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| - I went in as a skeptic because I'm such a big fan of Fiamma's, but I found I can love both! I have to say I like the classy ambiance and decor of Luciano's much better than Fiamma's, and especially love the heavy rich crown moulding and wainscoting, stacked stone fire oven, painted tin ceiling and chandeliers. We also thought the high top large tables were cute and looked forward to sitting there for dinner.
I can only speak to lunchtime Luciano's experiences, but both were positive! George R. did a great job describing the menu. The bread was delicious and the sundried tomato pesto was a nice change.
The lunch deals are a steal. Somehow I missed them the first time I went so I ordered eggplant parmesan which was delicious and I loved that the eggplant wasn't individually fried, therefore making it more fatty than necessary. It had a heavy layer of mozz/parm on top of the eggplant so you could easily push it to the side and make it light/healthy. My buddy got the salmon which he really liked but it looked a tad overcooked for my liking.
The next time I got a lunch combo, which was half a Misto salad and a HUGE plate of tomato basil gnocchi. I liked the sauce a lot it came in and generally the gnocchi was good though definitely were soggy/soft and lacked the crisp on the outside. There are few places that get gnocchi right in town... But what made it better is that the combo was only $7.95. Seriously- that's Noodles & Co pricing for amazing ambiance! And I had leftovers!
My hubby got the lunch deal where you get a soup or salad, entree and dessert for $12.95 which was the deal of the century. He had a tomato bisque which was lovely, then there were several entree choices- he picked the penne with italian sausage and spinach which was great. That was filling enough, but then the piece de resistance was the tiramisu which was traditional style with plenty of coffee flavor, and substantial but not too rich.
Bottom line: Nice ambiance, good food, good value. We'll be back.
Side note: this would be a lovely place for a private event like an office dinner or something- I bet you could rent out the enclosed patio.
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