When the Florida winter finally decides to show up, the rare, breezy nights when jackets are placed upon tank tops, and students start craving something different. Not something quick like fast food or microwave dinners. Something warm, filling and nostalgic. That\u2019s where I found myself at \u201cTwo Meatballs in the Kitchen,\u201d located in Fort Myers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as you walk through the doors, the atmosphere hits you immediately. Red checkered patterns set the tone, giving off a classic sense of comfort, and to your right stands a human-sized chef figure wearing an iconic \u201cMeatball Mafia\u201d shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As you tread deeper inside the restaurant, the lighting dims, the tables sit close together and the space feels packed together like a family dinner. The service at \u201cTwo Meatballs in the Kitchen\u201d is just as comforting as the atmosphere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That welcoming service sets the tone for what truly matters and that\u2019s the food that\u2019s meant to feel home-cooked. It\u2019s impossible not to get excited when the dishes arrive. While the food at \u201cTwo Meatballs in the Kitchen\u201d leaned heavily toward the comfort zone, the flavors were subtler than anticipated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Our table started with the Mozzarella Squares, fresh mozzarella coated in breadcrumbs, lightly fried and served with a warm bowl of marinara. Whereas the marinara sauce was smooth and creamy, the squares were overcooked. On the other hand, the fresh garlic buns were a standout. They were served warm, soaked in spices and oil, and topped with parmesan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moving into the entr\u00e9es, I settled on Alaina\u2019s Baked Pasta for $21.99. It included a mix of grilled chicken, shrimp and prosciutto tossed in a creamy sauce, baked with mozzarella and served over campanelle. Naturally, I needed a Caesar salad on the side, because an authentic girl dinner is never complete without a little Caesar salad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dish itself was comforting without being overly heavy, making it easier to enjoy. The shrimp, however, wasn\u2019t the strongest part of the dish. It was a bit dry and dense. The chicken leaned on the tough side, though I\u2019ll admit I\u2019m especially picky when it comes to how chicken is cooked. Where the dish genuinely succeeded was the creamy sauce, which paired extremely well with the noodles and salty prosciutto, tying everything together in a way that would be better on its own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When it comes to value and portion size, it is generous, particularly by college student standards. The main entr\u00e9e portion was large, with a hefty serving of pasta that could easily be used for leftovers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of that said, whether it\u2019s worth the price is debatable. While the portion size delivers, the atmosphere is soft, and the service is incredibly kind. It feels as if you\u2019re paying more for comfort than quality. For students on a budget, it\u2019s filling and nostalgic, but not necessarily a steal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the Florida winter finally decides to show up, the rare, breezy nights when jackets are placed upon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31619,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-142060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}