This is another post on our trip to Mohegan Sun this past weekend. As mentioned in my previous recap, our dinner at Todd English’s Tuscany was so incredible that it deserved it’s own little space on Healthy and Sane.

The restaurant is at the heart of the casino. You can’t miss the giant waterfall. I always wondered if this place was just gimmicky or actually good – the reviews online seemed to go both ways.

We had reservations for 2, with Mohegan Sun covering a portion of our bill. Last minute, when Kyle and Tiffany decided to join us for dinner, we changed the reservations to 4. The restaurant was happy to accommodate all of us, no questions asked. Fantastic! We chose to sit “outside” – it’s definitely a great people watching spot.

It was a bit dark so please forgive my photos. Hopefully the descriptions will do the place more justice. I’ll start by saying that from the moment we walked in, we were all treated like VIPs. Granted, they knew I was a blogger and wanted to make the best impression possible, but it still all felt very special.

Onion bread + olive tapenade and white bean dip to munch on while perusing the menus.

I saw the onion chunks on top so I took the top off and tried the rest since Adam, Kyle and Tiffany were all loving it. I thought the bread was stale (they thought I was crazy) and the olive tapenade was definitely better than the bean dip. We ordered a bottle of wine (it was great, we had 2 with dinner)…

… and this is when our menus were taken away. What? The manager (?) asked if there was anything we liked, didn’t like, etc. I said “no onions” but otherwise we’re flexible. The answer to that was: “We’ll just play around then if that’s ok.” Definitely okay!

We didn’t know what to expect since we never placed any orders. When the first plates came out, we knew this was going to be fun!

The antipasti plate included prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers, roasted tomatoes, pecorino romano, spiced nuts, crackers and mustard. Everything was super fresh – the roasted red peppers were definitely the highlight for me with the sharp pecorino romano a close second. That horrible picture on the right (it took me a little while to get used to the lighting, change lenses, etc.) is for one of Tuscany’s signature flatbreads – Tuscan: fontina, gorgonzola, prosciutto, rosemary-fig jam. I think this one really blew everyone away. The crust was perfectly grilled and chewy and the combo of sweet figs and savory cheese and prosciutto is always a winner. Kyle and Tiffany, I believe, said they don’t like figs yet were more than happy to dig in to this beau. They took the rest of it home (our waiter “warned” us that we were about to get a lot of food so it would be smart to pace ourselves).

Next up was our first pasta dish. Yes, first. There were 3. Spaghetti polpettine “Brooklyn” style – handcrafted meatballs, roasted tomato sauce, basil, parmigiano-regianno

Quick side note – you guys know that a few months ago I stopped eating meat that I don’t know the origin of and that I have no certainty came from humanely raised animals. In order to experience what Tuscany had to offer to the fullest (and because I knew that Kyle and Tiffany were not big fish/seafood eaters), I chose to have the chef showcase his favorite dishes, even if they contained meat. I had a little bite of the meat items so that I could review them, but for the most part was more comfortable filling up on the vegetarian and fish items.

Such was the case with the first pasta dish. I tasted the meatball – it was flavorful although a little dry in my opinion. The pasta, however, more accurately the roasted tomato sauce I guess – was amazing. Really amazing. It was deep flavored and fresh. And yes, the pasta itself was perfectly cooked as well. It’s funny how simple pasta with tomato sauce sounds but it really was perfection. I knew we had 2 more pasta dishes coming (I thought that was it though, ha!) so I restrained from polishing this off. The excitement for what was to come next was really building up…

Fettuccini carbonara – guanciale, fried yolk, peas

How cute is this presentation? We were instructed to very carefully break the yolk and mix it all in.

This action shot just brought back the memories of this meal and made my mouth water a bit. I think it’s no surprise that I’m not “fettucini carbonara” kind of girl. Cooking with loads of butter and cream is cheating in my opinion, and I’m not so easily fooled (or at least I’d like to think so). This fettucini carbonara, however, I was all about. It wasn’t heavy or cream laden. Yes it was creamy, but perfectly so. The freshly broken egg yolk coated each noodle perfectly. The peas added a touch of brightness. This was one of the best dishes of the night. No doubt.

Another pasta dish? You got it. Strozzapreti – spinach, lemon zest, toasted almonds, buratta

This was served family-style to us because apparently a fish course and a steak tasting course were coming next. The noodles were delicious. I liked the buratta, but I think this was the least impactful dish of the bunch. A little too mild. Maybe we were just pasta-ed out.

It’s fish time! Branzino acqua pazza with parsley, carrot and shallot salad and garlicky spinach

Did you guys know that I used to waitress when I first moved to NY after college, while looking for a “real job?” It was at an Italian restaurant that no longer exists (in fact the whole building was taken down and replaced by a fancy hotel). Sometimes we had branzino specials. It’s a beautiful Mediterranean white fish. We used to serve it whole and filled it table-side. I got pretty good at that. Anyways, I tell you this because when I hear branzino, I automatically assume “whole fish” and was ready to see some shocked faces from Kyle and Tiffany. What we got, of course (see above), were beautiful fillets of branzino. It had such delicate flavor, not fishy whatsoever. Just gorgeous. Unfortunately I didn’t try the salad (see in the description – shallots. I don’t do shallots) but I’m sure it added a nice crunch and freshness. The garlicky spinach (and mashed potatoes? Too much food… I’m starting to forget the details now) were delicious. This was also in the running for the winning dish of the night. Fantastic!

Last savory course – steak tasting – hangar, rib-eye and porterhouse steaks over mashed potatoes and broccolini.

The steaks were cooked medium-rare. Definitely more rare than I prefer so just the look of it was a little distracting. With that said, I tried them all and they were very flavorful. The steak are wood-fired at Tuscany and the chef came out later on and told us how proud he is of their steaks. There is a lot to be proud of. Adam said these were possibly better than Mooo – that’s a giant compliment. I really liked the seasoning too – lots of salt and pepper on the outside “crust”. We were pretty stuffed by this point and Adam took most of it home and enjoyed lots of delicious looking steak sandwiches and hearty dinners for lunch and dinner the next 2 days (I ate most of the broccolini – haha).

We’re near the end. No meal of course can be complete without dessert. We were served 4 delicious looking cannoli stuffed with ricotta and choc chips.

I, amazingly enough, paced myself and was ready for dessert. These cannoli, as beautiful as they were, unfortunately were way too heavy and the shell was slightly soggy. We all left dessert mostly untouched. Maybe that’s for the better

Happy customers, happy bellies.

Check out the amount of leftovers we took… don’t they look heavy? They were!

So that was dinner. Seriously one of the most amazing dining experiences we’ve ever had. Obviously being treated pretty much like royalty was really nice but the whole tasting menu experience, with the chef being in control of what was served and not knowing what was coming next was exhilarating. And the chef delivered. Each dish was different and delicious.

Take-aways: 1) We need to do more chef’s tastings. 2) Tuscany is a fantastic dining option at Mohegan Sun – we will definitely be back there on our next visit. Thank you, again, Mohegan Sun and everyone at Tuscany for such a wonderful experience!

Have you ever had a chef’s tasting? What did you think? Did you like letting go of control for a change?

Also, have you ever been to any of Todd English’s restaurants… or any other “celebrity chef” restaurants for that matter?

Can’t wait to hear your answers!

Ok, now that we got pickles out of our system (oh wait, just me?), let’s talk a little about steak houses, more specifically Mooo – the place Adam chose to celebrate his birthday this year (and also 3 years ago). Mooo is located in the XV Hotel in Beacon Hill and has a very modern vibe. It’s definitely not your traditional stuffy suit-dominated steak house. I kind of think of it as an upscale restaurant that happens to specialize in grass-fed steaks. The little grass pots decorating each table are reminders of the latter.

It was pretty dark in there, but I managed to snap a few decent photos; they may not be raiser sharp but I think they look more intimate (and natural) this way. Hello, birthday boy! <3

We decided a long time ago that we are not knowledgeable enough about wine to spend too much money on it; I’d rather spend a little extra on the meal. I let Adam choose a bottle for us and he ordered the cheapest one – Rock & Vine cabernet blend. It was a little sweet, kind of like table wine. Very drinkable but not exactly refined. The price was right though.

As much as Adam loves steak houses, the two things he couldn’t stop talking about after our last trip to Mooo were lobster bisque and Mooo’s bread rolls. I believe these are brioche buns – so buttery, soft and warm. Yum!

Adam ordered just that for his appetizer. I chose a lighter starter – arugula, lemon, parmesan, and oven cured tomato salad

I enjoyed the freshness of the salad – it was very lightly dressed, letting the peppery arugula and sharp parmesan stand out. The oven cured tomato was basically a sun-dried tomato made in the oven (I know, a very technical description but I bet you know exactly what it tasted like now, right?). I didn’t care for the bread sticks – they were tasteless and stale. No worries, I was happy to eat my 2 little brioche buns.

It’s funny how certain places can send you straight back to a different time in your life. Adam said the second he stepped in Mooo, he immediately was transformed to our lives 3 years ago – we just recently got engaged and moved to Boston. It was all good memories. We really enjoyed just relaxing and reminiscing, while waiting for our entrees.

I didn’t order steak. I had every intention of doing so but the scallops “spoke” to me and Adam assured me that it was ok (I thought maybe it was a bit lame not to order steak at a steak house). Seared sea scallops, Georgia corn, chanterelles, whipped potato

Scallops, mushrooms and corn are a fabulous combo. This dish was (by-the-book) perfectly executed – the scallops were moist on the inside and perfectly seared on the inside. They were lovely, really. Unfortunately the dish overall was not particularly exciting. I like a little twist to the traditional – a little heat, or maybe a fresh pop of something? I didn’t get that here (although I did take over half of it home and gave the leftovers another life, my style, the next day – details to come in a different post ).

Adam’s steak with red wine sauce was very good. The truffle fries were even better. I had a few. I loooooove truffle fries.

For dessert, I ordered the chocolate stout cake (dark chocolate cake, chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream) to share. The server set up a little special surprise for Adam. He was so surprised in fact, that he forgot to make a wish before blowing the candle. I made him make a wish later – all is well.

The cake was… meh. Kind of cold, hard, and not particularly fresh. Tasted like supermarket cake to me. Adam also said the ice cream was icy (I didn’t even touch it). We both picked at the cake for a minute and left the rest. The bus boy was shocked we didn’t want to take the rest home. Sorry, this cake isn’t worth it.

Chocolate covered marshmallows came with the check. We each took a tiny bite and again left the rest. It was nothing special.

Overall, the dinner was lovely. We enjoyed the atmosphere, our waiter was very attentive without being overly eager and annoying and the food (except dessert) was solid (although in my opinion not particularly inventive). We will likely be back… in a few years (for Adam’s birthday?). This is the best steak house in Boston in our experience when you combine quality of food, service and the overall vibe.

How do you feel about steak houses in general? My thesis is that it’s a “guy thing.”

We’re off to continue birthday celebrations at Mohegan Sun!! Adam is like a little kid on Christmas morning right now.

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For other restaurant reviews, check out my Restaurant Reviews page.