table, so we sat there.

Moreover, our server (s), “KI,” along with “Chris,” had subpar attitudes and were, frankly, out of place in their interactions with us. Perhaps it was a bad day, but it’s inexcusable. We are paying patrons.

Furthermore, I asked for a menu twice, once from Chris (who sternly said your server would bring it out to you) and our server (KI), who was incredibly strange when attempting to get the menus.

We informed them that we were hungry and wanted to order food and drinks. We ordered food and drinks right away. The servers' response made us feel “slighted.” Naturally, we wanted to order food, as we did not want to prolong the experience. Conversely, KI forgot my wife’s drink, and then the servers' impatience was prominent.

At the end, I approached the bar area and once again (unintentionally) spoke with Chris, whose attitude persisted, and asked if I could check out via Apple Pay. They stated that our server would be at our table, and I know any server at the bar can use Apple Pay to checkout. I reluctantly returned to our booth and waited for the server; they approached our booth and directed me to return to the bar area to check out using Apple Pay, as I had previously intended.

Nonetheless, the experience was “laborious” from a patron's perspective. These servers must be spoken to, as the restaurant industry has become “lax” lately. It is mind-boggling that they expect a gratuity from their patrons for their “bad” service.

I usually tip at least 20%, but in this instance (I feel I am justified due to lousy service) to justifiably tip...

Ok, giving a review. I did leave a message the last time I ate to the website, never got a response. The calamari was not tasty at all it even gave both of us stomach issues. And, having pizza sauce with it that's cold just doesn't work! Want real calamari go to Cork first.. The fried rice balls are not up to par just not that good. One time we came for delivery ordered the chef's special that used to be on the menu and they put olives instead of roasted peppers and bc they were closing that's all they had. Then I just ate there a few days ago and no chef's special pizza, no fontina cheese anymore, just herb goat cheese that wasn't enough really. Especially for how much cheese used to be on the pizzas. Then the Grilled Burrata is just nasty all you taste is iron from the cast iron skillet they are now using bc tomato sauce takes the iron out, and it wasn't even hot even though waitress said it would be extremely hot. Then the tiramisu to go is just no where near good! It's like chocolate chips and 2 lady fingers no powder barely any Expresso or coffee liquor cake in it. And the water is nasty tasting bc they get it out the bar water and keep using the same glass bottle, I saw one go from customer to customer without being washed could see finger prints everywhere. And the salt and pepper shakers are definitely intended for nobody to steal because they are extremely slow at letting any salt out with just 2 holes. Pretty weak need to stay with things you had that people liked. Want to change the menu add or take away cool, but don't make something worse. You should try Cork's calamari and see...