What a joy! I think I found my new favorite restaurant in downtown Des Moines. The place is called Centro (pronounced Chen-tro) and they serve pastas and pizzas and everything I like.
I started off with the steamed mussels appetizer which tastes like it’s bathed in butter blended with sweet roma tomatoes. Oh so juicy and savory!
Then, I had the Centro Carbonara pasta for my main dish and I was totally looking forward to it. I remember the first time I had pasta carbonara in Rome, Italy and it was mouth-watering, warm your tummy delicious and fresh! I salivate just thinking about my first experience with it. So, I set my bar up pretty high for any version of a carbonara in the states and I must say, Centro isn’t too shabby!
It was good but a bit on the greasy side but if you’re into that, you’ll love this dish. I also had a mild allergic reaction to the raw eggs they mixed into it (I do love sunny side-up eggs) but all the bacon bits (actually, it’s called pancetta) made up for it. David Lay said that bacon is the dessert of meats, and he is so right!
Although this carbonara didn’t meet my expectations (as compared to Rome), it was still very sinfully delicious. It’s best to eat the day it was made because once you pop the leftovers in the microwave, it loses its succulent texture.
I look forward to trying their other dishes later this month!
