Trattoria Al Forno

As I mentioned, Triple-D and I went to Haverhill to take advantage of Restaurant Week at this place in Haverhill.

Aside from the incessant bickering and swearing, it was really good.

You get 3 courses for $33.08. For starters, we got Scallops con Salse di Arancia and Portobella Al Forno.

The description of the scallops said pan seared, so I was a little surprised when they arrived with some kind of breading on them. Not being a fan of scallops so much, I found this appetizer to be just "okay." The orange butter sauce was good, though.

The portobella, however, was absolutely heavenly. Chargrilled and topped with prosciutto, spinach, romano cheese and bread crumbs, baked and drizzled with balsamic glaze ... I could have happily eaten a few more and called it dinner.

For main course, I chose the Vitello Saltimboca and D had another veal dish that wasn't actually on the Restaurant Week menu, Vitello Francaise. We were going to get a pizza, since that's what the place is kind of known for, but ... we didn't.

My veal was pan seared and topped with prosciutto, spinach and provolone cheese and finished with a sage wine butter sauce. I really like both veal and prosciutto, but I found the latter too salty for my taste when eaten in the same mouthful with the meat. The veal was very tender and tasty, so I ate them separately and was a happy camper.

D loved her dish and raved about it; she also really liked this elaborate martini with, I think, Kahlua and Grey Goose.

There was a couple sitting down from us at the bar, and the woman said she and her husband always ordered 3 appetizers and that was it. They had ordered the scallops and the portobella and a wedge pancetta, which was a piece of art (a huge wedge of lettuce covered with crumbled bleu cheese, carmelized pecans, red grapes, and, I presume pancetta).

Anyway, as I said, aside from the arguing, it was really good.

We continued to argue, all the way back to Newburyport ... !