AV, Birney Ave, Moosic, PA

AV is a high-end restaurant, Italian in the sense that the owners are Italian, but really it is just an excellent restaurant . All of the food is exquisite, and supposedly the wine list is the finest in NE PA.
Although physically attached to a low-end motel, the place is architecturally cool. The art on the walls is abstract and elegant. The furniture is modern. There is apparently a 20’ long aquarium, but with no fish, just glass. The lighting is subdued. The wait-staff is young, enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable. And the clientele is upper-class, monied and part of the in-crowd. Interesting menu – from spaghetti & meatballs (see below) to the most gourmet of the gourmet.
It is not called spaghetti and meatballs, but that is what it really is. It is called fermicelli in a ragu sauce with meatballs. The pasta is spaghetti – but the flat kind. It arrived in a large, wide-rimmed bowl with lots what I think was basil on the rim as a visual garnish. The pasta looks as if it was stuck together, so I was worried about sogginess. But it turned out to be good – moderately cooked and still firm. The ragu sauce was complex - it was not thick or overly meaty, and the flavor was not overpowering. It all worked together. The meatballs were middle-sized, nice and firm, cooked throughout with no sogginess and moderately flavorful.
Salad was not included. The bread was half a bun, about 4”” in diameter, not heated. No butter, but virgin olive oil provided.
The wine was the highlight. There was no Chianti by the glass, but they did have a wonderful Nero from Sicily – vibrant, fruity, full-flavored with an aftertaste of earth and tobacco (as they said in the wine menu).
The meal was $10.95 and the wine $11, and everything else costs lots more.
Ambience - *****
Food - *****