| rev:text
| - Ah, Augustino, it was good to know you...
When we started eating at Stino Da Napoli there were four tables. Augustino was often in the front and would chat with diners who said hello. The food was fantastic, the service excellent, the prices reasonable and the atmosphere cozy. That was more than 20 years ago.
We left Cleveland in 1998 and lamented the loss of our beloved Stino. Every time we land at Hopkins, without exception, Stino is our first stop before we head to the east side. When we arrived in Cleveland September 25th we headed to Stino to wait out rush hour before driving to our niece's house in Pepper Pike. I'm not sure we'll be back.
The food was excellent. The food has been excellent every time we've ever dined here (or taken it home when our kids were young and we were afraid they'd disturb the diners at the other three tables he had at that time). But when I walked in to the restaurant for my 6pm reservation the hostess made clear that I couldn't have been more of an inconvenience. When I gave her my name and the reservation time she looked me up and down and busied herself with other things. (Now, I'd been flying cross-country since 6:50am but I was properly dressed and behaved, though I probably looked tired.) After ignoring me for a couple of minutes several people walked in. She immediately moved around me to help them, behaving in an obsequious manner. I was getting pissed. I had been so excited to revisit one of my favorite restaurants; I did not come all that way to be snubbed. Eventually she returned, pointed to three tables and told me I could take one of those.
The waiter was fine and the food was excellent. We had Spaghetti Al Fumo Del Vesuvio and Pesto with Shrimp. We did not see Augustino, though we didn't expect to. It had been many years since we'd encountered him in the dining room. We bought two jars of the Vesuvio ($8/ea) to take home to our daughters and left. The food may have been five stars but the experience brought it down to 2.5.
Now I appreciate that Augustino has enjoyed great success. Our weekly take-out back in the early days probably helped. We've taken many people there over the years and, as I said, made it a point to begin our Cleveland trips there. But we were treated like a bastard step-child this last time and, frankly, the place loses more of it's warmth and soul with each expansion. I just can't help but compare Stino's with my favorite Italian restaurant in North Beach - Sodini's. We don't get there very often because we live in southern, not northern California. But every year or two we visit and enjoy their hospitality. It just so happens that I ate at Sodini's just two weeks after my recent dinner at Stino. When the owner saw me he gave me a hug, kissed both cheeks and told me it was good to see me. When I commented that it had been so long I couldn't believe he remembered me he responded that it had been a year, but he would never forget me.
Now that's the way you treat a long time customer. Augustino, take note. You're food is fantastic but that's not all there is to it.
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