Sibio’s, Quincy Ave, Dunmore, PA

The style of Sibio’s is older, high-end Italian. There are no little ones here. Everyone seems to know everyone, or at least someone. The waitresses are middle-aged, but friendly, slightly flirty, even with those they really don’t know. The bartender is older, friendly and efficient – little bit of a jock. The design is high-end Rexcraft (have you been around long enough to know that?) - high-back, uncomfortable chairs, overstuffed booths. The whole place is slightly formal, and would be unfriendly if there weren’t so many friendly people exchanging greetings.
Their version of pasta for spaghetti and meatballs is angel hair. The problem with this is that for the pasta to be nice and firm (al dente) it has to be cooked for a relatively short time. And since angel hair is real skinny, that means a real short time, and cooks, I think, are afraid to do that. At least here that appears to be true. As a result the pasta was not too firm, but soft & clingy (not in a nice way).
The meat sauce looked as though it had meat, but I had a hard time finding any flavor in it. As it was mixed with the pasta it seemed to separate, and the clumps of meat went one way and the remaining liquid sunk to the bottom and became as clear as broth. The meatballs were very flavorful. I kept trying to identify the flavors, but couldn’t. As I kept struggling through the pasta, I kept coming back to the meatballs for some flavor. The meatballs weren’t perfect, however. They seemed to be cooked unevenly – half of them firm and meaty, and the other half sort of melted and fell apart in my mouth.
There was no salad – that costs extra. The bread was interesting. It was your normal Italian, cut thick and cold – but the crust had a very interesting, probably garlic-y, flavor. And the other choice in the breadbasket was unique to me. They were thin slices of what seemed to be bagels – 1/8 of an inch thick and toasted, so they were very crisp. For some reason, they worked.
The Chianti was normal – not much to tell my mother about, but serviceable.
And the price was $12.00 for the pasta, $6.00 for the wine, for a total of $18.00, plus tip (this is a high-end restaurant, you know).
Style/ambience ****
Food ***