Ruffino's review

Decided to try Ruffino's last night for dinner since we haven't been there in a few years and I also hear it mentioned quite often on TD.

We arrived about 5 minutes before our reservation time of 7 pm and they were packed. We had to check in with the hostess several times and were finally seated at 730. I won't hold this against them since they were so slammed.

After looking over the menu I selected a nice super Tuscan, Villa Antinori 2006. This was a really nice wine after it opened up in the glass a bit, and a great value at a menu price of $40. This went well with our first course, the seafood arrancine, jumbo lump crab, shrimp, fontina and risotto rolled in italian bread crumbs and served with alfredo and vodka tomato cream. This was really good, I especially liked it with the vodka sauce.

Next we had salads, my wife ordered her lettuce wedge with the dressing on the side, which turned I should have done as well. My sensation salad was so drenched with dressing that it was inedible. The wife was not impressed with her wedge salad as it was served with bacon bits, is it being too critical to expect fresh bacon on a bleu cheese wedge salad, especially at one of Baton Rouge's finest restaurants?

For my entree, I ordered the veal picatta, which is described on the menu as pan-sautéed medallions set in a sauce of veal stock, lemon juice, capers and butter. Served with Capellini and Tomato Cream Sauce. This is one of my favorite of the Italian standards and I was very disappointed with it. The veal had too much breading on it and was soggy. The sauce reminded me of the canned gravy you see around thanksgiving time. There was no hint of lemon in the sauce at all. I hope that this was a canned sauce, if not...then someone needs a little training.

My wife had the cedar plank baked redfish. The fish was good but the toppings were way overboard. The fish was topped with tomatoes, pesto, and way too much of a very heavy basalmic glaze. The presentation, which is very important for the overall enjoyment of a dish, left a lot to be desired. Like I said previously, the fish was good, but it makes it difficult to enjoy a dish that is completely black in color, let alone having to wade through layers of intensely flavored toppings to get to the main component of the dish. This was a quality piece of fish that was way overpowered by a lot of intense flavors. The potato side dish was very good though, so there's that.

I live very close to this place and drive by it frequently. It is always packed and people rave about how good it is. I really want to like it but I have never had what I consider a good meal here. Am I not ordering the right things or am I being too critical of an Italian restaurant that can't even get veal picatta right? If I give it another try, what do others recommend I order?

TIA