Campagnolo Roma

Sometimes fancy doesn't necessarily translate into "having a good time".  On the other hand, it really depends on the acitivity.  Now, we're not talking about Iggy Azalea fancy as in "champagne spillin', you should taste that".  I can't believe I just quoted Iggy Azalea...  Anyways, Viv and I wanted to enjoy a meal by ourselves, but didn't really want to spend Cioppino's-type money unless they "better get my money on time, if they not money, decline".  Gawd, I quoted her again!  So...  we headed to nearby Campagnolo Roma instead.

Although we didn't care which item arrived first, the actual appetizer did hit the table before everything else.  It was the Smoked Octopus Salad with potato, arugula, jalapeno and garlic chips atop a squid ink vinaigrette.  As expected, the star of the show was the octopus which exhibited a mild smokiness while being a tender chewy.  We thought the flavours worked in harmony including the spicy sliced jalapenos.  The dish could've done with less olive oil though.  Sitting in a significant amount of liquid, the Spaghetti Carbonara was really peppery.  Good thing we like pepper, because for some, it could be considered out-of-balance.  We enjoyed the al dente noodles as well as the salty bits of bacon and Parmesan cheese.

Our second pasta was the Rigatoni all’amatriciana with cured pork belly in a spicy tomato sauce.  We found the the rigatoni to be chewy, yet softer than the spaghetti.  Although the tomato sauce did not lack impact, it wasn't particularly spicy.  I would rather classify it as zesty with a good amount of tang which was balanced off by the massive amount of pecorino on top.  That combined with the pork belly made the dish rather salty (but still good).  Our last item was the Pizza Margherita which featured a crispy crust from the edge to nearly the middle.  The dough was properly seasoned where it was appealingly chewy after the initial crunch of the crust.  I would've liked to see more charring though.  We enjoyed the tomato sauce as it was tangy and fresh-tasting.  Overall, this re-visit to Campagnolo Roma was decent all within a casual environment (and no, it wasn't fancy).

The Good:
- Reaonably-priced
- Okay eats

The Bad:
- Pastas are a bit saucy
- Not the most spacious of places