Ang Dabawenyo

Tomorrow is my folks’ wedding anniversary, but my brother Jake, who’s in town for the long weekend, would be heading back to Manila already, so we decided to take Mom and Pop out for lunch today. We brought them to Picobello Ristorante Italiano, which is a great little place for family get-togethers.

Picobello’s offerings are some of the best you’ll ever find in Davao, whether you’re a fan of Italian food or not. Their pizzas sell like crazy, and their other pasta dishes are just heavenly! And to top it all off, Picobello’s waitstaff are well-trained and show it with their brand of service.

For the life of me, I forgot to take pictures of what we ordered today! For some photos of their food, why don’t you head on over to Davao’s Food Huntress‘ review of Picobello?

For starters, we had Crema di Pomodori, which is my favorite. It’s so creamy and thick and tastes positively healthy! For the main course, we had La Decisione — for the undecided, with grilled marlin and a steak of beef in 2 different but complementing sauces. Pollo al Forno — juicy, oven-baked chicken breast that’s decidedly Italian in flavor. Costoletta something (I really should take down notes next time) — a dish with a huge slab of tender pork chops. And Tortellini, another favorite of mine, with those tasty pasta bags of ground beef. Plus, sinfully rich risotto.

My brother and his girlfriend Cara had the Cassata Napolitana for dessert. It’s an ice cream cake, and looks so colorful and pretty. I didn’t try it, though, because I was enjoying the Tiramisu, which went so perfectly with Picobello’s brewed coffee. According to the menu, it’s Italy’s national dessert. How interesting.

Picobello Ristorante Italiano. Very highly recommended! The place is comfortable and classy, and the service is excellent. The price? Well, my brother and I paid less than P1,500 for the above (plus drinks and a salad).

They’re located at the 5th floor of Gaisano South Citimall in downtown Davao, and they’re open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. For reservations, call (82)221-1696. They’re going to have a website very soon — I’ll announce it on this blog as soon as it’s up!

Here are some stock photos, courtesy of my friend, Rochelle Venuti: