This week's restaurant review features a list of lackluster dishes I ordered at much-loved Anthony's Runway 84. There's the Italian Sunday Feast, above, a $29 pile of Italian staples that I'm pretty sure somebody could whip up in the time it takes Rachel Ray to complete a meal.
But the worst dish we got that night was my wife's rigatoni with sausage and broccoli rabe. The sauce tasted like nothing more than garlic and pasta water, and the bitter rabe made every bite pucker-worthy.
Never one to throw away a doggy bag, I tried to save the dish the next day and was fairly shocked just how easy it was.
First, I microwaved the rigatoni a bit to get the fridge chill off. Then
I added just two ingredients: maple syrup and red pepper flakes, then dropped it back in for a nuke. The
syrup cut the sour note of the rabe and thickened the sauce. And the
red pepper flakes, along with some salt and pepper, added some
much-needed spice.
Shaved Parmesan finished it off. And yes, those are the remnants of the Sunday feast in the background. Like I said, I'm not one to waste leftovers, even this.
