Luminosa | Asheville

16 Thursday May 2024

Posted by ginamd in Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized

Tags

Asheville food, Asheville foodie, food, Food Critic, Foodie, Italian, italian-restaurant, new restaurants, Restaurant Review

Luminosa, the long anticipated new Asheville restaurant, seamlessly blends traditional Italian flavor with local Appalachian ingredients and has finally opened its doors! Since the disappointing opening of Gimelli, I have been longing for an Italian restaurant that can live up to our rather high expectations. Brought to Asheville by chef Graham House, formerly of Sovereign Remedies (Asheville), “Graham aims to incorporate an unmistakable Asheville flare into Luminosa’s Italian driven cuisine.” (per Luminosa’s website)

On opening night for a restaurant can range from being an extraordinary event never to be replicated, or an unforeseen disaster. Having experienced both, I approached the newly opened Flat Iron Hotel with a mix of excitement and apprehension. This historic building, a beautiful example of Beaux-Arts architecture standing tall between Wall Street and Battery Park, has been revitalized with a boutique hotel, rooftop bar, and of course, Luminosa. Home also to Chai Pain (James Beard Award winner) and a few other shops and cafes.

Luminosa’s menu features wood fired pizza, freshly made pasta, delicious entrees, and unique cocktails. As is our custom, we asked the server for his favorites, and ordered accordingly. We started with a crisp red wine, and a refreshing gin cocktail with ginger and raspberries. Our appetizer arrived, crispy bone marrow tater tots, followed by a gorgeous Nduja pizza, drizzled with balsamic glaze that enhanced its flavors. We finished with a cappelletti pasta adorned with ramps, ricotta, green garlic and a sprinkling of pecorino. For dessert we shared a delightful olive oil soft serve with hints of lemon and almond – absolutely perfect and delicious

While our server was very kind, the pizza crispy and bursting with flavors, and the soft serve ice cream perfection itself, the rest of the meal fell a bit short. The tater tots wished for more salt while the pasta boasted entirely too much of it. The ambiance of the restaurant was odd, with no music playing, which might be chalked up to opening night kinks that needed ironing out.

I am curious to try the coffee shop that they have in the mornings and we always love a good rooftop. I would certainly return for that ice cream. But as of now, I’m hesitant about revisiting Luminosa in the near future. Sadly, the search for an extraordinary Italian restaurant in Asheville continues.

Laura | Summerville

02 Thursday Jun 2022

Posted by ginamd in travel, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

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Food Critic, Foodie, Italian, Laura Summerville, Restaurant Review, Summerville

This week we had the great pleasure of securing a reservation for opening night at Laura, a brand new Italian Family Restaurant in Summerville South Carolina. The Chef, Nico Romo, has two other restaurants in Charleston which we love, so we were so excited to try his “Rustic cuisine inspired by the family dinner table in Italy”.

Arriving a bit early for our reservation, we were lead straight to our table on the outdoor patio. The staff were so friendly and attentive. Our table setting was wonderfully vintage, colorful, and exquisite. We ordered three cocktails, for the two of us, because they all sounded so wonderful and we wanted to try them all. A Blood Orange Margarita, “The Laura”, and the Italian Paloma. The Laura was by far our favorite but the Blood Orange Marg wasn’t too far behind. Both delicious. The Paloma was a bit watered down and not really our favorite.

For Antipasti we had picked the Ricotta Toast, and the Calamari but wanted to hear what our server’s favorites were. When she said both of those were at the top of her list, we knew we had chosen correctly. The ricotta toast was crispy, topped with creamy ricotta, the perfect balance of lemon, a sprinkle of mint and crunchy hazelnuts. Perfection. The Calamari was chilled, nestled in a beautiful red wine vinegar sauce with just the right amount of spice.

For our next course we chose the Margherita Pizza and the Agnolotti. The pizza was hot and fresh, the balance of flavors between the tomato confit, fresh mozzarella, basil, and toasty dough awaking all the senses and evoking comforting memories of home.

Agnolotti (anyəˈlädē/ pasta squares stuffed with a variety of fillings, like small ravioli.)

The Agnolotti. Wow the Agnolotti. If I were to highly recommend any dish, this would be it. I would say run don’t walk to Laura in Summerville and order two helpings of this pasta because one will just not be enough. The most delicate pasta squares filled with a Parmesan cream and tossed in brown sage butter. It was topped with pistachios and a lemon crumb and the first bite melted in my mouth. I sat there stunned at the explosion of flavors and the perfect of soft and light pasta dense with flavor. I am not exaggerating when I say that I think this is the best pasta I have ever had in my entire life.

While we found Laura somewhat lacking in atmosphere, we sat outside and there was no music, and string lights would have been a huge enhancement, there were certainly no complaints about the food or the service. If you are ever in Summerville, South Carolina, this is one place you do not want to miss!