Italian Food – Road Warrior Dining

Veneto Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta

Veneto Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta in Rochester NY, is a must visit Italian Restaurant. The food is made fresh in a kitchen where you can watch your food being made.

Truthfully, if Veneto Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta in Rochester NY, had not been recommended to me, I’m not sure I would have stopped. The old saying is, don’t judge a book by its cover. Veneto is a must visit Italian restaurant. There is a lot to be said about a restaurant where the food is made fresh in a kitchen where you can watch your food being prepared.

One of the things that struck me was that Veneto was packed on a Wednesday night. I was lucky enough to find an open table. They have live music on Wednesday nights, but I’m certain that it was the food that was drawing in the crowd.

Veneto is not your standard pizza joint. The menu reads as if you are eating at a finer dining Italian restaurant with selections such as Pasta con Funghi and Prosciutto with Peas Alfredo. I’m not sure if Lasagna is something you would expect to be served in a fine dining Italian restaurant, but it’s definitely not on the menu at Veneto. It took me a while, but I finally settled on the Veal Piccata special.

Veneto Veal Piccata — Veneto’s Veal Piccata

The Veal Piccata at Veneto is not a menu item. Fortunately for me it was one of the specials on the night I visited. Veal Piccata is simple, yet a complex dish. The thinly slice veal, is breaded and cooked to a golden brown, then laid over pasta. They finish the dish by coating the veal with a buttery, tangy lemon sauce with capers. In Veneto’s rendition of Veal Piccata, they have added spinach. This was a perfectly balanced dish. The veal was cooked to perfection and I could not get enough of the sauce. Veneto makes Bucatini pasta in house. With the center of the Bucatini pasta being hollow, allowing the sauce to penetrate the pasta. This makes for an exceptional bite.

My only complaint was that I ate a full-sized salad and was not able to finish my Veal Piccata. While waiting for my food, I was watching some of the other dishes being served. There are a lot of meals I want to try. At the top of my list is their Wood Fired Pizza. Pizza was the reason I went to Veneto in the first place.

I highly recommend Veneto Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta in Rochester NY. If you are in the Rochester area check them out. Have you been to Veneto? Do you have a favorite Italian Restaurant in the Rochester NY area? Please leave your comments below.

Fratelli’s Italian & Seafood

Top notch service combined with excellent food, makes Fratelli’s in Hampstead MD, my choice of one of the best Italian restaurants in the region.

There are a lot of good Italian restaurants in this country. So, what sets them apart? To start with customer service. Fratelli’s Italian & Seafood restaurant in Hampstead MD has customer service you would expect in a fine dining establishment. At Fratelli’s the staff is over the top in their customer service. I can’t remember the last time I ate at a restaurant and my table stayed so clean. When I finished eating there wasn’t even a crumb left on the table. Customer service means nothing if the food is bad; not an issue at Fratelli’s. The couple that recommended them to me was spot on. They told me they serve the best Lasagna around. I whole heartily agree.

Out of politeness, I let the waitress run through the specials, but I knew my order before walking in the door. I wanted to see what my friends considered the best Lasagna around. To start with the portion was good sized. In my first bite I noticed the sauce had a perfectly balanced spice level. My biggest complaint when I eat Italian food is when the sauce has a strong tomato taste and not much else. This was not the case with Fratelli’s Lasagna. The next thing I noticed the ricotta cheese was not overpowering. The ricotta cheese was perfectly proportioned. My final observation was even the ground beef was season just right. After eating Fratelli’s Lasagna, I’m looking forward to telling my friends they are right; I can’t think of a better Lasagna served anywhere?

Fratelli's Cesar Salad — Fratelli’s Cesar Salad

The Cesar Salad at Fratelli’s is good, but if I have one complaint, I would serve it with shaved parmigiana cheese instead of shredded parmigiana. I realize this is a preference, but most fine dining restaurants used shaved parmigiana. I do like that the salad was tossed. It drives me crazy to have the dressing served on the side. Score another one for Fratelli’s.

Hampstead MD is home to an Italian restaurant that is fine dining, without the fine dining prices. I will definitely be returning the next time I’m in the mood for Italian food.

Have you been to Fratelli’s or do you have a favorite Italian restaurant. Leave your comments below.

Cafe Europa Bistro and Wine Bar

Cafe Europa in Portsmouth Virginia is in a category of it’s own. Fine dining that is influence by French, Italian, and Mediterranean cuisines.

Portsmouth Virginia is home to one of the finest restaurants on the East Coast, Cafe Europa. Dining at Cafe Europa you get the feeling that you are dining at a French restaurant, but the truth is Chef Michael serves up French and Italian dishes, with a Mediterranean influence. Cafe Europa is a Bistro in the truest sense of the word. They are a small unpretentious restaurant that serves an international cuisine. To give you an impression of how good Cafe Europa is, people boating up and down the coast of Virginia, will turn up the Elizabeth River and dock in Portsmouth, just to have a meal there. This is saying something when they could just as easy dock on the other side of the river and eat at one of the many fine restaurants in Norfolk.

Polenta 1_edited — Cafe Europa Polenta Gorgonzola

On this particular evening we were served up two outstanding appetizers Polenta Gorgonzola and Mussels Marinieres. My personal favorite is Cafe Europa’s Polenta Gorgonzola. The polenta is grilled and then rested on a rich and decadent Gorgonzola cheese sauce. This is a little slice of heaven and my favorite way to eat polenta.

The Mussels Marinieres is served in a white wine and butter herb sauce. The sauce is exquisite. Make sure you ask for extra bread to soak up the sauce. The Mussels Marinieres is not on the menu, it is usually offered as an appetizer special. On the menu they do offer a Mussels Provencal, the difference is it is served with a Pernod, tomato based sauce. Either appetizer will be a special treat.

Hungarian Veal 2 — Cafe Europa Hungarian Veal

Have you ever had veal that melts in your mouth? Whether you have or haven’t, Cafe Europa’s Hungarian Veal with Potato Noki was the star of the evening. The tomato-based sauce with it’s hint of paprika is Chef Michael’s way of paying homage to flavors of the Mediterranean. The sauce is a perfect accompaniment to the veal. I had to ask for another couple pieces of bread to lap up the sauce. The veal is so tender, it just melts in your mouth. I seriously considered asking for another order to go. This has to be the best veal I have ever had.

All of Cafe Europa’s desserts are made in house. As with the appetizers, every night the dessert menu changes. Talk about a challenge for the waitress, imagine having to memorize 16 or so desserts every night. You would be hard pressed not to find something you desire. Dessert this evening consisted of a slice of Apple Galette, pictured, and slice of Conversation Tart. The Conversation Tart is a puff pastry filled with an almond filling. I have tried my fair share of their desserts; I have never been disappointed.

Looking for an intimate evening out, or dining at a restaurant that leaves you feeling as if you just had a meal with old friends, Cafe Europa is definitely worth checking out. If you are in the Portsmouth or Norfolk Virginia area, call and reserve a table at Cafe Europa Bistro and Wine Bar. Have you been to Cafe Europa or have a favorite Bistro, share your comments below.

Gallo Pizza & Italian Restaurant

Family owned and operated, Gallo Pizza & Italian Restaurant of New Oxford PA, offers a taste of Italy.

It took a couple of tries to finally eat Gallo Pizza, but it was well worth the wait. One of the keys of making a restaurant a destination worth driving to is word of mouth. I was talking to a friend one morning in a coffee shop, when he recommended Gallo Pizza. The first time I tried to go there, the restaurant was closed and family was vacationing in Italy. Then the other day I was in a shop talking with the owner of Dawg Gone Honey. I told her I was looking to eat lunch. She recommended Gallo Pizza. The cherry on top was she told me they were back from vacation.

Gallo Veal Parm 2 — Gallo Pizza Veal Parmesan

I have been looking for a good Italian restaurant in the area for a while now. I have visited Italian restaurants that claim to be authentic; yet they seem to forget something as basic as seasoning. This is not the case with Gallo Pizza. I decided to try their Veal Parmesan. Even before I took that first bite, I was pleasantly surprised by the portion size. There was definitely enough for leftovers. I tried the spaghetti with marinara sauce first. The sauce is balanced, well season, not overly seasoned. It wasn’t watery. The Veal is hand pounded, lightly breaded, and deep fried. My first bite left me looking forward to my next bite. This is exactly what I was expecting. I mentioned leftovers. Not today.

Stuffed pizza, another Chicago original. You might ask, what is the difference between a Stromboli and a Stuffed Pizza. The biggest difference is the pizza sauce is not baked inside the Stromboli, it is normally served in a separate dish. My preference between the two is the Stuffed Pizza. I can’t really say what is my favorite style of pizza. If I had to decide whether to go to New York, the original home of pizza, or Chicago, I would most likely choose Chicago. I do enjoy a good slice, but in Chicago you have both Deep Dish and Stuffed Pizzas to choose from.

Gallo’s Stuffed Pizza is execeptionally good. I wouldn’t be surprised if each slice weighed a half of pound or more. No cheap ingredients here. The meat lover’s pizza featured here has Ham, Pepperoni, Salami, Sausage, Ground Beef, Bacon & Extra Cheese. They finish this pizza off with a light coat of garlic oil on the outer crust. Bite after bite, I could find nothing wrong with this pizza. Not all pizzas are created equal. Nothing worse than a restaurant using cheap tasteless toppings. This is not the issue here, Gallo’s Stuffed Pizza is one of the best in the area.

Gallo Pizza & Italian Restaurant is definitely a destination worth driving to. Just make sure you come hungry. Another plus is they are not over priced, so bring the family. Have you been to Gallo Pizza or have a favorite Pizza Restaurant, leave a comment.