La Piazzetta

So far, our random food adventures have been acceptable and in fact, some have been really nice surprises.  However, like Murphy's Law, you knew eventually we would hit the wall and dine on something not so tasty.  This was the case at Piazetta just a block from our hotel.  It was sure convenient as we could literally see the restaurant from our room window!    Not that we should trust online reviews (and generally we do not), it had a rating of 4.1 out of 5.0.  It couldn't be bad right?  Famous last words...

So the meal actually started off quite well with the Hot Country-Style Lobster Dip.  This consisted of Chemin Hatley and Alfred Le Fermier cheeses, cream cheese, mayo, baby spinach, artichoke hearts, green onion and
garlic scapes topped with panko crumbs. This was actually not too heavy, yet was still rich and delicious.  Lots of cheesiness with a touch of saltiness.  We had some brightness with each bite and some crunch as well.  They didn't skimp on the lobster as we got quite a few morsels.

Once we got to the pizzas, this is where the meal fell apart.  We tried the Westphalia Ham first and really the toppings were quite good.  They included cep sauce, smoked prosciutto, mozzarella, Swiss, mushrooms, green onion and five-pepper mix.  Due to the mushroom sauce (rather than tomato), the flavours were earthy and full of umami. This complimented the salty prosciutto quite well.  However, the pizza crust was not very good.  It was pale, a bit dense and only a bit crispy (although salted enough).  Maybe we had different expectations but this is one of the least appealing pizza crusts we've had in recent memory.  This includes all types from Neapolitan, Sicilian, Roman and even the run-of-the-mill North American chains.

Next, we had the Diabola with Pomodoro, spicy Hungarian salami, mozza, cheddar, hot pepper, green pepper, green olives, red onion and exotic spices (cumin, coriander, chili).  Once again, this pizza tasted great.  The spiciness came through while the pomodoro had a nice tanginess.  Lots of flavour in this one and the crust was marginally better than the previous pizza.  It was a bit thinner and crunchier.  However, it was still a bit lifeless and dense.

Finally, we tried their Spaghetti Bolognese which arrived as a really large portion.  We found the pasta to be nicely al dente but the sauce was not as rich as we would've expected.  I make bolognese all the time at home and this one here was closer to a tangy meat sauce than the luscious rich and creamy bolognese.  I'm not sure if they used any milk (or very little) and the complexity of flavours wasn't there as it was one-note.  To be fair, this wasn't a terrible pasta.  We actually thought it was decent.  It just wasn't the bolognese that we were expecting.  Overall, the meal here was very meh.  We did enjoy the dip and the pizza toppings were good.  However, due to the crust and the weak bolognese, this was least favourite meal while we we in Quebec City.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing considering the portion size
- Friendly service
- Loved that lobster dip

The Bad:
- Pizza crust was not very good