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| - Everyone kept telling me, YOU HAVE TO TRY ARMTRONGS. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm just unlucky or local people here have no taste buds.
For those who haven't been, Armstrong's in a mainstay in Coraopolis, tucked away in a strip mall at Thorn Run and Beaver Grade roads. It's basically a family restaurant that, if not for a view of the kitchen and a missing fire place, would almost have an "inn-like" feel to it with the stone walls.
On a huge menu with many American and Italian dish, I ordered the veal parmagian, which came with the choice of soup/salad and pasta/potato for $18.95. I opted for the Italian Wedding soup as my introductory offerings.
Armstrongs hits a home run with their soup. It was a very large bowl, which was a pleasant surprise, but the taste was outstanding and might be the best I've ever had. It was loaded with white meat chicken, small meatballs, pasta, escarole, and a delicious broth. Coming from a very Italian area outside Providence, RI, I was literally in shock.
Unfortunately, it went down hill from there. I soooo wanted to give this a 4/5 star rating. My food came out fast -- almost too fast. The portion size was enormous. However, food is clearly about quality not quantity. The veal and breading (while crisp) were both unseasoned. Note I didn't say under seasoned, I said unseasoned. The type that would make Robert Irvine throw the dish on the floor. It was completely tasteless and an absolute travesty to the poor calf that died for this meal. Next I tackled the portion that had sauce and cheese, hoping for a save. Their sauce is an insult to every Italian grandmother in the world. This watery red mess had NO seasoning whatsoever (which should be evident by bits of color from basil, oregano, etc...) It tasted like a mass produced variant of Chef Boyardee's sauce. Gross.
The same sauce was drenched all over my linguine, so you know how I feel there.
The service was great and soup was excellent, so hopefully I'll give it another try for scrod, open faced roast beef, or something else. For now, I recommend you try another Coraoplis local for Italian offerings.
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