Enzo's La Piccola Cucina, Lawrenceville

Everyone knows of a cute little Italian joint where the food is too good to be believed, the space is romantic and the service is killer. From what we had heard around town (and on Yelp, of course) Enzo's La Piccola Cucina promised to be just that.... quaint and charming and just plain good. We must have gone on an off night. I have to say, the place in teeeeny. Almost awkwardly so... I totally bumped elbows with the person sitting at the table next to me when we both went to take a bite of food at the same time. It was decorated in a homey, grandma-ish way (kind of cute), but so teeny I would seriously suggest reservations if you're planning on going on a busy night. The servers were a bit harried and distracted and the food was eh, despite the promises of outstading cuisine.

Every review we read and every person we knew who had been to Enzo's mentioned the 'button bread'. Where the wacky name comes from, I do not know, but it gets a lot of buzz. Described on the menu as a little round loaf of bread topped with butter, garlic, leeks, tarragon, and parmesan cheese, it sounds too good to be true, right? It kind of is... while it was delicious at first, steamy hot and jam packed with flavor, as soon as it cooled down a bit I began to notice just how saturated the bread was. It was downright oily...seriously sitting in a pool of grease. When I took a bite and heard the 'squish' of the oil flooding in to my mouth, I knew it would be my last bite. If we were splitting the whole loaf with a table of 4-6 people it may make sense, but for two it got too cold and too slimy too fast. Ugh. Thinking back on it now it makes me feel heavy.

Matt ordered the home made papparadelle in Bolognese. It was not so good. The sauce was actually pretty well done, but there was not nearly enough of it to compensate for the watery noodles. While I love to see home made pastas on a menu, it really only works if they're done right... these were not. Completely overcooked, the pasta was mushy and clumped together. It also held wayyy too much cooking liquid, which diluted the otherwise tasty sauce. It was a bummer, but the bites he got at the very begining (before the whole plate got watery) were yummy, at least.

I ordered the veal Nicolo, which was listed as veal in a vermouth cream sauce, topped with spinach and sun dried tomatoes. The first few bites tasted pretty good, despite the fact that it was so heavily sauced... but there was something a bit off that I couldn't put my finger on. When I offered a bite to Matt he immediately declared 'that tastes like fish!' He was totally right... there was a clamminess in the sauce that was very odd. The sauce also got a bit 'congealy' as cream sauces can (if they're not done correctly) which made the whole thing even less appetizing.

Look, the thing is this place gets rave reviews. On Yelp they have 4.5 stars, which is absurd! We must have been there on a really off night, or when they were trying out a new chef, or... I dont know what. Long story short, the experience was off putting enough that it will be a while before we give the place a second chance, as deserving as they may be. Let me know if you've been there.... tell me if I'm crazy, people!

Enzo's La Piccola Cucina

http://www.enzoscucina.com/

1906 Princeton Avenue

Lawrenceville- 08648

609 396 9868