That's Italiano!
My buddy Dave and I took our boss out to lunch for his one year anniversary at our company. (You can insert your own brown nosing joking here but we're actually glad to have him on our team). The boss picked the restaurant and it was a mighty fine choice.
That's Italiano Ristorante is at 3717 E Indian School Rd in Phoenix so it's very conveniently located to work. In fact, we often drive by it on our way to other lunch places. I think we did go there once a few years ago but that meal wasn't enough to get us to put it on the lunch rotation.
It's somewhat fancy looking for lunch which translates into being expensive in my mind. However, the prices actually weren't bad, especially considering the portion sizes.
We started with a Fried Calamari appetizer. It was perfect. Light and crispy breading on the outside and flavorful and tender in. The fear with calamari for me is that it's going to be rubbery. No worries on this one, it was just right.
Dave got the lasagna and if it had been maybe 2/3 the size it would have been enough. As it was, it was so good he ate it all.
The boss ordered the special, Ravioli with salmon in a pink sauce. He got four nice sized raviolis and he said they tasted great. I took his word for it; no fishes with bones for me.
I ordered the Vegetarian Pizza. It was huge! And, at $10.95, a bargain. The crust was good, the cheese was plentiful and the veggies were cooked to just tender. There was so much pizza that I ate it for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Two people could be well satisfied for lunch with one pizza.
The service was fair. They did a good job of keeping my water glass filled but it took a while to get our food. The server did come update us on it which was nice. It was nearly empty in the restaurant. We were there for over an hour and I think only saw 5 other patrons. I'm guessing they do more of an evening business.
They're advertising a Dinner and Wine package for $40. I have no doubt I'll be persuading a companion to go with me some night to try it out. (We didn't have wine at lunch in case you were wondering.)
That's Italiano Ristorante is at 3717 E Indian School Rd in Phoenix so it's very conveniently located to work. In fact, we often drive by it on our way to other lunch places. I think we did go there once a few years ago but that meal wasn't enough to get us to put it on the lunch rotation.
It's somewhat fancy looking for lunch which translates into being expensive in my mind. However, the prices actually weren't bad, especially considering the portion sizes.
We started with a Fried Calamari appetizer. It was perfect. Light and crispy breading on the outside and flavorful and tender in. The fear with calamari for me is that it's going to be rubbery. No worries on this one, it was just right.
Dave got the lasagna and if it had been maybe 2/3 the size it would have been enough. As it was, it was so good he ate it all.
The boss ordered the special, Ravioli with salmon in a pink sauce. He got four nice sized raviolis and he said they tasted great. I took his word for it; no fishes with bones for me.
I ordered the Vegetarian Pizza. It was huge! And, at $10.95, a bargain. The crust was good, the cheese was plentiful and the veggies were cooked to just tender. There was so much pizza that I ate it for dinner last night and breakfast this morning. Two people could be well satisfied for lunch with one pizza.
The service was fair. They did a good job of keeping my water glass filled but it took a while to get our food. The server did come update us on it which was nice. It was nearly empty in the restaurant. We were there for over an hour and I think only saw 5 other patrons. I'm guessing they do more of an evening business.
They're advertising a Dinner and Wine package for $40. I have no doubt I'll be persuading a companion to go with me some night to try it out. (We didn't have wine at lunch in case you were wondering.)