Enoteca Emilia

I know I'm fussier than most about Italian food as I come from a long line of wonderful Neapolitan home chefs.  But  Enoteca Emilia's food was mostly a disappointment. It looked great on the menu, but what appeared on the plate did not please the eye or the palate.   The stuffed figs appetizer was  overwhelmed by a red sauce of indeterminate origin. Wasn't sure if it was sun dried tomato or red pepper or a combination.  Two of us ordered the cavatelli with sausage and kale. The broth was overly salty and the portion size skimpy for $17.00.  I had a hard time finding the sausage which was  crumbled into the dish.  The black kale was kind of sparse, too. Worst of all, some of the  pasta was a bit gummy.  Something else  I really cannot get over: the  "bread" they brought to our table  soon after seating us was inexplicably nothing close  to Italian or European-style  bread.  They were sweet, puffy yeast rolls, more appropriate to breakfast.  They served better, more traditional  "crostini"  with my friend's steamed  mussels appetizer, so I asked for more of that for our table. The service and wine list were good. The bar patrons seated right next to our table were quite noisy, so the dining ambiance was less than ideal.  I'd be willing to give this place another chance, but this experience was expensive and not at all satisfying.

We had the best service, delicious appetizers, great wine, a great salad and main course.  I am never disappointed in this restaurant.  Try the stuffed figs wrapped in bacon.  I will never share that appetizer again!  I could have eaten all five of them.  This is the first time we had a table upstairs---nice!

I've been here 3 times and each meal was just ok and drastically overpriced.
Dishes to try: black pepper pappardelle, and cheesy bread.
Dishes to avoid: bucatini (imagine pasta floating in a bowl full of grease- literally!)
I will, however, commend this place on its gluten free pasta options, which were cooked perfectly al dente, and the quartino wine servings.
At this point I'd only come back if there were happy hour food and drink specials.