Obviously, you have to wear a mask. They welcome you by the terrasse at the back, which is pretty much a haven in the middle of the city, a little piece of heaven. It's the cutest thing: cute little tables, cute little chairs, cute little lights, and cute little plants and flowers. Oh, did I mention that it was cute? It's basically the epitome of cuteness.
We were welcomed quickly, and seated quickly. By the by, in these COVID times, it's always better to reserve beforehand! We got water right away and we ordered very quickly as well. The waitress showed us a QR code that our phones were supposed to decipher for us, but both our phones (or us?) failed. We just went on their website :) They don't have as many choices on their menu as usual, which is just fine. The important ones were still there: PASTA!
We ordered bread first. Bread and pasta: carbs much? Hahaha! The bread was hot, which is always a relief: I loaf getting cold bread. I mean loathe, hehe. Seriously, when it arrives cold, I almost can't help myself and look at the waiter with a face meaning 'is this a JOKE?'. The butter was this composed butter of trufle and wild mushrooms. Ugh... YASS! Come to mama. That with the hot bread was just p-e-r-f-e-c-t. It took us less time than we were proud of to finish the bread.
Mushroom fettucine with creme sauce, button mushrooms and wild mushrooms, parmesan, and truffle oil. Just thinking about it makes me happy. The fettucine were cooked to perfection: I hate a soft noodle almost as much as I despise a hard one. OK, that sounded very inappropriately sexual. You know what I mean. The arugula gave some spice to it all, and the mushrooms were sooooo good. Great. Creamy. Perf.
The gnocchi (not pictured, Vino dug in too fast 😏) were stuffed with mozzarella and tomato. I'd describe the gnocchi as being like the most comfortable pillow you could ever sleep on. Now, imagine that pillow being in heaven. Softest damn thing in the world (or heaven, I guess). Supes tasty and cheesy and all that good stuff. No wonder my friend Bridget likes them so much: she orders them every time she goes to Machiavelli!
We had dessert. Obviously we were full enough, satisfied enough. But argh, who can resist THIS? We shared, of course. Ok, not 'of course', cause we are cray cray enough to have one each. But we DID share :) OH. MY. GAWD. Just look at it. LOOOOOK! I present to you, the decadent brownie, in all its glory. Sweet, soft, hot goodness with french vanilla ice cream on top, and a port and fresh berries atop THAT. Holy sh*t: decadence at its best. And then we died. A good death, mind you. The brownie was hot (just like bread, brownies should NOT be served cold), the ice cream was cold (haha!) and not all melted by the time it got to our table. The coulis on top was such a good addition to this dish, and went perfectly with the chocolate AND the ice cream.
As if our meal wasn't satisfactory enough, the lovely owner (she IS freaking lovely), Natassia, comes up to me and gives me a gift certificate for a picnic for 2! See, I had booked a table for myself and Bridget a couple weeks back and a water main had flooded the street (or something equally uncool), and our resa was canceled :( That was SOOOO nice! We are trying that picinic this weekend! I feel like every time I got to Machia's, she does something special for me. I should give back. A present of sorts. Maybe I should give her GOLD. Where can one get that? I'll look. Well I AM booking two evenings for my birthday at the resto, so... were good? Hahaha!
Service was very good. She took care of all the tables and I, myself, would've probably either died OR been found in a corner, shaking. Ya, I'm just not meant to be a waitress. Not at all. We also got our bill quickly, which is a plus. I hate waiting around to leave.
And now, les scores!
Service: 9
Food: 9
Do I even NEED to say I'll be back? Mmmya, that's what I thought.