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| - Visited this restaurant again November 21 or 22 (Thanksgiving ate my sense of time for that week). The experience did not improve my initial opinion. We used the $90 meal groupon. For $45, we had a choice of two salads, one entree, and a special dessert menu, which meant fewer choices with the groupon than without. While my husband had no complaints about his Caesar salad, my greens were sour tasting. However, this salad far outranked the dessert -- Tiramisu, soggy throughout and wet at the bottom. The special entree was the same three pasta dish as we chose last time, and the results were the same. I am so pleased we did not pay the full cost of the meal. For $45, we could have had a much better meal at many other Valley Italian restaurants The service and wine were good, but that hardly matters when the food is not. Won't be trying this restaurant again.
We had dinner at this restaurant on Friday October 28 using a Groupon coupon that saved us $30. Pluses on this occasion were decor, piano, service, wine, salads, and desert. Both the Insalata Capricciosa and the Caesar Salad for One were very good, the greens being fresh, the dressings just right , the gorgonola cheese on the Insalata exceptional. The amaretto cheesecake with strawberry slices we shared was amazing. Avanti describes the restaurant as suitable for "quiet romance." While the ambience is pleasant, lighting is too bright for a romantic evening. Negatives were the entrees. A veal cut 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick, overcooked, the thinner part crusty flavored burned, and the breading mushy was slathered with a mediocre sauce, cheese melted on top. This version of veal parmegiana shared the plate with overcooked pasta in a meat sauce. Our second entree was a three kinds of pasta plate, with the pesto pasta being the only one of the three we liked. When the main part of a meal is disappointing, the meal fails no matter how good everything else might be. Neverthethess, salad with wine followed by desert with coffee would make a nice lunch. And we did not try appetizers. If we return, I hope we can write a better review.
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