I have a new favorite! I had it at the local upscale genuine italian restaurant (we have two such in our county! Damn we’re lucky!!)
Candied figs stuffed with gorgonzola cheese, then wrapped in prosciutto, which was seared just enough to make the prosciutto crisp and the cheese warm, perched atop cubes of sauted crisped polenta, all drizzled with a balsamic reduction!! It was truly amazing!
Anybody else have any favorites?
Buca di Beppo has a kick ass garlic bread. A simple appetizer, yes, but damn good.
Calamari, bruschetta, hell, even fried mozzarella sticks.
It’s all good.
Bruschetta, when done well, is the most amazing thing in the world.
Cheap, lazy bruschetta is terrible and it makes me cry.
I like ANYTHING Italian…when i was a chef i made Arancini…little fried riceballs stuffed with prosciutto, asiago, and peas. Use a little home-made putanesca sauce for dipping…mmmmm…Damn you Q, now i’m hungry.
The antipasto salad at Mara’s in South Philly.
That caprese salad. Cherry tomatoes, real mozzarella chunks, olive oil and basil.
I could eat that till I explode.
There’s an Italian deli near me that makes it with fire-roasted cherry peppers, fresh mozzarella, chunks of their own “home made” sopressata, olive oil and basil. It’s my fave.
Baby octopi grilled in olive oil, with cannellini beans.
If you have no octopi, just gimme da galamar’.
The crab bread at Champps is awesome. I think it qualifies as italian, if not there are other appetizers that definetly qualify. That, and one of their draft beers the size of a fire extinguisher make for a great happy hour!
Damn, I need to get to better restaurants! I came in here to say cheesy garlic bread. With roasted cloves in every bite.
Really good, fresh bread, and really good olive oil with garlic floating in it. Doesn’t get much better than that.
My favourite local does king prawns in a creamy tomato and chili sauce on a bed of risotto. The sauce, it is to die for.
It’s about food, this thread, but it seems as if you’re simply asking for opinions. I’ll move this over to IMHO, but if the thread turns toward more serious discussion, an IMHO mod can move it over to Cafe Society.
Ché idea grande!
My two favorite appetizers that I like to make, in no particular order:
[ul]
[li]prosciutto wrapped in ripe melons[/li][li]insalata caprese di mozzarella di bufala (if available or fresh mozzarella)[/li][/ul]
Just out of curiosity – how do you wrap a melon around a piece of prosciutto?
Not necessarily an appetizer, but since so many good ones have been named, I never mind chowing down on some stinky, soft taleggio cheese.
Or liver and fava beans with a nice chianti. . .fft fft fft fft fft fft
This is tied for first place with the simple, yet elegant artichoke. I’ll do 'em stuffed or just with garlic butter. Doesn’t matter. These two beauties are a meal for me.
Well what about the bread with roasted cloves in every bite?
I resemble that remark.
Seriously, it probably is my favorite way to begin a meal–usually with regular sized tomatoes.
Sometimes Insalata Caprese is my meal.