Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving and identity. —Jonathan Safran Foer
While I can’t say I’ll be writing about this topic often in the future, today’s article is a first!
My first restaurant review for She Sweats Diamonds is an undiscovered Italian eatery in the heart of Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey that opened just a few months ago: LaScala’s Fire.
Let me preface by saying that LaScala’s Fire is NOT a franchise. However, you’ll find that the LaScala brand has evolved and expanded over the years and primarily serves the Philadelphia area.
My first impressions walking in was, “Um, Instagram-worthy!”
In my eyes, the modern interior design made LaScala’s Fire stand out. The black and white aesthetics are absolutely beautiful!
Since we went in the middle of the week for lunch, it was pretty empty. However, we didn’t mind it at all. I loved that the vibes were very laid back yet you felt like you were dining in a sophisticated restaurant.
Loud music is one of my pet peeves when eating out. But they played modern music loud enough where you can still converse with your companions.
After chatting it up with our waitress, my friends and I learned that they make make their own pasta and ricotta!
So what did we do? We ordered the ricotta board first. Alternating layers of honey and in-house ricotta were presented in a jar next to a stack of herbed flatbread. You wouldn’t think flatbread, ricotta, and honey go together, but oh, they DO!
I took a break from my gluten-free lifestyle just for this appetizer and I will gladly do it again! Just trust me and order this for everyone at the table. Except I would not recommend this dish for those with a gluten-intolerance for obvious reasons.
What’s a lunch without truffle fries? Since we weren’t in a rush, we put in another appetizer order. Truffle fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside just the way I like it. However, I will say they aren’t the best I’ve ever had.
For my main dish, I ordered the ricotta tortellini. And was it amazing! I figured since I loved the ricotta board, I’d keep the cheese train going, haha!
What’s life without pasta, right?
Our waitress recommended me to switch out the cream sauce for a vodka sauce and it did not disappoint.
It’s quite possibly the most flavorful pasta dish I’ve ever had. And I will say that it’s so flavorful that you don’t need anything other than a glass of sparkling water to tone it down!
Speaking of, Sarah ordered the lasagna and said it wasn’t heavy by any means. She said it was very light in taste without that heavy after feeling. I figured since LaScala’s Fire makes their own ricotta cheese, I’m not surprised. I’m probably going to order her dish next time I’m in town!Since Rach isn’t a huge fan of Italian food, she usually goes for pizza, lasagna or a Stromboli. For her, she ordered the pepperoni Stromboli and said the dough was great and that it was flavorful. I thought it looked great because the cheese oozed like lava out of a volcano!
We didn’t order dessert because our appetizer was our sweet dish. Since Sarah has dined at LaScala’s Fire a few times before, she did say NOT to order the tiramisu as it isn’t that great.
But, she did say that their Lemonchello cake is yummy, nice, and light. Since I’m not a huge fan of decadent desserts, I think I’m going to order this next time I’m in town too. Sarah also said their ice cream Sunday is huge if you want to share dessert with someone.
Our waitress, Victoria, told us that their honey and ricotta gelato tastes like the ricotta board in ice cream form. I didn’t know how to respond to that except feeling my heart skip beat. Sarah? You in for this next time I’m in town? We can take it to go, ha!
Would you try LaScala’s Fire? Have you dined at any other LaScala brands?
That’s it for my first restaurant review! I’m not sure if I’ll be doing more in the future, but I thought it would be fun to share this post because I thought the food and decor was great!
Sidenote, as a blogger, I try not to subject my friends and family to what I do by taking time to take pictures of their food so there are no photos of their dishes. I much rather prefer to take a few quick snaps, put my phone away, and just enjoy the company of those I’m dining with for the rest of the meal.
