We arrived at the restaurant on a Friday evening at 6:30 pm and only one other table was occupied. The restaurant appeared to clean and the music was very enjoyable albeit a little too loud. The service was impeccable. \r
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Now onto the food. We ordered a mussel and clam special that was terrific. The ingredients were fresh and they were served in a very light sauce/broth that was great. Our other appetizer was a shrimp crostini dish that, in my opinion, was even better than the mussels and clams. \r
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The entrees were a disappointment. I ordered the pork chop special. Esthetically, the dish was marvelous. The chop was served with roasted potatoes and asparagus. If presentation mattered, the dish should have been wonderful, unfortunately it doesn't. The potatoes, which had been roasted and pressed into a mold, were luke warm at best and flavorless. The asparagus were overcooked. The pork chop was so dry that it was virtually inedible but it wasn't only the dryness that was the problem, it tasted somewhat rancid . Perhaps it was their choice of seasonings. Two other people in our party ordered a pasta dish consisting of penne; a meatball; a piece of sausage and a braised beef rib in a tomato sauce. Being Italian, and having made tomato sauce (we actually call it gravy) for my entire adult life, it's flavor is very important. The seasonings used seem to have a very artificial taste. The meatball was very hard, something my husband finds particularly unpalatable. The last dish we ordered was Veal Sorrentino. When ordering, the last member of our party inquired about whether or not the veal was battered or breaded? The waiter explained that it was lightly battered. When the dish arrived, the veal was lightly battered but the eggplant was breaded and fried, leaving her to try to remove the breading. It was served over pasta which appeared to be drowned in some sort of greasy looking sauce.\r
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We would go back but for the appetizers only.
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