Dinner at D'Italia at El Dorado Royale

Dinner was at D'Italia Villas.  El Dorado has two Italian restaurants (the other is D'Italia Casitas) which have some of the same items but enough is different so you could try both.  

Started with the Eggplant Cannelloni.   This was expertly thin sliced eggplant with diced peppers, zucchini, rocket (arugula) and pesto.   While well composed, it needed more pesto flavor. 

Next was beef carpaccio.  This dish showed what a beef carpaccio should be.   Rare, thinly sliced beef with parmesan crisps, rocket pesto and truffle oil.   Accompaniments that didn't distract from the main attraction.  

The asparagus and prosciutto was another well composed dish. Salty prosciutto with Al dente asparagus with a quail egg.  And a nice crisp crustini and a drizzle of balsamic.  

The lasagna had great flavor from the Bolognese sauce.  The trouble was on execution.  This was served barely warm and the cheese hadn't melted. With a bit more attention to detail, this would have been a great dish. 

The mushroom risotto hit it out of the park.  Deep mushroom flavor in a creamy sauce with rice that still had some bite.  Everything I look for in a risotto. 

The ricotta ravioli was another smartly composed dish.  The creamy ricotta paired well with the stay carbonara.  

The Tuscan fish filet had lots of flavor for such a small dish.  A delicate filet of mild white fish on top of a well seasoned chickpea puree.  The fish was topped with shredded potatoes which had been crisped.  And then it had a drizzle of balsamic.  

The duck breast had the best flavors of the night.  While the duck itself needed more fat to be rendered, it had some great flavor from the sauce that had a surprising ingredient: maple syrup. That along with the mushrooms, endive and red wine combined together into a truly delicious sauce.