Pros: (1) Great food and (2) Fantastic Service (3) Good value
Cons: (1) Dining area layout and (2) location/parking
Me, my Mom and Dan (the hubs) went for dinner on a Monday evening at 6 PM to celebrate Mother’s Day (a day late). We had made a reservation and good thing since this place filled up quick. I have dined here once before and appreciated the smaller room to the left upon entry and requested a table there, sadly I was told that wasn’t possible as it was being reserved for a large party coming in shortly (NOOOO!). We ended up being seated in the main dining room and the only thing wrong with this was that no matter where you are seated in the room, you can feel the cold air blow from the outside every time someone comes in or out and made it a bit uncomfortable. I noticed about half of the diners there had their coats on because of the chill however, it was an oddly cold and wet evening so we have to take that into consideration. Take my word for it, ask for one of the tables in the smaller area to the left and take it if you can. It’s a bit more intimate of space. Alternatively, you can dine in the bar area to the right which has an upbeat environment as you would expect.
Dan and I ordered a Caesar salad with anchovies for an appetizer. Not all restaurants will have anchovies available so for me this was a plus. The lettuce was cool and crisp. The croutons were crunchy (not stale like may places) with a delicious garlic herb blend covering them. The Caesar dressing was made in-house and it had a lovely hint of lemon that really made it stand out from other Caesar varieties. Lastly it was coated heavy with grated Parmesan cheese (but I like it heavy). The salad was a hearty serving and well worth the $11. My mother’s entree came with a house salad. It was very simply made with greens, onions and tomato. She enjoyed it and especially loved the light and fruity dressing. We also shared complimentary Italian bread (with seeds) served with “herb” olive oil (I believe it was just salt and pepper and to me it was a bit too salty).
My main dish was Gnoochi alla Sophia Loren! (Love the name). The menu indicates it is a signature dish made of gnoochi, baby spinach, toasted pine nuts all coated in a port wine gorgonzola cream sauce for $15. Personally, gnoochi is always quite heavy and this dish was not any different. For that reason, I could only eat about 1/3 of the serving provided but that is a good thing because I had leftovers! You could tell the spinach was cooked super quick right before serving because it was not mushy and still maintained some of its shape.
Dan ordered the Pappardelle Bolognese for $15.50. He said he liked it! I’ll say, just look at the evidence below LOL!!
My mother ordered Chicken Parmigiana served over a bed of linguini for $19. Now my mother isn’t a fan of pasta sauce that has chunks of tomatoes in it so whenever she asks and they say it is with marinara, she asks if they can substitute the sauce with their meat sauce. And sure enough this substitution was no problem at all! Her plate was huge. It was two thinly pounded pieces of chicken, breaded and fried perfectly and smothered in meat sauce with the perfect amount of melty cheese. Her linguinie was cooked al dente (although I’m not sure if it was made homemade in-house….I should have asked!! regret…).
The location is on a corner and the streets around are very steep which make it difficult to walk in heels so note this ladies when choosing your footwear. Parking is street parking so be ready to look for parking and walk a block or two. There was no valet the evening we were there so I am not sure if they offer it or not.
The menu is incredible. There is so much I have not tried so I plan to go back for sure. Personally I cannot wait to try the Cherry Pepper Chicken made with spicy cherry peppers, baby spinach, sharp provolone and white wine herb sauce for $19 (salivating…), or even something from their large list of thin crust pizzas, especially the Italian Stallion made with imported pepperoni and long hots for $12 (OMG). They have a full bar along with a wide variety of wine by the glass or bottle. Honestly, this place is suited for almost any type of group whether it’s a girls night out, a romantic meal with your special someone, or even a meal with co-workers. The modest prices coupled with delicious food are totally worth the ticket. I give Pepperoncini a 3.5 out of 4 forks. You have to give this place a try if you like Italian food.
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