text: FUGGEDABOUTIT! If this is how food tastes in Italy then Arthur Avenue in the Bronx will be my Italian vacation destination. Nothing was really very good except the potatoes. I must admit that the Pellegrino water was perfectly chilled and we drank 2 bottles. So here is the laundry list:\n\n1) Odd smell when we walked in.\n2) Bread, OK but butter in little Coffee Shop plastic tubs. ( I know but...)\n3) Server was fast and attentive, however, his wine recommendation was not one I would have made if I wanted to increase my tip.\n4) Wine, barely OK\n5) Arancini, not hot, overcooked rice, and not much flavor\n6) Zuppa di Cozze e Vongole, pretty good broth and clams, mussels had a bad texture and were obviously frozen.\n7) Eggplant Parmigiana, Not good at all, hardly any eggplant or eggplant flavor. Tasted mostly of soggy toasted breadcrumbs.\n8) Veal Saltimbocca, barely OK, veal was tough and I did not detect any fresh sage in the dish. Sauce and overall preparation was barely OK.\n9) Roasted Potatoes, this was by far the best dish we had, pretty damn good but these are not on the menu and not always available.\n10) Tiramisu, Tasty but a little strange, no espresso or rum flavor. Seemed to have used Limoncello instead to dip the Ladyfingers.\n11) Mini Cannolis, inedible, so cute but flavored with banana extract and Amaretto.\nTasted like Bubble gum and not very good Bubble gum. Taken off the check.\n12) Double Espresso, quite acceptable.\n\nI had high hopes about Gina's Bistro, the Yelp reviews were mostly positive and a coworker from Italy recommended it highly. He has already been taken off my reliable list. Bottom line, I spent $142 for a seriously flawed meal for 2. Parma Deli would have been a much better choice, even Mezzo which has dropped so much in quality is preferable to Gina's. Way too many problems to have just been an off night. I will never return and can only recommend to stay away.