I had lunch at this Sicilian stylized Italian restaurant today. It is near Bumby and Curry Ford in an area closer to Orange that the are trying to label as the Hourglass district. Why the area in Longwood (that has Hourglass Brewing) is not called that is open for debate. I guess they are (or a similar sounding brew crew) opening an outpost (or relocating) next door. So, we can have a walk off. Is that what they called it in Zoolander? Anyway, they have been open since November. The owner owned a place in Annapolis that I think was called Maria's. It was in a photo on the wall. Both his first and last name end in vowels, so, we have that going for us. The place is a contradiction. The name sounds like it would be a soulless chain restaurant. The decor makes it seem like a artisinal hipster hangout. The menu evokes Federal Hill or Little Italy. I didn't know what to expect. I ordered the chicken parmigiana because it cost as much as the regular pizza and came with choice of soup or salad, bread, Sicilian butter (just herb-ed olive oil) and spaghetti. It was delicious. My favorite parm dish is at Il Vagabondo near the 59th St Bridge in Manhattan. It a bone in veal number. It's huge. This doesn't quite match up, but, it is closer to that than most parms in CF. Most experts would say the coating was mushy and the chicken a little dry, but, it didn't lessen my love. I like it a little dry/grainy for the texture it supplies. That counteracted the mushy coating a bit. Plus the meat fell apart more easily as I cut it. The sauce was just tomato on its own. Very fresh. The quality of the mozzarella melted on top was nice. The proper amount. The spaghetti was al dente. Both the portion of the spaghetti and chicken were enormous. And I ordered the SMALL size. You are definitely leaving with leftovers or a food baby after this meal. This is how much I liked it. I wasn't even supposed to eat here. I'll explain below. I wasn't in the mood for Italian. I made my own chicken parm two days before and spaghetti in tomato sauce last night. I ate every bite. I left in that stage of fullness where you can't concentrate, you need a lay down and you think you might have filled your intestinal track to the point of forcing the other trains out of the station. The bread was ok. The soup was a pot luck of leftovers. Chick peas, meatballs, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes. It was ok. A cup. Mostly the aforementioned. Little broth. It seemed freshly concocted. The peas were firm. Like just out of a can. They have a lunch and dinner menu. Some breakfast fare on the lunch menu. They have a brick pizza oven. They do some pasta and panini and apps and salads and entrees. They add steak and two chicken dishes and some more pasta at dinner. The lasagna has walnuts in it. The place has a bar area. a small dining area and an enclosed patio in the back. The main inside deco element is corrugated tin wainscoting. There are wood embellishments as well. It had a family friendly vibe. Service was polite and knowledgeable. I wasn't relishing coming here. It has been on my list all year. All year I have given it the brush off. I don't usually like American-ized comfort Italian. This is exception to that rule. And since most people around here love this classification of food, they really should enjoy this place.
* I was around here because of a place called Iron Cow. I don't want to go there at night because there is no parking in the Milk district and it isn't really a super fun time party experience. I've tried three times to have lunch here. It is never open. Some guys in the parking lot told me that they aren't really serious about food. It's just some slop they muster up during drinking hours. I think I'll drop them from consideration. And the Italian deli (Stasio's?) that was supposed to open on Bumby and Robinson has still not. I've also heard talk about Sandwich Bar. It is closed. Another food place took the location. I think I read that some big, permanent food truck space is opening around there too.
In the Hourglass district, Foxtail Coffee and Leguminati aren't open yet. There is a new Mexican place aside them though. Claddagh Cottage is open. It is across from Peppino's.
If you take Bumby from the north side of the 408, remember it snakes around a little lake/pond on the way to Curry Ford. Make sure you follow the sign that keeps you on Bumby (veers a little right after the pond).
**6/11/19 - Replaced by F&D Italian.
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