il Giallo Osteria & Bar

Did I just walk into a senior group home? It was like a 80 year reunion or some geriatric prom. I have never seen this many old people dressed up in one place... Besides Johnny's Hideaway. It's like that Geico commercial where Peter Pan goes back to his 70th high school reunion... And I was Peter Pan here. So, the chef and GM from old school Eyetalian Veni Vidi Vici opened up this joint after VVV finally shuttered. I don't know anyone who has gone there in the last 5 years and that location sucked ass. They were smart to open up in Sandy Springs because their demographics were old people that didn't want to drive to midtown anymore. I don't know if it was a refreshing change or not but there was not one hipster in the entire joint. Smelly old people or smelly hipsters... Fuck, that is one helluva dilemma to have. But the place smelled good, the aroma from the open kitchen was classic Italian. The bar was small but suitable to the size of this space... Too bad the poor bartender didn't know how to make a decent cocktail. Easily, the worst old fashioned I have ever had... Even dive bars at a biker rally made a better one. But if you asked him for a gin and tonic, no problem. The main problem is the ice machine, pumping out really shitty small flat pieces of ice that melted if you sneezed on it. 
No one is coming here for the cocktails or the bar scene, except for a select few of middle-aged chubby cougars and older saberteeth drowning themselves in cheap red wine and encasing themselves in a cloud of smoke. If you're looking to slay a run down and battered beast on the hunt for it's 3rd marriage that smokes 4 packs of cigs a day wearing giant gaudy costume jewelry and oversized cubic zirconia rings on their right paw, you came to the right place. I'll tell you what though, they know how to fucking party like Keith Richards... And like I always say, beauty is only a light switch away... Pump pump squirt.
Ok, enough of that nonsense, back to the food... I like the menu. It's simple, traditional but with modern touches. But let's see if it tastes as good as the server was preaching... I have had so many Eyetalian meals of disappointment in the last couple of weeks that I don't even get that excited anymore over a black risotto or pasta anymore... Let's go, bitches!

Duck and rabbit meatballs, mushrooms, vidalias. Tender and not gamey at all. The shrooms may have balanced that out. A very nice and savory little dish.

Grilled octopus, olive oil smashed potato, pickled onions. If there's octo, the pouch is gonna order it. These little coins of octopussy were tender and had a nice toothy texture as well. I would have drizzled a lil balsamic around the dish for a little added sweet acidity because the pickled onions were a bit muted. Still a tasty dish overall.

Shrimp “scampi”, georgia shrimp, garlic, blood orange. Let's face it, it's basically Eyetalian shrimp and grits... And it was good.

“giallo asse” salumi and cheese board. Meat and cheese boards are usually overpriced and boring.. This was better than average. The prosciutto was the best part, naturally...

Caesar salad, romaine hearts, white anchovies. This was a classic caesar, it would have been average but the white anchovies made the salad. You have a choice between salted or white anchovies.. Always go with the white.

Pickled beets, ricotta salata, dandelion greens. The presentation is not a favorite of mine because the main ingredient should always take the spot light. The cheese sheets and greens just covered up the delicious tender beets. But if you mix it around it's fine...

Risotto “nero” braised calamari in ink. Every Eytalian joint should be required to do half portions like this place... That way you can sample more dishes and increase the check size. This risotto was spot on, really good. Each arborio rice grain was visible and not overcooked to mush like at Brezza and they didn't skimp on the squirt ink. This should be the poster boy for a proper squid ink risotto.

Agnolotti, ravioli filled with roasted duck, fontina, in brown butter, sage, pecans. Another half portion of the now very common place ravioli that was relatively unknown like 4 years ago. It's like the fucking banh mi's nowadays all bastardized to hell... But this agnolotti was pretty much traditional and the filling of duck and fontina was very decent except it needed a lot more brown butter sauce. A bit dry on the bite but shit, I can work with this since it was good.

Lamb Shank, georgia apples. This beast leg was pretty much spot on in the outter char bits, the tender braised meat which was not gamey at all, the perfect seasoning and the jus drippings. It's a good portion of meat. You will definitely need to order a rice or pasta dish and few veggie sides to go with it... Like what this fat fuck did on this visit. Why am I so fucking fat again?

Eggplant, tomato, cheese. This was basically an eggplant lasagna. Just a great side all around. I could see this as full size entree as well.

Roasted beets and oven charred cauliflower. Who doesn't like golden beets? It's real hard to fuck up a golden beet, it's like the perfect root vegetable. It woulda been nice to see the beet leaves as a garnish on top but it was still good. The charred cauliflower needed something since they are so plain and boring by themselves... A little pig fat and pig face aka guanciale woulda been real nice in it for this fat pig eating it.

Strawberry Pizza. I couldn't believe that they didn't do pizzas here... But they did do one for dessert. I don't know if that even friggin counts. It's cute and gimmicky. Took one bite and I was done for the count on this dish... The broads at the table destroyed it while giggling the whole time like the little piglets they are... Wait til later, I'll teach them the meaning of the word pig. Add "in bed" to that like a fortune cookie.

Bread pudding. I don't like wet bready mushy things but this was actually quite nice. Just sweet enough, just syrupy enough, just mushy and spongy enough... Just a pretty decent dessert.

Bomboloni, a sweet ricotta doughnut hole drizzled with honey and topped with fresh whipped cream. These were like fancy pants zeppoles but mixed with ricotta to give it that extra creaminess to it. These were real nice, I would order these again... Shit, fried that bread pudding and I would order it again, too.

Panna Cotta. I had a bite of this. It was a pretty standard issue by the book panna cotta. Not too soft and not too firm just the right amount of gelatin, good balance of cream and sugar. Pretty good overall.

I must say after eating at a bunch of new Eyetalian joints around town lately, this place surprised me with it's flavors, techniques and consistency. They are not trying to break new culinary ground in Italian cookery... Just putting out really good and classic dishes we are know and can pronounce with a modern twist. If you want old school ginzo grub, go to Alfredo's which is a classic Atlanta mainstay... If you want shitty hipster celeb chef Eyetalian go to PCM. I rather eat good grub than to see and be seen... Wait, I don't want to be seen, I'm too bashful of my obeast and salacious figure which may emanate bodily fluids and sounds that may be more repulsive than the spittle from the mouths of the cackling hyenaous hipsters that adore those places. But if you want classic Italian fare and don't mine dining in the company of gramps and gam-gams trying to hook with one another, this is the place for you. I want to go back and just watch the old people working it... All with a mouthful of black risotto like the world's most amazing shit eating grin.

Burp.

5920 Roswell Rd #118
Sandy Springs, GA 30328 
404-709-2148 
http://ilgialloatl.com/