Odziozo

For the past eleven years my aunt has lived in Guilford and I have considered Quattro’s out of my price range. I think that was a misunderstanding. Its a good quality Italian restaurant on Guilford’s historic green, with a more accessible menu than I thought. Aunty Judy made xmas eve dinner reservation for the two of us earlybirds- we were seated at 4:30pm.

The owner was dressed in a chef santa suit. The room itself was more elegantly put together with exposed brick and hardwood. After realizing the tapas menu was only served at the bar, I asked and our server graciously made an exception. I really wanted to try some of the small plates my Yelp friend Anne E. has been eating and enjoying. The scallops were great as she said, enhanced by the acidity of mango salsa and rooted by earthy crunchy beets.

My main course was zuppa di pesce. Linguini in white wine sauce loaded with a wealth of seafood- mussels, clams, shrimps, scallops and calamari. My aunt got linguini with clams and white sauce. The pasta and white wine were good partners, never overshadowing the salt of the clams, snap of the shrimp or sweetness of scallop, and leaving me with a memory of garlic. For dessert we split a dark chocolate and peppermint cannoli with vanilla ice cream.

We left as the restaurant filled up with families celebrating the holiday, and window shopped the darkened storefronts on Guilford Green until we got too cold and went home.