Not Sold on Naboo

This article was originally written by Rachel Orland and edited by Grace Tipps, Taylor Glissman and Aly O'Shea for a student run blog, Ciao Down. Photos are by Emily Turner.

Not far outside the encompassing walls of Arezzo is the small restaurant of Naboo. I walked there for dinner one Friday evening with high hopes. There are closer restaurants in Arezzo, but I wanted a change of scenery and a menu that I hadn’t yet memorized. I saw the large, gaudy sign for Naboo before noticing the small restaurant. Tucked unsuspectingly between towering apartments and swaying trees, Naboo’s tent-covered outdoor seating sits quietly in the shadows off a busy road.

My party and I walked in and were seated quickly after the staff pulled together a few tables. Dining groups of eight or nine can be overwhelming in small restaurants, but the owner and waiters graciously accommodated our large party. We were soon brought water and menus to pour over while debating the most common question I ask myself in Italian restaurants: pasta or pizza? However, Naboo also strayed so far as to include a hamburger that’s description wasn’t quite enticing enough to convince me. I ended up giving into the bruschetta for an antipasti, or appetizer, Bolognese ragu as my entrée and a glass of the house white wine.

I sat sipping the wine, which was a dry white as commonplace as Vespa on a sidewalk, and waited for my bruschetta. The tarp covering our seating area was filled with dogs barking. Outdoor seating is a common way many restaurants seat our large group. The star-filled sky and light breeze is the usual peaceful ambiance. Naboo’s noisy terrace, however, felt more like we were dining with the dogs in a backyard reserved for unlucky overflow.

I was just starting to eyeball servers walking past with plates and repeatedly glance at the kitchen entrance when my dish floated down in front of me. I looked down and saw big plate of thick pasta noodles covered in orange-red Bolognese sauce. Not necessarily unwelcome, but definitely not the bruschetta I expected.

Parmesan fell like snow on top of my mountain of pasta as the server sprinkled on more and more while waiting for me to say when. My personal preference of a cheesy dish kept him there long enough for me to ask about my bruschetta. Confused, he called the owner over. I explained that I had ordered an appetizer but never got it and he responded with a train of questions in rapid Italian and big hand gestures that could have easily knocked over a drink or two. I told him it was fine and waved the problem away not wanting to cause any more of a scene. He left me to my pasta but returned again half-way through my dish to tell me if I wanted it, he would bring the bruschetta. Although I was almost done with my first course, I wasn’t going to turn down an appetizer.

The out of order appetizer was Naboo’s redemption. They brought three crostini with different toppings. One was the typical tomato and mozzarella, another had sweet ham that tore easily with each bit of the crunchy cracker, the third mozzarella and pepperoni with a sauced that soaked the top layer of the crostini. The Bolognese sauce of my entree was light and tangy, the perfect partner for thick, rich noodles. While I enjoyed the dish, once the rose-colored glasses hunger puts on your taste buds were gone, I realized it was nothing to write home about. My heavy bias towards and love of pasta might sway me to say that the meal was worth the walk and the less than pleasant atmosphere when truthfully, I would not recommend making the trek for anything other than the bruschetta, which you may not even get.