Okay, I will start out by saying that I just picked this place out because it was near a bar we were going to afterward. Boy Howdy, am I glad I found this little gem! Upon entering I was overwhelmed with the idea that we were in an Italian friend's grandma's circa 1980's dining room. It was quaint. It was old school. It kinda made me a little nervous!
The general feel of the waiter we had was extremely laid back. Traditional Italian dude who was a little tardy in checking back, etc. Our water glass was NEVER refilled. Got a little more nervous.
They brought out really good looking bread and poured some herbed olive oil out for me (I declined because I have celiac disease and can't have regular bread.). My husband said the bread and the olive oil was amazing. I had called ahead and they said they had many gluten free options.
I ordered the Chicken al Berto. My husband ordered veal and a side of spaghetti with meat sauce. We started with a Tomato Caprese appetizer. The tomato was slightly under ripe but the mozza and basil made up for it...and in the center was a bunch of roasted red peppers which totally made the dish! Nom nom nom. The balsamic was excellent as well. I must now do peppers with my Caprese!
Then our entrees came out. My chicken had fontina cheese, pancetta and spinach. There was a little line of mushrooms in a marsala sauce which I'm not sure if it was supposed to be there or not. I'm super happy it was! This is close to if not the BEST chicken dish I've eaten. The chicken was moist which is usually questionable in Italian restaurants I've found. The quality of the Fontina cheese was impeccable. The pancetta was crisp and plentiful. Then I tasted the mushrooms!!!! OMG!! Freaking amazing! I may have to try the Chicken Marsala sometime just to have more mushrooms! Divine.
It took a while to eat, mainly due to the waiter's "chill" attitude but we shall go back again and again and again. I don't care if you don't get anything included with your main entree. The portion of entrees were HUGE. My husband loved both his veal dish and said the meat sauce was one of the best he's had. Fresh, fresh, fresh.
It's on my new list of first priority restaurants. And I think the prices were pretty good. Less than $15 for my chicken, $20 for the veal and $10 for the Caprese. I'm so there next week!
Oh, and put your phone on vibrate. They kind of insist! And that's okay too!