Anthony’s is a high-end place, with a long, granite-topped bar at the entrance with some tables, and a dining room behind. It has an elegant, extensive menu, with not only Italian specialties, but lots of other daily specials, including steak and seafood. The place is very well-appointed, with cloth table cloths and cloth mats, and beautiful glass stemware.
Spaghetti and meatballs were not offered on the menu, so I had to make do with linguini and a side order of meatballs. When it came, it was very hot but the pasta was somewhat disappointing - it was soggy. My theory is that the linguini was cooked the same amount of time as you would spaghetti, but since it is thinner, it came out overcooked.
The sauce was tasty, however. The big surprise was the meatball – there was only one, and it was served on the side in its own, lonely little dish. It was good, but not enough to overcome the disappointment with the pasta.
There were other good things, however, including the salad. The waitress thoughtfully offered some crumbly bleu cheese to complement the house balsamic vinaigrette, which I happily accepted. And the bread was a treat. It looked to be an ordinary Italian loaf, thinly sliced, and not heated – but, when you tasted it, it was wonderful. I am a lover of American white bread because it is so (full of air) soft, and that is the way this bread was – really soft and fresh. The highlight, however, were the extras. One was a complimentary hors d’oeuvre – cold pasta, with olive slices and white beans in an astringent, vinegary sauce – top-notch.
The Chianti was another extra treat. The bartender offered me a choice between the regular house Chianti and another special Chianti they just opened. Guess my choice!
The price was $10.95 for the pasta and my one meatball, $6.50 for the wine (and they slipped in an extra $1.00 for the bleu cheese dressing).
Style/ambience ****
Food ***
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Jilly’s, Court St (off Albright Ave.), Scranton, PA
Jilly’s is in a residential section of Scranton, out of the commercial area. It has been around for awhile, and definitely is a neighborhood place. It has a large, rectangular bar in a separate room, and a dining room with a goodly number of tables, usually filled with families or groups of friends, often celebrating birthdays or other events. The tables are nicely appointed with candles and cloth tablecloths. The waitresses - women of a certain age - are friendly and efficient. Jilly is the name of a friend of Frank Sinatra, and Sinatra seems to be the theme of the place. The walls are filled with pictures of Frank and his friends, and the songs on the jukebox are all Sinatra.
The spaghetti seems to be pretty normal- a full plate, and the spaghetti was of the thin variety. It was cooked normally to a medium firmness, but for some strange reason, even though it arrived hot, the whole plate seemed to lose its heat pretty quickly.
The sauce was certainly edible, but was nothing remarkable – it tasted of tomato but had no other taste I could identify. Instead of the normal two meatballs, they provided five. Of course, they were a little smaller, so I don’t know that I got any more meat. Still, they were pretty good - firm, not too bready and consistent.
The salad had a wide variety of things in it – lettuce, red onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and two or three other things. The dressing was the house dressing, but I neglected to ask what it was. It was a brown sauce that was sweet and slightly syrupy. It provided the right amount of moisture for the salad, but it wasn’t too exciting.
The bread was a large slice of Italian, pretty firm and tasty, but it was tough to get the butter out of those little plastic tubs.
The Chianti was nice and mellow. The price was $8.95, plus $6.50 for the wine (did she make a mistake on the wine?).
Style/ambience ***
Food ***
The spaghetti seems to be pretty normal- a full plate, and the spaghetti was of the thin variety. It was cooked normally to a medium firmness, but for some strange reason, even though it arrived hot, the whole plate seemed to lose its heat pretty quickly.
The sauce was certainly edible, but was nothing remarkable – it tasted of tomato but had no other taste I could identify. Instead of the normal two meatballs, they provided five. Of course, they were a little smaller, so I don’t know that I got any more meat. Still, they were pretty good - firm, not too bready and consistent.
The salad had a wide variety of things in it – lettuce, red onion, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and two or three other things. The dressing was the house dressing, but I neglected to ask what it was. It was a brown sauce that was sweet and slightly syrupy. It provided the right amount of moisture for the salad, but it wasn’t too exciting.
The bread was a large slice of Italian, pretty firm and tasty, but it was tough to get the butter out of those little plastic tubs.
The Chianti was nice and mellow. The price was $8.95, plus $6.50 for the wine (did she make a mistake on the wine?).
Style/ambience ***
Food ***
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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 ***
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 ***
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
La Trattoria, Moosic St., Scranton, PA
La Trattoria is, on most nights, very busy with a mixed crowd, predominantly middle class. On a Friday night it is mostly reservations, but there were seats at the bar. Otherwise, you are on the waiting list.
The room is bright, with half-wood booths and tables, dominated by the brick oven used for baking pizza and other good things. At the tables there are young, uniformed waitresses; but handling the bar for the entire restaurant, and acting as maitre d’, cash register and waitress for those eating at the bar was an older, rude, unfriendly woman . When she said, after bringing a drink, “I’ll be back to take your order in 30-45 minutes”, she was only half kidding.
When it arrived the spaghetti looked very soupy, soft and sticky. When I tasted it, however, it wasn’t all that bad. It wasn’t al dente - but it wasn’t as soggy as it looked. The meat sauce had real meat in it. It wasn’t overly tasty, but, again, it wasn’t bad. The three meatballs were pretty good. They were firm, not too bready, fairly meaty. I would give them a B -.
The opening salad, however, was another story. It had lots of things in it, but I couldn’t tell you what they were, other than lettuce and onions. It was obviously pre-mixed – it was there in two minutes. It had just enough house dressing of oil and vinegar to make the whole thing soggy, and I couldn’t find any taste to it.
The bread was pretty good – two different kind of garlic rolls - both warm - and a butter concoction with avocado, spinach and basil, I think. It had the consistency of butter but I couldn’t find a taste. The glass of Chianti was ordinary – a little bland, not tangy or sharp, but slightly mellow.
Price –$16.15 plus tip.
Style/ambience ***
Food **
The room is bright, with half-wood booths and tables, dominated by the brick oven used for baking pizza and other good things. At the tables there are young, uniformed waitresses; but handling the bar for the entire restaurant, and acting as maitre d’, cash register and waitress for those eating at the bar was an older, rude, unfriendly woman . When she said, after bringing a drink, “I’ll be back to take your order in 30-45 minutes”, she was only half kidding.
When it arrived the spaghetti looked very soupy, soft and sticky. When I tasted it, however, it wasn’t all that bad. It wasn’t al dente - but it wasn’t as soggy as it looked. The meat sauce had real meat in it. It wasn’t overly tasty, but, again, it wasn’t bad. The three meatballs were pretty good. They were firm, not too bready, fairly meaty. I would give them a B -.
The opening salad, however, was another story. It had lots of things in it, but I couldn’t tell you what they were, other than lettuce and onions. It was obviously pre-mixed – it was there in two minutes. It had just enough house dressing of oil and vinegar to make the whole thing soggy, and I couldn’t find any taste to it.
The bread was pretty good – two different kind of garlic rolls - both warm - and a butter concoction with avocado, spinach and basil, I think. It had the consistency of butter but I couldn’t find a taste. The glass of Chianti was ordinary – a little bland, not tangy or sharp, but slightly mellow.
Price –$16.15 plus tip.
Style/ambience ***
Food **
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sal’s, Chestnut St., Dunmore, PA
Sal’s is definitely a neighborhood Italian restaurant in an Italian town – or borough in this case. The walls are plastic-paneled, fake wood. The square tables are covered with table cloths, covered with glass, with paper placemats. It is all perfectly pleasant. The clientele is definitely blue collar, and everyone knows everyone. The single waitress seems like she is 80 years - old and spry – and knows everyone, or you think she does, and she calls everyone ‘honey’.
The spaghetti was pretty firm - what I would call middle of the road - and it was a fair sized portion. In trying to think of a description of the sauce, I kept thinking of ketchup. It had that consistency. Might even win a ketchup race – some watery stuff leaked out the bottom. The taste was – was there a taste? I don’t remember one. It was slightly sweet, and with no signs of meat or any other ingredient.
I got two and a half meatballs. The half fell apart. It was very bready and mushy, and there wasn’t enough firmness to hold itself together. I couldn’t find a taste here either. The next meatball was the same. The third was different. It didn’t have much taste, but it had firmness. It must have come from a different litter.
The side salad had lots of big ingredients – big (hard) piece of tomato, big cucumber slices, big croutons. The croutons I liked. They were, I think, squared bits of Italian bread, dipped quickly into the deep fat fryer – crisp slightly on the outside, but still soft on the inside. The creamy Italian dressing in the paper cup was sweet and syrupy and straight out of a bottle. The bread was Italian, really fresh and soft and sliced thick.
The wine was called Chianti, but the taste made me think it was homemade in someone’s cellar – not really allowed to age, but instead drink it soon.
The price - $9.95 ($7.50 for the entrée) plus tip.
Style/ Ambience **
Food **
The spaghetti was pretty firm - what I would call middle of the road - and it was a fair sized portion. In trying to think of a description of the sauce, I kept thinking of ketchup. It had that consistency. Might even win a ketchup race – some watery stuff leaked out the bottom. The taste was – was there a taste? I don’t remember one. It was slightly sweet, and with no signs of meat or any other ingredient.
I got two and a half meatballs. The half fell apart. It was very bready and mushy, and there wasn’t enough firmness to hold itself together. I couldn’t find a taste here either. The next meatball was the same. The third was different. It didn’t have much taste, but it had firmness. It must have come from a different litter.
The side salad had lots of big ingredients – big (hard) piece of tomato, big cucumber slices, big croutons. The croutons I liked. They were, I think, squared bits of Italian bread, dipped quickly into the deep fat fryer – crisp slightly on the outside, but still soft on the inside. The creamy Italian dressing in the paper cup was sweet and syrupy and straight out of a bottle. The bread was Italian, really fresh and soft and sliced thick.
The wine was called Chianti, but the taste made me think it was homemade in someone’s cellar – not really allowed to age, but instead drink it soon.
The price - $9.95 ($7.50 for the entrée) plus tip.
Style/ Ambience **
Food **
Friday, February 20, 2009
Ragnacci’s, South Blakely St, Dunmore, PA
Ragnacci’s is an old-time Italian place in an Italian town. There is a large, informal dining room in the back filled with families of all ages, and a barroom up front, with seats at the bar and booths behind a divider. The décor is middle class. On a Friday night, the place was packed with people waiting for booths and bar seats. Most folks knew each other, and were middle-aged and friendly. “How are the kids?” “Did you hear about ___________ ?” The bartender knew everyone as well. And people who didn’t know you still spoke to you, asking questions until they found some common ground, a common friend or fellow employee.
The spaghetti was fine – nothing outstanding, but not hard, and not too soft. The sauce was likewise fine, but not remarkable. And so too were the meatballs - definitely edible, and yet nothing to write my mother about. A filling meal, in a pleasant atmosphere, full of people that could be friends or family – but not a gourmet spot.
We also were entitled to soup and salad. I skipped the soup, and the salad was at the salad bar, so I skipped that as well. I was in the middle of heavy conversation, and I didn’t want to lose my bar seat. The bread was just some slices of Italian, with butter in a little plastic dish that gets harder and harder to get the top off as I get older. The Chianti was – well, Chianti.
The price - $9.50 for the spaghetti & meatballs, about $5 for the wine. A deal.
Style/ambience ***
Food ***
The spaghetti was fine – nothing outstanding, but not hard, and not too soft. The sauce was likewise fine, but not remarkable. And so too were the meatballs - definitely edible, and yet nothing to write my mother about. A filling meal, in a pleasant atmosphere, full of people that could be friends or family – but not a gourmet spot.
We also were entitled to soup and salad. I skipped the soup, and the salad was at the salad bar, so I skipped that as well. I was in the middle of heavy conversation, and I didn’t want to lose my bar seat. The bread was just some slices of Italian, with butter in a little plastic dish that gets harder and harder to get the top off as I get older. The Chianti was – well, Chianti.
The price - $9.50 for the spaghetti & meatballs, about $5 for the wine. A deal.
Style/ambience ***
Food ***
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Gubbio’s, Chestnut St., Dunmore, PA
Gubbio’s is located in a residential, hilly section of Dunmore, up Chestnut Street about eight blocks from Drinker St. It is in a large house, with a dining room on the right half and a bar on the left. I never made it into the dining room but ate in the bar, which was packed on a Thursday night. They have music a couple nights a week, and had a DJ that night. This is the ‘in’ place nowadays. Lots of folks - Goths, older guys/younger girls, groups of ‘girls’, lots of players - people & names you would recognize. And smoke. The bar seems to be one of those places you apparently can still legally smoke.
So, on to the food. The spaghetti and meatballs were advertised as a large portion, so I opted not to take the salad that was to come with it. The pasta was what I would call medium quality. It wasn’t real soft, nor was it really al dente – about in the middle, but definitely edible. And it came with a meat sauce. The sauce was liquid, and it made the mixture very edible, but I kept trying to find the flavor - or texture - or meaning - to the sauce, but it wasn’t there. But it didn’t drive me away. But even though I couldn’t find anything to talk about it, it was still middling good.
The meatballs – they were big and round and, at least at the beginning, very hot. They were meaty and tasty, but again, I couldn’t really identify a distinctive taste. The more I ate, the more I kept coming across parts of them that were mushy. That led me to wonder how they were cooked. Since they were moderately tasty, I assumed they had been cooked ahead of time and perhaps refrigerated or frozen, and then perhaps popped into the microwave. That would account for why they were both hot and mushy - but all this is pure speculation.
The Chianti – not your best. It tasted a bit warm, sugary and syrupy.
The food cost $8.95, and I forget the cost of the wine.
Style/ambience **
Food **
So, on to the food. The spaghetti and meatballs were advertised as a large portion, so I opted not to take the salad that was to come with it. The pasta was what I would call medium quality. It wasn’t real soft, nor was it really al dente – about in the middle, but definitely edible. And it came with a meat sauce. The sauce was liquid, and it made the mixture very edible, but I kept trying to find the flavor - or texture - or meaning - to the sauce, but it wasn’t there. But it didn’t drive me away. But even though I couldn’t find anything to talk about it, it was still middling good.
The meatballs – they were big and round and, at least at the beginning, very hot. They were meaty and tasty, but again, I couldn’t really identify a distinctive taste. The more I ate, the more I kept coming across parts of them that were mushy. That led me to wonder how they were cooked. Since they were moderately tasty, I assumed they had been cooked ahead of time and perhaps refrigerated or frozen, and then perhaps popped into the microwave. That would account for why they were both hot and mushy - but all this is pure speculation.
The Chianti – not your best. It tasted a bit warm, sugary and syrupy.
The food cost $8.95, and I forget the cost of the wine.
Style/ambience **
Food **
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