sean brendan

This past Friday my wife and I ventured out through the streets of downtown Kirkalnd and found a new (for us) Italian joint in the midst of a terrential downpour.  Lets get this straight - I have a really really hard time with Italian restaurants in the United States.  Having lived in Italy, this is something that I can be snobbish about. 

Paradiso, located right in the heart of downtown Kirkland, is only a couple steps from Lake Washington. The atmosphere is cozy and non-pretensious and the fact that the interior hasnt been updated in years gives it character and tells me that they have focused their efforts on what is really important - food and wine. 

The wine list is fantastic.  One of my recent pet peeves is the places that refuse to sell a bottle of wine for under $50… thats not what its all about.  I’m fine with springing for a nice bottle on a special occasion or if you have the means drinking really expensive wine all the time, but in general options are a good thing.  The comprehensive list focused on the different regions of Italy and provided a ton of options, from the $15 half caraffe of the vino di casa rosso (Montepuliciano di Abruzzo) to the dusty aged Brunello di Montalcino.  We went with the house wine, and it was perfect.

We split an order of carapaccio to start with and it was perfectly tender and delicious.  I had an order of the penne rustico, the daily special, and my date enjoyed a plate of spinach and ricotta crepes underneath a red creme sauce.  Both of our entrees were deliciously seasoned.  My pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and the red sauce with italian sausage and fresh tomatoes and basil topped it off perfectly.  My date ordered up a plate of chocolate goodness for dessert and seemed to elevate to heaven as she described how perfect the chocolate and the berry flavors melded together with her red wine. 

We’ll be adding this to the Kirland restaurant rotation as it kept true to the ways of a traditional Italian ristorante in the old country.