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By:
Kevin McQuarrie One of the great things about this job is
finding hidden, hole-in-the-wall places to eat. You can’t always judge a
restaurant by its cover, and Café Satino, located near an auto body shop
place and sporting cinderblock walls, is an ideal example. When I first
walked in, I have to admit, I thought, “uh oh.” The restaurant was
fairly empty, and the décor, spartan. But wait a moment. There’s soft
Classical music playing. Glowing candles graced each table. The bread was
served warm, soft and fluffy. It’s homemade? Oh. I started to realize
that I was in for a real treat. Anyone who reads this column regularly knows
I’m a calamari junkie, so obviously, my group had to try the Calamari
Steak appetizer ($5.38). It arrived a few minutes later, completely tender
and with a nicely seasoned herb breading. The dip it was served with
seemed unnecessary. I say, stick to the calamari; it’s really terrific
just on its own. We also sampled a crowd-pleaser: Deep Fried Mozzarella
Cheese ($8.28). (There are a lot of prices ending in eights; either the
chef is superstitious or there are some complex tax computations coming
into play!) The cheese was gooey, cut into strips rather than the
“stick” version. The marinara sauce really stood out. It tasted
homemade, with a summery, clean, salty tomato flavor. No gummy tomato
paste here; this is the real deal. We moved on to the entrées, which are all
served with pasta, but you can also substitute vegetables or potatoes, if
you prefer. An added plus is that you can order half-portions of most
dishes, if you have a lighter appetite. Salads, such as Caesar For Two
($9.88), or Minestrone Soup ($2.88) are other light options. The Chicken Venezia ($10.58) featured a very
tender, very moist breast of chicken, served with mushrooms, onions and a
white wine sauce. Even the presentation was surprisingly upscale, with
parsley artfully sprinkled around the plate’s rim. I liked the Seafood
Combination ($11.78), which had a generous serving of calamari, fish and
shrimp, but since I’d ordered the spicy version, I thought it came out a
bit too mild. My meat-loving friend enjoyed his Veal Parmagiana ($10.88).
The highlight of the meal, however, had to be the Fettucini Carbonara
($11.18), a rich, exceedingly creamy, totally decadent dish of pasta, sautéed
bacon, Italian ham and onion. Really nicely done. It looks like a fairly
modest portion, but it’s so filling that serving any more would be
overkill. With all the entrées, the flavors and
presentations were above what you’d expect at these prices. In fact,
I’ve paid way more at fancier restaurants for similar food. There is a
kids’ menu, if you have diners under age 12 with you, that includes
simple dishes, such as linguine with meatballs. At $2.88 to $3.68, you
would be hard pressed to find a less expensive way to feed your kids, and
this stuff is homemade, real food, rather than fast food. Vegetarians, too, are easily accommodated
with such dishes as Stuffed Eggplant ($10.68), or Ravioli ($9.28 for
cheese version). Service throughout was very relaxed and non-pushy, yet
completely attentive. A word to the wise: the restaurant does not serve
liquor, so bring in a nice bottle of wine if you enjoy having Chianti with
your pasta. By the end of the evening, I was completely full of delicious Carbonara sauce and should have stopped eating. However, I couldn’t resist tasting the New York-style Cheese Cake ($2.88). It came with a nice graham-cracker crust, and the filling was really quite good. Rich, yet fluffy. It was the perfect way to cap off an unexpectedly good dinner. As they would say in Italy, bravo! Cafe Satino |
