Food Quest In Dubai Part II - Johnny Carino's

So on to lunch! The choice of the day was Johnny Carino's - reputed as a Texan Italian joint, so don't expect a classic Italian experience - I was told. It didn't disappoint - the portion sizes were fit for a Texan and and yet there was plenty of pasta to choose from. Not a bad combination, if I do say so myself!

I had the rare opportunity to sample quite a few of their offerings as we went in a large group consisting of a good mix of taste-preferences and most items lived up to the mark while a few exceeded expectations.

I was very impresed by the complimentary starter of soft, warm, herby bread with an olive oil and garlic dip - it tasted divine, although I feel the garlic could have been toasted a little less to give it a more pronounced flavour. Nevertheless, warm bread contending with an empty stomach is nothing short of a battle, and I had to struggle to make sure I didn't over-indulge and leave no place for the main meal.

We started with a shared caesar salad, which was good but a tad heavy on the dressing and I was very glad that it was shared - it would be quite a feat to finish it on one's own!

The three best mains were the Chicken Parmigiana, Black Angus Italian Sirloin (substituted with rib-eye) and my finally my favourite - the Cedar Planked Salmon.

The chicken parmigiana was total comfort food - breaded chicken and spaghetti covered in a rich tomato sauce and mozarella. As if it didn't already have an intensely strong taste, our waiter offered to rain freshly grated parmesan on to the dish - nobody complained - there is no such thing as too much cheese :)

I choose to completely ignore the calorie count of this particular dish when I say that it was an absolutely delicious concoction. The breaded cover of the chicken (perfectly cooked, not too dry) held it's own distinct herby taste against almost impossible odds, being drowned so completely with the tomato sauce and cheese - this in itself was what made it stand out. Once again, I was glad I was only nibbling on a shared dish for the portion was massive!

The steak was a bit of a disappointment for a number of reasons. First, we asked for it to be well-done and it arrived medium rare. That led to us having to send it back and wait for it to be redone - it arrived as everyone else was almost finishing - not good! The mushroom sauce it came with was fairly bland and didn't add much to the flavour of the steak and finally the pasta was too smooth and slippery and danced around in the sauce making it almost impossible to catch it in a fork. In hindsight - that could have been easily resolved by ordering penne instead of the default fettucine (why is fettucine default anyway? it's the most annoying of all pastas to eat - pet peeve!) The steak itself was good but not great (probably because I only tasted it after I already finished my main and I was too full to enjoy any new tastes) although the green beans that came along with it were divine - lightly steamed, just the right amount of crunch and sweet...mmmm....

Leaving the best for the last - the Cedar Planked Salmon. Definitely not Italian, but done very very well. The salmon was cooked to perfection - soft and moist yet firm and easily flaked with a fork. At the top was a black glazed look that at first glance appeared as if the salmon might have been burnt. But the glaze was of balsamic vinegar and lent a most intense taste explosion as I took the first bite - the sweet familiar tang of balsamic vinegar coupled with an orange zestiness and blending seamlessly with the smoky smooth taste of the salmon simply made me lean back in my chair, close my eyes and chew slowly - savouring every scrumptious bite. The wilted spinach had a very mild garlic flavour and was incredibly flavoursome with a bit of freshly squeezed lemon. Added some of it on to my fork with another bite of salmon and there I was leaning back and chewing slowly again - it just made the salmon taste that much better! My best decision was to choose the mashed potatoes over the angel-hair pasta. The mashed potatoes were smooth, yet still had real potato chunks in it and had fresh herbs sprinkled all over the top - nothing needed to be added to this one and it was a real palate-soother after all the zesty tang of the salmon and the spinach. There was nothing that could have made this one better (except maybe a stronger garlic flavour to the spinach - but that might be a case of personal preference!) 

Nobody could handle dessert after all that - the mains were too heavy and completely satisfying on their own. This one is definitely a hangout for the very hungry only!

Location: Dubai Festival City (I got a bit disoriented and don't remember exact location anymore!)

Till next time folks!