Reminder Publication
- Dining Review
By Sarah M. Corigliano
Journal/Bravo Editor
EAST LONGMEADOW – There comes a point
in every good meal when you have to decide if you’re
continuing to eat because you’re still hungry, or if
it just tastes so good that you’d prefer to stuff yourself.
This was the problem I encountered at Villa Napoletana in
East Longmeadow. My boyfriend, David, and I had not officially
been out for his birthday, which passed in mid-January, so
last Saturday we decided to go out somewhere new to celebrate.
We had not made reservations, but the 15 minutes we spent
waiting for a table were passed with a great margarita in
Villa Napoletana’s bar area. And let me emphasize here
that it really was a good margarita - too many bars make them
so sour they leave you with heartburn, or they give you too
much this, or too much that (not that I drink a lot of margaritas).
However, this was a well-balanced margarita.
David and I also didn’t mind the wait because there
was live music by George Govoni on vocals and Mark Davis on
the keyboard, and they were performing some of my favorite
old songs made famous by people like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin,
Jimmy Durante and the like.
When we were brought to our table it was in a newly renovated
room in view of a wall-size mural depicting musical and food-related
themes. How appropriate.
Our server, Michael, was attentive and accurate, but not overbearing.
Choosing an appetizer was easy because neither Dave nor I
have a sophisticated palate when it comes to seafood. Forgoing
calamari, zuppa di clams, salmon, and other popular Italian
offerings, we went straight for the panzanella ($5.95) –
fresh Italian bread lightly toasted with olive oil, garlic
and herbs and topped with fresh diced tomatoes and basil.
It was nice not only in flavor, but also in texture; even
though it was made with a traditionally crusty bread, it was
fresh and soft, and easily handled with a fork and knife,
thus preventing any embarrassing incidents of flying bread.
The menu was slightly daunting – offering diverse selections
of meat, seafood, chicken and salads – but I finally
narrowed it down to two choices.
David had no problem deciding on Pasta al Forno for his dinner.
I was torn between stuffed Chicken Florentine or Penne Gorgonzola,
and I ultimately decided on the latter.
We each also had a salad before our meals came. These were
simple but good plates of fresh greens, purple onion rings
and cherry tomatoes with a great house Italian dressing. The
salads were served with fresh, warm bread with olive oil for
dipping. Mama mia, we had to take it easy at this point because
our meals were still on their way.
The Pasta al Forno ($12.95) featured penne pasta baked with
ricotta cheese, mild Italian sausage, marinara sauce, herbs
and mozzarella. David noted that the flavors all blended well
together creating a really fresh taste, and that the serving
size was very generous.
The Penne Gorgonzola ($14.95) was delicious. The dish consisted
of penne pasta, a delicious, slightly sharp gorgonzola cheese
sauce, roasted red peppers, julienne chicken, mushrooms, herbs
and ... broccoli. Now, I’ll be honest – I asked
for the dish to be made without broccoli and I was accommodated
without hesitation. I’m sure people think I missed out
on something by removing the beloved vegetable from the dish,
but the chef made no complaints and I was very happy with
the fresh roasted red pepper flavor.
Normally I consider it a sin to share dessert, but since David
and I had barely saved any room for it, we decided to share
a cannoli ($4). It was lovely. Sometimes I think I could live
on cannolis – a heavenly blend of mascarpone (or ricotta),
cinnamon, powdered sugar, and pastry (sigh).
Villa Napoletana is located at 666 (yes, that’s the
right number) North Main St., East Longmeadow. The restaurant
can be reached at 732-9300.
- Originally
printed in Reminder Publication, Inc. -
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