Picobello Italian Ristorante: Long Overdue Return

It's been years since our last visit to Picobello. You can credit that to the fact that there's a new restaurant shooting up in Davao almost every month that there are more to the city's culinary landscape to explore. But we cannot deny the fact that we still crave Picobello's authentic Italian, wood fired oven pizzas from time to time. There is some level of comfort and satisfaction that you can expect when dining at Picobello that is why it's not a surprise that business remains steadfast despite the array of new dining options.

The complimentary at Picobello is still one of my favorites. You are served with a basket of focaccia bread and a saucer filled with mixture of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Simplicity at its best. But you can get nothing better than this to whet up your taste buds!

To get a peek into our Italian rendezvous, check out our orders below:

Ravioli (P 205)

I've always been a big fan of Ravioli and aside from Swiss Deli's, this one is one of the best I've tried to date. This dish is made of pasta stuffed with ricotta in tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. This dish also nourishes your sense of smell as it does your taste buds!

Con Salsiccie (P 315)

When in Picobello, you can't afford to skip the pizza. We opted for one that is packed with all of the famous Italian pizza toppings - mozarella, tomato sauce, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and salami! Every bite is no doubt a taste of Italian heaven!

Despite all these years, Picobello Italian Ristorante remains a top favorite for me & E. The authentic Italian offerings and quality of food makes it the go-to option for those who would like to experience authentic Italian cuisine in Davao. And yet, their warm service and attention to detail is quite unparalleled too. As a bonus, we got a wonderful view of the city as we were dining!

Picobello is located at 5th floor of Gaisano South CitiMall, Ilustre St., Davao City.

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Don Beppe Ristorante Promo

Finding a place to dine in on New Year's Eve, especially at lunchtime, can be daunting. Almost all the places that I wanted to try were not open. Thankfully, Don Beppe was open. And it was the perfect excuse to dine here and try their pizza once again because they do have an amazing promo that I just found out about. 

For PhP 299, you can choose from one of two promo sets. The first 299 promo set allows you to pick from 3 pizza toppings (pepperoni, ham and cheese, and Hawaiian), a pitcher of iced tea, breadsticks, and tomato ragu dip. The second promo set is a pasta set, which consists of either Aglio Olio or Spaghetti, tomato bruschetta, a pitcher of iced tea, breadsticks, and tomato ragu dip.

It's no secret that I love Italian food and I love Don Beppe! Hence, this promo was a fantastic way for foodies or Italian food fanatics to sample their menu without having to worry about the price. I consider this a steal, even! 

We ordered the Pizza promo set and I thought that we were going to get a regular sized pizza. It turns out to be a large rectangular pizza that were too much for two people to consume. We ended up taking the rest home for some snacks! The size of the pizza is, therefore, ideal for barkadas or a small group of 3 to 4. 

A word of caution though, before you try it out. Don't expect the best quality of pizza, which is expected of its price. Nonetheless, it is still quite good. But if you want to get something affordable and of decent quality, might as well go for it! Also, the promo is available for dine-in and from 1-8PM only.

Have you tried Don Beppe's dine-in promo? How was it?

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La Toscana: Italian Tradition in Davao

La Toscana is a culinary institution in Davao. Even when many other new Italian restaurants have sprung up in the city, it still manages to bring in customers who have come to love their freshly prepared Italian cuisines. 

A few months ago, E & I tried this restaurant for the first time – a long overdue visit because I’d been eyeing it for so long. But anyways, I was definitely worth the wait. You can’t go wrong with quality food and quality service. 

We were served Tuscan bread with butter and some dips as complimentary so we’d have something to munch on while waiting for our order. This was a light appetizer that is a great start to a meal – just enough to whet your appetite for the full course ahead.

Halfway through enjoying, our orders were served. I was excited how our choices would be like because it seriously took us a long time to finalize what to get. That’s one of the best things about La Toscana – they have lots of options in their menu! Their pasta selection alone could beat any other restaurant’s entire menu (no kidding!).

Back to our orders, E picked our pasta dish for the night – Toscana Matriciana. This is a very simple pasta dish – but don’t let your eyes deceive you. The pasta is cooked just right and the seasoning is subtly good. I had to commend E for his pick – this one’s highly recommended.

For the pizza, we had Capriciosa. Again, there were lots of options on their pizza but we picked this one mainly because it consisted of our favorite topping choices – ham, mushroom, marinara sauce, mozzarella, and olives.

We ended this wonderful meal with tiramisu. This frozen cake isn’t extraordinary but it is good.

I Love Don Beppe Ristorante!

I could name a few good Italian restaurants in the city. I am no connoisseur but my love for Italian cuisine has taken me to a few restaurants in the city offering this very same cuisine. When I am craving any Italian dish, I know exactly where to go. One of my recent favorites is Don Beppe Italian Ristorante. If you’re like me (who enjoys Italian dishes), chances are you’ve been here before. If not, then you don’t love Italian enough (ha!).

There’s so much to love about Don Beppe. But I would like to point out three reasons that bring it to the top of my favorite Italian restos here in Davao: Superb food, warm service, and affordability.

Superb Food

I don’t really have a very big appetite but if I had a choice, I would’ve ordered more just to sample Don Beppe’s dishes. But here are some food shots on our recent trip to Don Beppe at Gaisano Mall, The Peak. 

Complementary: Breadsticks and Tomato Ragu

Heavenly!

Roma Beef Pizza

Lasagna

Warm Service

I would like to emphasize the “warm” service over anything else because I really do feel like they have one of the most friendly staffs. As a bonus? Don Beppe himself will also serve a glass of champagne, which was absolutely delish!

and amazing ambiance!

Affordability

Many of those who haven’t tried dining at Don Beppe were probably intimidated by it. Sure, locals have this misconception that dining in European restaurants, especially authentic ones, can be an expensive fare. Wrong!

Food choices in Don Beppe range from PhP 150-PhP300, which is really quite affordable. And the best part? They offer good value. You get more than what you pay for. And I bet my money that the moment you’ve tasted Don Beppe’s offerings that you’d be willing to pay more than what’s actually on the menu (though I am not complaining). It is therefore a testament to the fact that you don’t have to break your bank in order to taste good and authentic Italian food! Thank you, Don Beppe. :)  

Italianni's at Abreeza – Italian Cuisine At Its Best

Italian has always been one of my favorite international cuisines, alongside Japanese. I mean, who doesn't love some pasta or pizza from time to time? Dining at Italianni's and having our own branch here in Davao felt like a long time coming. Hence, it was only worthy of a visit one Tuesday holiday for a quiet (and fully satisfying) lunch. E & I opted to visit their Abreeza branch on lunch time because I've noticed that the place is almost always jam-packed at night.

Let us cut to the chase and head right over to the food, which was obviously the best part of our experience there. I was craving for some vegetables and a pizza. So, I picked one that would satisfy both cravings – Pizza Verdure. This is Italianni's version of vegetarian pizza that consisted of my favorite toppings – artichoke, mushroom, asparagus, and broccoli. Yes, yum-o!! The pizza was worth around Php395, which is a great deal knowing that this is a family sized pizza. The crust, even though thick, was soft and created a perfect compliment to the vegetable toppings. 

 

Meanwhile, E picked a seafood dish. We opted for what the waiter recommended – the Grilled Pepper Fish Fillet (Php 575). It was the perfect dish for a fish lover like I am. Even E, who isn't that into fish, dig it! By the way, it was Cream Dory, so there's more reason to like it! The fish was paired with angel hair pasta that was cooked al dente along with sauteed vegetables that are cooked to perfection! This dish is all about subtlety but the flavors were all in there. 

For drinks, we had the refreshing combination of citrus juice made up of lemon, dalandan, and calamansi (PhP 140). It's a refreshing tropical drink, alright, but it was way too much citrus in there. If you order this, avoid drinking until you've stuffed yourself.

By the way, they do have a complimentary treat, which is tuscan bread and an olive oil with balsamic vinegar dip (picture above). Hence, you won't go hungry waiting for your orders to be served.

A return trip to Italianni's is in order, especially since there are many other items off their menu that we'd like to try, especially the desserts. :D

Comfort Italian Food at Salutti

I don’t make claims to becoming an Italian food connosieur but I do recognize good Italian food. When I first visited Salutti at Casa de Habana compound, I knew that I was bound for my second Italian food trip at the said restaurant, sooner or later. That second trip took place a few weeks ago on a lazy Saturday night when my boyf and I wanted to try something new to satisfy our gastronomic cravings. It was a sudden decision to eat at Salutti since he enjoyed the Asian Beef Panini so much he’d been wondering when he’d be able to try it again.

Early in the evening, the restaurant is solemn. Casa d

e Habana compound is usually filled up with hippie groups of people, mostly college studes to un

wind on a Saturday night, during late nights. There are options to dine al fresco but Ed took the liki

ng of taking pictures of their lighting fixtures.

Ed opted for his favorite Asian Beef Panini yet again, couldn’t blame him because he’s been really craving for that ever since he had a taste. The meat was tender and sweet, which really blends well with the crispiness of the lettuce in the salad and the sweet-tart flavor of the mango sauce included in it. It is quite deceitful as it appears on first look as a light meal but it really does make up for one full meal in itself.

Meanwhile, I opted for the Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard Dip. I admit, the serving was too much for my digestive system to take in, although it was a pleasant experience for my pallette. The dip had honey, mustard, and fresh basil chopped finely, that enabled its fresh flavors and aroma to incorporate really well with the mixture. Of course, I couldn’t finish the entire serving myself and so Ed was yet again tasked to finish the rest.

Eating at Salutti is fast becoming a favorite. Whether you love Italian food or not, it is something that your taste buds will thank you for. Good thing I’m in no diet so devouring on these delectable dishes left no feeling of guilt at all. And besides, we’re off to start our tennis sessions in the coming weeks, so now I have a way to increase my metabolism…just in case I get too caught up with the food!