Bistro makaronowe Macaroni

Another point, which appeared on our culinary map of Gdańsk is a tiny restaurant in Zaspa, located at Żwirki i Wigury 4a / 15 near the ETC shopping center. It is an Italian Maccheroni pasta bistro; zainteresowani mogą zajrzeć na jego stronkę na Facebooku.

It is minor, but a cozy place, which was opened less than a year ago by Mr. Ryszard Ćwięek. I must admit, that the owner himself with his dishes is the best advertisement for this place. He is very open to his clients and talks to them willingly. He lived in Rome for several years, hence his passion and ability to prepare traditional Italian food.

Except for pastas, the place serves soups, Italian coffee and wine. Interestingly, it is a "stick" wine, to my knowledge, at the moment, the only ones poured in this way in the whole Gdańsk. We can also enjoy Italian herbal drinks there, serving as a non-alcoholic aperitif. What is worth emphasizing – all dishes are prepared on an ongoing basis with fresh ingredients, in front of the client, by the owner himself. Can be seen, that Mr. Ryszard attaches great importance to this, so that the dish is appetizing and aromatic, he spares no fresh parsley and basil to finish the dish. Our meal can be prepared, depending on our choice, na makaronie spaghetti or penne, before serving, it will be sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs. We can choose pasta in a small version (330g) or large (480g), also in a set with the soup. It is worth mentioning more, że pan Ryszard spaghetti carbonara przygotowuje tylko i wyłącznie w wersji tradycyjnej, non-stick cream.

The soups served in the restaurant are the "soups of the day"; every day we can treat ourselves to a freshly prepared one there. We already had the pleasure to taste the bean soup there, from chickpeas, minestrone – all soups are very rich, solidly packed with vegetables, well seasoned, with a hint of olive oil. But the soup, which deserves special attention is the tomato soup – it is very dense, but it's not a cream soup anyway. It contains very small pieces of vegetables (potatoes, carrot, seler) and lots of aromatic spices. If you want to try a tomato different from these, you have eaten so far, you must try the one made by Mr. Ryszard!

Below are descriptions of several dishes, which we have had the pleasure of trying in our last few visits:

Dominik: With shrimp – first dish, I tried in Maccheroni. In addition to cooked prawns, there was a lot of freshly chopped zucchini in the dish, the hint of fried garlic was delicate and perfectly counterbalanced the other flavors, while not imposing itself.

Tomato Sausage – this, in turn, is a substantial dish, containing red Italian sausage, mocno przypominającą w smaku hiszpańskie chorizo. Along with the tomato, olives and a generous layer of Parmesan cheese, it was a very "masculine" dish, tasty, direct, filling.

Doubt bolognese – you can't think of much here, bo spaghetti bolognese to wręcz sztandarowe danie, next to the pizza, in every conversation about Italian food. But despite everything, Mr. Ryszard surprised me, because I prepare the sauce myself (as he explained to us, Bolognese sauce is the only one, which he prepares in advance, because it takes several hours to cook), and in addition to minced meat, you will find large pieces of tomatoes and aromatic herbs in it. One of the best versions, I've had the opportunity to try.

Amatriciana – this dish is usually served with bacon, but I just managed to hit the moment, kiedy pan Ryszard dysponował pig cheek, which is quite fatty meat from pig's cheek, które to teoretycznie powinno znaleźć się w amatriciana. I took the opportunity to ask for the half and half version, z boczkiem i pig cheek. Have to admit, that the structure of the meat was moderately appetizing for the Polish consumer, for it resembled lard, however, its smoky aftertaste was surprisingly pleasant. Następnym razem pewnie pójdę na całość i zamówię wersję zawierającą 100% pig cheek.

Carbonaranietypowa wersja carbonara w wykonaniu pana Ryszarda nie zawiera śmietany, as Marta mentioned above. On the other hand, fried yolk and a delicate hint of fried garlic go wonderfully with lightly browned bacon, a w moim przypadku pig cheek. Lick your fingers! Unless I normally eat this dish, I will definitely order them in Maccheroni.

Tomato and basil – and this, in turn, is probably the simplest pasta dish, which are eaten every day in Italy. Tomato sauce and lots of freshly chopped basil, under a quilt of Parmesan cheese is a dish that is easy to prepare, and at the same time tasty and filling.

Oprócz tomato and basil ja z kolei kosztowałam:

Spiced chicken – according to the menu it was supposed to be a dish consisting of chicken, herbs, dried tomatoes, possibly cream; I got a custom version with a small amount of dried tomatoes, instead, a few broccoli florets were thrown into it. The dish was very tasty, thanks to the cream very gentle (which is how I like it), brokuły zaś były przyrządzone al dente, making them a nice contrast to the soft noodles.

Cooked ham and peas – very delicately dish, as probably all of them with cream sauces. Dish, except pasta, it contained centimeter squares of cooked ham and fried fresh (I mean frozen) peas. Curiosity bites me, how it would taste in a version with canned peas.

Gnocchi – it's potato noodles, which at Mr. Ryszard's we can try in two versions: alla sorrentina, czyli w sosie pomidorowym z mozzarellą lub w wersji with gorgonzola – with gorgonzola cheese in a cream sauce. I have to admit, that the second option, prepared in a custom version with the addition of chicken is probably my favorite dish in this restaurant.

And this time I will reveal my secret, jak Dominik w przypadku zup-kremów. I don't like pasta and I rarely eat it (most often in soup, possibly from the big bell I make pasta with spinach). I love potatoes, I like rice, while pasta and groats (but good us couscous) jem, when i have to. But you have to admit, that especially in this mild version with cream, in which it was served to me in Maccheroni, I like pasta very much and I think back to it very often; to be honest, we have been combining very often lately, when to skip home cooking and go to Mr. Ryszard's for another portion. You guys should come over there too, to enjoy traditional Italian cuisine.