Tatore Ristorante Italiano

The atmosphere is intimate, pleasant and clean. I'll give them that. Beyond that, there's not much reason to go.

Let's start with the service. It wasn't unfriendly, but there was zero warmth from the hostess, server, or anyone else we encountered. There was no greeting, no smile, no "So glad you're here with us tonight," no suggested menu items or descriptions.... Just "Are you ready to order?" Again, it wasn't unfriendly, and the staff all seemed to be working diligently. With some proper education and training, given that they seemed to be hard workers, I think the staff could excel and succeed.

The food? The only reason they earned above a one star grade was the pizza. We got the Arugula & Prosciutto pizza with Parmesan on top. It was acceptable-- not great, not even good, but acceptable, though for $24, I'd like to think it would be far better. They put the parmesan strips on post-oven, which makes sense in that you don't want to scorch the parm, but at least bring it up to room temperature first! Nope, it was cold and hard (and of low quality as well). The "garlic rolls"? Premade large dinner rolls with some canned parmesan and dried herbs shaken on. Very little garlic, and zero flavor pop. Extremely disappointing. The caramelized onion flatbread? $17 for a total fail. First, there's a huge difference between caramelizing onions and absolutely torching them to bitterness. They were disgusting-- I wouldn't even feed them to my enemies. Second, for $17, where's the complimenting flavor layers, the artisnal presentation, or anything else??? Bringing it to us on a cracked wooden board doesn't count.

Before ordering, I asked our waitress how the Carbonara is made (BTW linguine? Why? It's supposed to be made with Spaghetti or Spaghettoni, not a flat noodle!). She said "It's a white cream sauce with bacon, parmesan, egg..." WHAT?!?! Carbonara does NOT have bacon in it, nor should it be made with cream or parmesan! It should be made with guanciale or, at the very least, pancetta. NO BACON! Then, what the heck with the parmesan?! Use Pecorino Romano, and don't use the cheap stuff. Lastly, cream? NOOOOO! The pasta water, egg, and Pecorino Romano combine to make a creamy sauce. No need for cream to be added-- that's the cheating of a poor chef.

In closing, we won't be going back. If you want nice ambiance with D- "Italian" food and subpar service (again, not the fault of the staff-- that's on lack of training and leadership), then this place is for you. If you want amazing artisan pizza? Go across the street to 1000°, and if you want authentic southern Italian food? Try somewhere else.