Il Forno Keeps Getting Better
07/10/2008 - By Trent Rowe/The Ledger The Ledger
Il Forno
Il Forno Keeps Getting Better
(REPRINTED FROM THE TIMEOUT SECTION OF THE LEDGER, THURSDAY JULY 10, 2008 www.theledger.com)
Sometimes fours years is too long to wait to revisit a restaurant, not because of changes but because the food is so good I want to go back sooner.
Il Forno in Merchants Walk is a family-owned trattoria that's a great place for kids and good food, and a good place to teach children what good Italian food should taste like.
Michele and Nila Pugliese started it in 2004 and in spite of the slowdown, there were plenty of people enjoying dinner on a recent Saturday and lunch on a Tuesday, with space for more.
I grew up eating in restaurants like this, where the couple who owned them made sauce from a recipe brought from the old country, where they shared a little something extra when they made it, and where nothing was too much trouble to make you feel at home.
Michele brought pieces of pizza dough to the children around us and, after the youngsters made them into something, he baked it in the pizza oven so they could take it home.
Instead of cheese sticks, Il Forno deep fries mozzarella sandwiches on Italian bread and serves two with a cup of marinara for $5.95. They call it Mozzarella in Carrozza. I call it habit-forming. How decadent can you get?
If you add a salad to Mussels Marinara ($7.95), you have a meal. Toast arranged around the bowl of shellfish helps you get the tomato sauce that tastes like mussels and is too good to waste.
We shared an order of Fettuccine Alfredo ($9.95) as a second course. Michele says this dish is unknown in Italy. My condolences to the Italians. Entrees include a house salad - iceberg and vegetables. Get the house Balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
White beans thickened the broth for Michele's Famous Pasta Fagioli, the only soup on the menu ($2.95 and $3.95). Tender pasta augmented the beans for a rib-sticking dish.
Specials are on a board outside (no prices).
Salmon dell Ubriaco ($15.95) drew my wife like bass to bait. And the dish was truly special, two pieces of salmon fillet in a vodka-tomato sauce with a side of penne topped by small pieces of prosciutto. The fish almost flaked if you raised your voice, and the sauce was reason enough for the soft, herby bread sticks.
Eggplant rolletini, another special, ($12.95) had three rolls of thin eggplant holding ricotta cheese and fresh spinach under tomato sauce and a blanket of melted cheese.
The spinach makes what can be a mundane dish intriguing. A nice thing about portions here ... they're ample without being silly.
Pasta Frutti di Mare ($13.95) can be ordered with red sauce or a more traditional white. It's a soup bowl of al dente pasta with generous helpings of mussels, tiny clams, squid rings and tentacles (the tiniest), and three perfect shrimp.
A touch more lemon would bring out more flavor in tender Veal Picatta ($13.95).
Lunch is pizza time - a slice of three-cheese white and a slice of sausage and prosciutto ($2.15 each). Both super.
Penne Alla Bella Donna ($9.95 at dinner, $5.45 at lunch) is a dish first enjoyed four years ago because of gutsy flavors - black olives, capers and anchovies that melt into the sauce.
Have a nap while it cools and enjoy the aromas as they float up. The black olives will do a tarantella on your teeth.
The Roman Empire rose and fell in less time than it takes Il Forno's lasagna to cool. Wait for it. It's worth it.
The cannoli shows how the owners go the extra mile. A certain taste in the creamy filling comes from an Italian liqueur momma brings back ($3.45). Tiramisu is just as special ($4.45).
Anything on the last inspection has reportedly been cleared up.
A couple of things they can do to improve are:
A sprinkle of Romano on the eggplant.
Take the squid off the heat a bit earlier.
When reviewed four years ago, the restaurant earned three stars It keeps getting better. A fine place for family dining, Il Forno earns three 1/2 stars.
Trent Rowe can be reached at trent.rowe@theledger.com or 802-7512.
www.theledger.com
Advertisers
