portobelle

-- is a tiny eating establishment behind comcenter on killiney road which is supposed to serve mediterranean food, but does, in fact, not. despite the misleading review in i-s, the quality of the food, thankfully, was not at all misreported. justin and i shared a near-perfect melanzane, which came topped with parmesan cheese, roasted garlic and (interestingly) the little fried shallots that you get with porridge; also: a melange of zucchini, kalamata and green olives on the side, pickled, which was so good i nearly cried.

main course: justin had the lamb shank with (i think) a red wine sauce, linguine and side salad, an ample portion well-presented. i had the chimichanga, which looked exactly like roti boyan sitting on a bed of lettuce with sour cream and salsa on top. in light of prior experiences with roti boyan, i was prepared for disappointment,; however, was excited to find the appearance of the crust deceiving, i.e. not at all oily/stodgy but crisp and light, the entire package having very nice bite and flavour.

we both had sangria. nothing to write home about, (too much fruit floating in it cubed too fine) but at least it was fairly alcoholic. i don't think i'll ever have better sangria than those served by spanish restaurants i've been to in the states (i hear that tapas tree in clarke quay(?) does a pretty good job with it, though, can anyone confirm that?)