Il Nomade

Address: 306 Localita' Piano di San Paolo, 61010, Maiolo (RI), Italy.

Review: Located just (and I mean just) over the bridge from Novafeltria, Italy, Il Nomade is an Italian restaurant whose cook is French-trained. This isn't a normal thing in Italy, since Italians tend to disdain French food as pretentious and overly elaborate. Just the same, the cook also makes the Italian classics and regional fare.

I had the gnocchi al formaggio di fossa (formaggio di fossa is a local cave cheese).

As you can see, the gnocchi came simply dressed with a little tomato, oil, and formaggio di fossa. The fossa is an aged sheep's-milk cheese that can be quite strong. I wasn't overbearing here, but it was the most prominent flavor. The tomatoes added a bit of acidity and lightness that helped balance the deep, earthy flavor of the fossa. The gnocchi, unfortunately, were not that good. They were dense and dense. If they had been light and airy, as good gnocchi are menat to be, it would have added another contrast to the heaviness of the fossa. Instead, it reinforced the weight of the dish.

My wife had ravioli.

Unfortunately, it has been some days since we ate at Il Nomade, and I cannot quite remember the particulars of this dish. I do, however, remember enjoying it more than the gnocchi. I would have ordered these ravioli again.

I also ordered a insalatone, which is more or less a big salad. It was a mix of greens with mozzarella, tomatoes, corn, shredded carrot, and other vegetables. It was good, standard stuff. Nothing particularly stood out to me until the end, when I realized they had forgotten to include the mozzarella. Oh well, it was good anyway.

In the end, the food was okay. I'm not sure I'll be back anytime soon, however, because there are superior restaurant choices in the area.

Rating: 6/10 (5/10 is average).