| rev:text
| - Today is St. Joseph's Day, a day that in Italy and many traditional Italian-American households is as special as St. Patrick's Day is to the Irish, and a day rich in food rituals. To mark the occasion, I decided that after work I would have a multi-course dinner at one of Champaign-Urbana's "Italian" restaurants. Let me first preface my review with some background. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, in a traditional Italian-American household where food was a centerpiece of family life and the table was the "sacra tavola" or sacred table. I dined in restaurants in Little Italy and Brooklyn where the wait staff was fresh "off the boats" and barely spoke English and the owners and chefs were all old school Italians who had menus often hand-written and dictated by what was fresh and available in the markets and there was a sense of tradition in the entire dining experience. Their tables were often occupied by members of "La Famiglia" but we won't go there. I have no such high expectations from the local "Eye-talian" businesses. Anyway, I decided upon The Great Impostor , er, Impasta. The décor bordered on tacky, with prints of Italian posters taped to the sides of the booths. Tape? Really? Service was slow and perfunctory. The meal started with bread, olive oil, and cheese for the dipping. The oil seemed decent enough but the cheese was not Parmigiano Reggiano. I ordered a glass of the house Chianti, which was drinkable. For my appetizer, I chose the Sausage in Crust. The sausage was unremarkable and under-seasoned and the crust was bone dry. The small side of greens was nicely dressed but rather limp. My main course was the Linguini Pescatore, described as clams, mussels and shrimp with spicy marinara and ripe olives served over homemade linguini. The mussels were borderline, the shrimp decently done, and the clams of questionable origin. The sauce had a nice spice to it but did not encourage the ritual "fare la scarpetta", which means to wipe your plate clean with a piece of bread. The olives appeared to be sliced black olives from a can. The linguine was cut so short that it defied twirling on the fork. I indulged myself with dessert on this special holiday. As expected, no Sfinge de San Giuseppe, a traditional pastry, on the menu, so I opted for the Tiramisu and a cup of espresso with a splash of Sambuca. The latter was fine, the former was nothing special. Perhaps this seems a harsh review. Many people may like the "Eye-talian" food offered in C-U's restaurants, likely because that is what they are accustomed to. I like some of the Mexican and Chinese food here but I'm sure that Mexicans and Chinese raised on the authentic cuisine may find it not up to their standards. So it is with ethnic cuisine. A lot just depends upon what you are used to.
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