Ok, we have been rushing around a bit more than usual, Oma (Grandmother) my Mother-in-Law, has been in hospital getting a pacemaker fitted and fitting in awkward visiting hours with the necessities of the working day has taken a toll on my kitchen management skills, The freezer is due to an urgent and rather desperate defrost so all my pre-made meals that I had stashed, have been raided in an attempt to free up some space. Usually we heat-and-eat an easy freezer meal about once a week, but with hospital visiting hours conflicting with our kids tummy rumbles we’ve upped that ration to almost every night for the last two weeks so now the freezer supply is seriously low, the freezer defrost chore is looming and we are looking for a bit more variety…We used to get excellent spareribs at a place that closed down a few years back, since then we are on the lookout for anything that might measure up favourably to those. It’s time to hit the Take-Away section of the phone book and try our luck, Here is tonights result:
Porto Bello (Pizza)Spareribs etc, Soetsdijkseplein 20, Den Haag, Tel 070-3615281
Ordered online
1x Spareribs (van de steengrill)Spareribs €9,20 (Hubby’s score = 8/10)
1x Spareribs bijgerechten Gebakken aardappels €1,80
1x Spareribs bijgerechten Knoflooksaus €0,90
1x Bijgerechten Pane burro aglio (garlic bread)€2,25
1x Pasta’s Lasagna bolognese €8,90
Bezorging: GRATIS ( delivered at home)
Time to arrive:17.45-18.05 (20 minutes)
Totale prijs: €23,05
Review: Firstly, they completely forgot to add the Garlic Sauce for the ribs (1x Spareribs bijgerechten Knoflooksaus €0,90 ) and not getting an item we paid for (no matter how small) looses brownie points very quickly indeed.
Hubby gave the Spare Ribs a score of 8/10 and said that they were actually pretty good, the aardappels (potato wedges) were ok-ish they were edible but not much more. Garlic butter tasted very nice too, and there was a decent amount of it which always delights me, but the bread to go with it was very thick and doughy. The lasagne tasted ok, the meat sauce was tasty (better than others we have tried so far) but the meat was only on the top layer more or less and all the other layers were cheese lasagne, cheese lasagne ,cheese lasagne and by half way it was very heavy going and waaay too cheesy, even for a confirmed cheese fanatic. More of the same meat in the layers would have been a better idea by far.
There was a number to call if there was something wrong with your order but who wants to have to get up from the rest of their meal with sticky spare-rib fingers to fuss at the door getting such a small item fixed? Or let the rest of the food go cold while you wait for the missed item?After the meal I did call their restaurant customer line just to let them know that they had missed an item and that the lasagne was very overly cheesy, but also to compliment them on the ribs. They were pleased for the compliment about the ribs, so-so about the complaints about the cheese, pretty much saying ” it’s the way we make it, take it or leave it” and offering at least an apology for the missed sauce.
Ok, we know not to have the same level of expectation for take-a-way food as we do for real quality sit-down restaurant food, but you do pay a decent amount for it after all so my expectation should be that you at least should get a meal that you enjoy, even on take-away expectations.
Overall: the spareribs were definitely the best that Hubby has found since our original favourite place went out of business years ago, I was disappointed that the rest of their menu that we tried tonight didn’t match up nearly as well to the quality of the ribs. Some subtle alterations to the layering of the lasagne could quickly make it into a winner.
