Favourite Italian Restaurant & What do u have?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Margi Cintrano

Margi Cintrano

Washing Up
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
3,424
Location
Both in Italy and Spain
Good Afternoon,

I had been at the Condo until mid-afternoon, doing a Spring Cleaning ... It had been lovely to spend a week alone on the Adriatic ... Even bought some tagliatelli, lasagne sheets, fennel, calcots in Catalan ( flew back from Barcelona which was a stop I had made enroute for business ) ( pronounced Cal Sot; an extra long spring onion variety) and sun dried tomatoes back to Madrid ...

My favourites in Italia:

Ristorante Gambero Rossi on the northwestern Mediterranean Coast, in Liguria, La Corte Sconta ( for fish in Venice ), Ristorante Antico Martini across the square from the Teatro La Fenice ( Venice ) and in Bolognoa, Emilia Romagna ...

Look forward to hearing from you,
Margi Cintrano.
 
Last edited:
My House...there is not good Italian here in Missoula. The only locally owned (not a chain) has no idea what good Italian is, they excel in dry and burned.
 
My two favorites are in San Francisco, Scomas on Fisherman's Wharf for Italian seafood, and Stinking Rose in North Beach for everything else.

At Scomas I used to order Snapper Romano but they took it off the menu. I emailed them to complain and their chef sent me the recipe so now I make it at home my own self. One of my other favorites is their cioppino, which is arguably the best on the Wharf, and their crab louie is also excellent. I think for my next trip I am going to try their Prix Fixe Dinner, but it will be difficult to choose between the Broiled Wild Pacific Swordfish with Tuscan White Beans, Pancetta, Tomatoes & Organic Rainbow Chard and the Seared Wild Mahi Mahi with Sautéed Spinach, Dungeness Crab Ravioli & Fried Leeks.

At Stinking Rose I usually order eggplant pramigiana because it's too troublesome to make it at home for just me, but just about anything on the menu is good.

Oh, one other favorite was Borrelli's on Long Island, where I always ordered Malangnone a la Sicilian, but I haven't been there for over 20 years and it doesn't appear to be on the menu any more. Fortunately I have the recipe for that, too! I will make this for guests, but not just for me. Maybe I should. They grow beautiful eggplants here.
 
Last edited:
Locally, it's gone!:mad: Was called Antonello's. Family was from Abruzzi. No pizza on the menu.

The best we've found after that is in Daytona Beach. The Celler. About 220 miles away. Used to go there everytime we vended at the largest reptile show in the US.

In Italy, even the road side "fast food" places, I think they were called "Autogip", had better food than any like place in the US and probably even most Italian chains as well.

We did the tourist thing in Venice, having dinner at Cipriani, but the best food we had was at a little, back street place in Stresa. Maybe 10 tables. For the life of me, I can't remember the name. I should, because we went there before the Irish Pub and several Irish Coffees.
 
Last edited:
Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:
My two favorites are in San Francisco, Scomas on Fisherman's Wharf for Italian seafood, and Stinking Rose in North Beach for everything else.

At Scomas I used to order Snapper Romano but they took it off the menu. I emailed them to complain and their chef sent me the recipe so now I make it at home my own self. One of my other favorites is their cioppino, which is arguably the best on the Wharf, and their crab louie is also excellent. I think for my next trip I am going to try their Prix Fixe Dinner, but it will be difficult to choose between the Broiled Wild Pacific Swordfish with Tuscan White Beans, Pancetta, Tomatoes & Organic Rainbow Chard and the Seared Wild Mahi Mahi with Sautéed Spinach, Dungeness Crab Ravioli & Fried Leeks.

At Stinking Rose I usually order eggplant pramigiana because it's too troublesome to make it at home for just me, but just about anything on the menu is good.

Oh, one other favorite was Borrelli's on Long Island, where I always ordered Malangnone a la Sicilian, but I haven't been there for over 20 years and it doesn't appear to be on the menu any more. Fortunately I have the recipe for that, too! I will make this for guests, but not just for me. Maybe I should. They grow beautiful eggplants here.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing the information. Yes, I love Cassola or Cippioni which are both shellfish / seafood / fish based Bouillaibaisse --- I shall make a note in the California Book. I used to live in San Francisco many many years ago.
Margi
 
CraigC said:
Locally, it's gone!:mad: Was called Antonello's. Family was from Abruzzi. No pizza on the menu.

The best we've found after that is in Daytona Beach. The Celler. About 220 miles away. Used to go there everytime we vended at the largest reptile show in the US.

In Italy, even the road side "fast food" places, I think they were called "Autogip", had better food than any like place in the US and probably even most Italian chains as well.

We did the tourist thing in Venice, having dinner at Cipriani, but the best food we had was at a little, back street place in Stresa. Maybe 10 tables. For the life of me, I can't remember the name. I should, because we went there before the Irish Pub and several Irish Coffees.
Click to expand...
Thanks ... Always like to have an active positive thread ... It is always so interesting when, people talk about restaurants that are either memorable or terrible ...

ABRUZZI: this is the land of milk fed baby lamb and shepherds ...Ristorante La Bandiera is unforgettable and located up a long winding country road ... in the mountains above Pescara and worth the trip ... this is true farm to table ... The Panarda which is a 30 course meal, a traditional feast is amazing ... Thanks for contributing.
Margi.
 
Vitello's in Studio city, ca. It's not fancy, but the food is good. Some favorites - linguine and clams, carbonara & calzone. Years ago, Barone's.
 
There is one chain that we will never return to again. Macaroni Grill. Karen ordered a clam dish that they served with unopened clams. It got sent back. They brought out the same dish and the clams were open. Open via prying, busted pieces of shell from thier efforts included.:mad:
 
justplainbill said:
Ever tried their veal :) ?
Click to expand...

I do like veal. Not sure if I tried it at Vitello's - probably at Barone's. Never had a bad dish at either place. There are lots of good Italian restaurants, but find I like the older familiar restaurants best.
 
A favorite dish of mine is spaghetti carbonara. I had by far the best ever rendition of this dish at a little Italian restaurant located in a private home in Aruba last month. Absolutely out of this world!
 
justplainbill said:
Is Borrelli's the heartburn palace on Hempstead Turnpike?
Click to expand...

That's the place! A true family restaurant. Grandma and grandpa are cooking in the kitchen, their kids are making pizzas, and their grandchildren are waitng tables and tending bar.

One night I ordered a small anchovy pizza. When the waiter brought it out he included a box to take the leftovers home. I told him that, in California, if you like anchovy pizza, you learn to eat a whole one all by yourself!
 
justplainbill said:
Would seem that if you do not like veal, you do not like vitello :LOL:.
Click to expand...

LOL. I never met him. Vitello was the owner. " ...during the ’60s, a baker from New York named Sal Vitello opened the doors of a modest subway sandwich shop..."

Here's the history, etc.:

About Us
 
we have 2 recent favourite italian restaurants (our faves change from time to time): a place that specializes in freshly made pasta called "que pasta", and another small joint that only seats about 30 at best called giovanni's.

in que pasta, they start you with warmed rolls and a dish of roasted pepper olive oil, then we share a family style chopped salad (chopped greens, onions, pepers, olives, tomatoes, walnuts, dried cranberries, and fresh mozzarella) in a red wine viniagrette. for dinner, i usually order pork chops and hot vinegar peppers with a side of fresh penne, or fish filet puttanesca over fresh spinach linguini. dessert is the best tiramisu that i've ever had in my life along with a double espresso. cappucino for the mrs..

at giovanni's, we try to get there for the prix fixe early bird special. 4 courses and a drink for $14 per person, cash only (know what i'm sayin'?)
i often start with snails fra diavolo, then have the house salad in a delicious creamy lemon garlic dressing. for my entree, i often have the veal pizzaola or the cbicken marsala. both fantastic.
dessert is usually red velvet cake or vanilla ice cream.
 
CraigC said:
There is one chain that we will never return to again. Macaroni Grill. Karen ordered a clam dish that they served with unopened clams. It got sent back. They brought out the same dish and the clams were open. Open via prying, busted pieces of shell from thier efforts included.:mad:
Click to expand...
that happened to us, ina way, in pennsylvania two years ago.

every time we went skiing in the poconos, we always stopped at smuggler's cove on rte. 611.
we ordered a large bucket of steamers (steamed littlenecks) for an appy because until that night, we each could easily suck down 8 or 10 of those little delicious bivalves with no problem.

as soon as i opened the pot, the rotten fish stink was horrible. we ate a few because we were very hungry after a day of skiing, but noticed several on the bottom that weren't opened. we immediately called the waitress over and complained, and with a remarkably snotty attitude asked us if she wanted her to take it back to have them opened. i politely asked if she was new to the restaurant because she didn't understand that a closed steamed clam is a bad, dead clam, but she agrily responded that she'd worked for the restaurant for years.
the rest of our orders were practically thrown at us as she made obvious comments about us to another table of regular customers.

we just ate quickly, paid the bill with a tiny 1% tip (to make a point), and on the way out i told the manager about the clams.
the manager asked if the waitress took it off our bill, which she didn't, and then just looked at me dumbfounded.
i mentioned that we wouldn't be back, but they'd hear from me if anyone got sick.
fortunately, no one did. but we haven't been back since. actually, the silver lining was that we found a really good bbq joint nearby. ribs, smoked chicken, and cornbread is our new apres ski fare.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom