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| - Montesano's is a friendly, authentic trattoria and more. It is also a deli, pasta shop, and first-rate emporium of memorable baked dessert treats. A server was slow to take our order, based on some initial confusion over who was assigned our booth. But, once that hiccup was alleviated, all was well. She was a fine server, but I would have liked to have been informed of the dinner specials like Lobster Parm I later saw on a board. A sign inside the restaurant reads "Where love has a taste!" and diners are reminded by another placard to be patient because all food here is cooked to order. I found great taste in these environs, and the freshly prepared food well worth the wait.
I was initially surprised to see that dinners are served here with complimentary freshly baked garlic knots and bread. Then the surprise turned to shock when the bread and basted knots were placed on the table. There were 24 Garlic Knots--for only 2 diners! They were small, but so what? The doughy knots were warm and quite tasty, and the huge number made up for their diminutive size. A dozen accompanied us home.
I was less impressed by the fresh but earthy Italian bread. It was sort of dry, and not that tasty. But this was a minor setback. For the Stracciatella (Italian Egg Drop) Soup was the best I have ever had: really hot and tasty broth, and chockfull of spinach and egg whites. An immense "Caesars Salad" with one anchovy as requested, chopped Romaine, Romano Cheese, and fresh croutons was very good but almost overdressed with too much Creamy Caesar Dressing.
A Shrimp Cocktail featured 8 large shrimp that were good but tasted like they had recently been defrosted. But I harbored no reservations at all concerning my entree of delectable Veal Montesano over Fettuccine, which was simply superb. This very creative dish featured nicely pounded and tender, hand sliced, and lightly floured milk-fed veal medallions, artichoke hearts, fresh garlic, roasted potatoes, and roasted red peppers, and was finished in a delicate white wine and butter sauce in a brick oven. The fragile artichoke petals gave the sauce a welcome hint of lemony flavoring. And the fresh pasta undergirding the veal was cooked perfectly! The whole edible conglomeration represented a delicious and very nice blend of harmonizing flavors.
But I was by no means done, because a lovely, large "Black & White Cookie" in the display case had caught my eye when I entered the restaurant. I went back to get a good second look, and then ordered it for dessert. The unusual cookie, freshly baked on premises, was composed of pound cake topped by vanilla icing on one half, and chocolate icing on the other, and was moist and delectable. The pure vanilla and chocolate flavors startled my taste buds. Diane's novel idea of biting down on the black and white border to take in both flavors at once was a definite winner. And, that lovely cookie was so rich that half of it accompanied me home, and even that amount lasted two more lunches!
Affable owner/chef Steven Montesano, attired mostly in red, flitted in and out of the kitchen, watched the front of the house, and came over to our booth to check on us a few times during the course of our meal. He was a very cordial and accommodating host, and it is obvious that he takes great pride in his fine cooking and baking. Deservedly so!
4-1/2 stars overall!
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