Italian

Pleasant surprises are always nice. And we recently had one when we visited Nanni. Somewhere in the deep recesses of our minds was a vague, somewhat negative memory of a dinner we had a long time ago - long before we started writing reviews. Try as we may, we can't recall why we had such impression. Maybe it just proves that vague memories should not be taken seriously. Nanni has been around for many years, and enjoys a good reputation. Iona had lunch there not long ago and was favorably impressed. So we made dinner reservations, and WOW! This is a serious restaurant serving serious Italian food.

The service is exemplary. Bill Parcell would be impressed with the teamwork of this staff. There is an extensive menu including hot and cold appetizers, soups, pastas, salads, seafoods, and meats, as well as specials cited by our waiter - each sounding more exciting than the previous. The wine list is quite adequate. In as much as we did not want a full bottle, we opted for house wines by the glass and found them quite acceptable.

We passed up the great sounding appetizers in favor of a wonderful Caesar salad that was tossed at table side, and accompanied by a basket of warm bread and thin bread sticks.

Dan usually avoids stuffed anything. Too often the stuffing overpowers the taste of whatever is being stuffed. However, this time he ordered trout stuffed with crabmeat. The result was magnificent. The stuffing did not contain too much bread, and it very nicely complimented the delicate flavor of the trout. Iona's stuffed calamari was also worthy, but not as outstanding as the trout. However, the accompanying marinara sauce, by its sheer simplicity, showed that the kitchen knows the essence of preparing great sauces. 

Desserts at Nanni's are traditional Italian, and include fresh berries with cream or zabaglione (frothy dessert custard flavored with marsala).

We now look forward to returning to sample even more of the enticing dishes.

Grumpy Gourmet
Last reviewed 9/02