Roman Village: Good Food in the D
Last night I was at one of my favorite Italian spots in Dearborn--Roman Village Cucina Italiana--plowing through a thousand calories like a snowboarder through choice powder. I could barely move.
Wait. Let me start by saying that last night included a little adventure. We went to one of those "escape the room" type of places: you and a group of friends, locked in a room, trying to get out by racking your brains to find clues and solve puzzles. You find keys that unlock chests and those contain clues that lead to more clues and so-on. You have an hour to get out of the room, but here's the intense part: there's a man-eating rat that enters the room at different points in the game from secret passages. He tries to "bite" and "infect" you. You wouldn't think people would be so afraid of this but, damn, people will run their tails-off, shove, and jump on top of stuff to keep from going near a guy in a rat suit. So my friends and I had worked up an appetite. And that's where Roman Village comes-in.
This place has been around for years and they do things right. I've been eating there since I was a kid growing up down the street on Vernor avenue in Detroit.
Our server brought over the Papa's steak and cheese calzone: a beautifully toasted, folded crust, packed with mozzarella and chopped beef. This thing is massive. It could easily feed four. I plated a slice of the calzone and spread a layer of red sauce over top. I can't explain how this simple dish is so darn tasty. Every mouthful is delicious, decadent, and so satisfying that it easily becomes a go-to comfort food.
Take a bite. Drink some merlot. Repeat.
It was someone's birthday in our party so cannoli were passed around. We had brought our own "tres-leches" cake from a local bakery and our server cut thick slabs of the cake, served it, and poured the coffee.
I have to tell you, I don't get too many meals like this anymore since moving away from Detroit. That's one of the things I miss most: the Detroit food scene.
But anyway, that was last night, and this is now, and right now I'm about to plow through some leftovers.
Wait. Let me start by saying that last night included a little adventure. We went to one of those "escape the room" type of places: you and a group of friends, locked in a room, trying to get out by racking your brains to find clues and solve puzzles. You find keys that unlock chests and those contain clues that lead to more clues and so-on. You have an hour to get out of the room, but here's the intense part: there's a man-eating rat that enters the room at different points in the game from secret passages. He tries to "bite" and "infect" you. You wouldn't think people would be so afraid of this but, damn, people will run their tails-off, shove, and jump on top of stuff to keep from going near a guy in a rat suit. So my friends and I had worked up an appetite. And that's where Roman Village comes-in.
This place has been around for years and they do things right. I've been eating there since I was a kid growing up down the street on Vernor avenue in Detroit.
Our server brought over the Papa's steak and cheese calzone: a beautifully toasted, folded crust, packed with mozzarella and chopped beef. This thing is massive. It could easily feed four. I plated a slice of the calzone and spread a layer of red sauce over top. I can't explain how this simple dish is so darn tasty. Every mouthful is delicious, decadent, and so satisfying that it easily becomes a go-to comfort food.
Take a bite. Drink some merlot. Repeat.
It was someone's birthday in our party so cannoli were passed around. We had brought our own "tres-leches" cake from a local bakery and our server cut thick slabs of the cake, served it, and poured the coffee.
I have to tell you, I don't get too many meals like this anymore since moving away from Detroit. That's one of the things I miss most: the Detroit food scene.
But anyway, that was last night, and this is now, and right now I'm about to plow through some leftovers.
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