Assaggi - review

Mark and I and our friends, Staci and Joel Katz from Long Island, go out for a special dinner every time they visit the Detroit area, or we visit Long Island. This time we chose Assaggi on 9 Mile in Ferndale. The restaurant has a lovely outdoor area in the back, but it was a little too hot that evening for us (me mostly) to sit outside.

We have all been to Assaggi before, and our experience was memorable. Everyone ordered something different, which indicates that there were a lot of good dishes to choose from, but I only tasted Mark's, mine, and Staci's gazpacho. The gazpacho was light, refreshing, and unsurprisingly had a great tomato taste. I ordered the Chicken Francese. It is one of my favorite meals at Assaggi. Served with orecchiette, eggplant, black olives, tomatoes, and mushrooms with a lemon buerre blanc. Since the orecchiette, shaped like a little cup, serves as the perfect vessel for capturing some for the lemony and buttery sauce. The harmony of the flavors brought a smile to my face.

Mark ordered pan -seared perch. The fish was lightly breaded, on top of mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus, and swimming in a butter-lemon-caper sauce. The taste was exquisitely buttery, and the little pop of brine from the caper was luscious. In the past, I have had the gnocchi, the ravioli, and the veal scallopini all with the same excellent result.

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