Italian Fix at Mambo Italiano . Bellingham, WA

Last night, Cinco de Mayo, I was craving a good Mexican meal and a nice, perfectly blended margarita. My mom, cousin and new baby cousin was visiting at the time so we decided we go to Dos Padres in Fairhaven and celebrate the festivity. Finding out the weight was 45 to and hour, we left with empty stomaches. "I could go for some Italian," my mom says. Even though I felt like it was a sin to go to Italian food on Cinco de Mayo, I agreed.



So here is my somewhat quick critique of the day. The hostess was not very nice, and I could tell she felt affended when the baby started crying. At one point when she was redirecting us to a new table, I turned to look around and found her making an irritated face at one of the waitresses. Our waitress though was really nice and helped out alot with my little cousin's needs, such as bringing him some extra bread to munch on to keep him down.

The Food. The pizza tasted really good, especially the rustic mambo that was a vegetarian pizza with garlic, rosemary, and kalamata olives, along with a few other ingredients. The pasta was also really great, especially the seafood putanessca. The putanessca sauce is really unbelievable. It is a red chunky sauce with a mix of mushrooms, olives, tomatoes and other vegetables. My dish, the pollo mambo, was not something I'd order again. Although it took the longest to make because they roast the chicken for twenty minutes, the meat was pretty dry. Also, the side starch of the day (rigatoni with a red sauce) was very bland. Although it is just a side, I think taking pride in creating all parts of the meal is important. All in all, I don't know if I'm going to frequent the restaurant.

Angel Food Trifle with Whipped Cream and Berries

Yesterday we went down to Gig Harbor for my boyfriend's grandpa's birthday. We sat down, talked a little reality tv, had some long overdue pizza and chocolate milk, and then divulged our appetites into this sinless dessert made by his aunt: an angel food and berry trifle with whipped cream. Seeing as I wasn't the one who made it, I don't have a complete recipe, but I can explain the procedure.

First, she made from scratch (!) the angel food cake. She said that once you make it from scratch the stuff they sell at the grocery store will taste like styrofoam. After eating this cake, I fully agree. I found a couple good recipes on foodtv.com for the cake. Then you cut them up into about two inch squares and start layering you trifle. The bottom layer was the angel food, then covered by a layer of berries (she used strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries...the more the better!) mixed with some lemon juice (*another great addition to mixed fruit, whether its fruit salad or in a dessert is rose water... you'll be pleasantly surprised). Then the third layer, the fat free whipped cream. She made about three layers of each part and then the dessert was finished! It's a nice easy recipe with a sweet taste and a harmless side effect :)