November 21, 2003
HOURS:
11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
PRICES:
pasta, $7.95-$13.95; pizza, $7.50 (small)-$19.50 (large); entrees, $9.95-$21.95.
TIPS:
Reservations recommended, especially on the weekends. Free parking lot.
BY PAT BRUNO
How do you weigh in on a menu that sports some 67 dishes? Does the something-for-everybody mega-dish menu make your eyes light up, or does it simply dim the bulb of interest? At Graziano's, the menu-look elicits comments (actual conversations overheard at tables on either side of me) like "Wow, this is a big menu," and "I don't know what to order, there is so much to choose from."
And then, just in case you cannot make up your mind about any of those dishes, there is a specials menu that offers 16 more choices.
And it gets even better (or more complicated, depending on your point of view). There are 28 possible toppings (including macaroni and grape jelly) to ponder putting on your pizza.
The restaurant's subtitle is "Brick Oven Pizza," so pizza is, indeed, a big deal at Graziano's. In addition to all of those 28 topping choices, there are 12 custom pizzas -- including barbecue chicken, steak fajita, and vodka prosciutto.
At one time I was a purist of the worst kind when it came to the toppings that a pizza crust should be allowed to carry. I have been a pepperoni and sausage guy my whole life. I enjoy a Margherita pizza when it is done right, however. And that brings me to the pizza special of the day one day in late October: "Wood-fired pizza Capri," which in a fashion could be called a pizza Margherita. The toppings were tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. The pizza was enjoyable in several ways -- the crust, the cheese and the fresh basil. The thin-crust pizza had a nice chew and picked up good color and flavor from the woodburning oven. The chiffonade of basil was put on at the end of the bake (the proper thing to do), and it was there in abundance. And the cheese, despite its inherent blandness, had a good melt. Now, about those tomatoes. Not a pizza sauce, not a puree of tomatoes, but something in between. And it wasn't all that great. Too harsh, too acidic, less than enjoyable. A better pizza was the basic cheese pizza to which I added Italian sausage. This pizza had good taste from bottom to toppings.
Graziano's goes with the idea of "bottomless" a lot. For example, you can order bowl upon bowl of minestrone. Would that I could (I could barely finish one bowl), since this is a very good minestrone. It tasted fresh (not like it had been trapped in a pot for days), and the veggies (carrots, celery, two kinds of beans, chickpeas) mixed it up nicely with the elbow macaroni and the light tomato broth.
Three pasta dishes were tried -- baked orecchiette, pasta with vodka sauce and fettuccine with four cheeses. In one way or another they were pleasing, though not the best to be had. The orecchiette is paired quite simply with marinara sauce, basil and mozzarella cheese, and the results are nice. The pasta with vodka sauce had just the right peppery bite and a flavor enhanced by a tomato cream sauce, the sauce enriched with sweet mascarpone cheese. Fettuccine with four cheeses was my least favorite. The attempt here was to get to an Alfredo sauce, which, with all of those cheeses (mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, fontina) becomes an impossibility. Simply put, there is too much going on here, and the Gorgonzola overpowered the other cheeses.
Entrees offer possibilities, with the likes of chicken, pork chops, ribs and a few steaks. Wisely, Graziano's stays away from veal dishes (though the specials menu did have a veal Milanese) that would run the prices up the flagpole. And fish dishes are pretty much relegated to the specials menu as well.
Have the pork chops. Three meaty boneless chops are grilled to a turn, flavor enhanced with sage and thyme, and arranged with spinach and garlic mashed potatoes. It's a meal and a deal at just $12.95.
Have the wood-roasted half chicken. Excellent flavor, meaty, moist. The garlic mashed potatoes that piled up quite prettily alongside the chicken were quite good too. And the $9.95 price is attractive.
Desserts are a mix of predictable (tiramisu, brownie, gelati) and noteworthy (profiteroles, chocolate Sambuca cake, apple crostata). The crostata is a creation of perfectly delicious indulgence. The chunks of tender and nicely spiced apples (Granny Smith), baked in a well-made pastry crust, get an escort of vanilla gelato and caramel sauce.
The mascarpone cheesecake is not exactly a throwaway either. Mascarpone is so rich on its own it would be nearly impossible not to enjoy it. Graziano's version amps up the flavor with lemon and vanilla, the end result takes a turn for the
Graziano's caters to families in a big way. The big open dining rooms (high ceilings, huge posters, paper over cloth on the tables, and 30-yards or so of exhibition kitchen) sell the sizzle that this place can handle it. The kids' menu adds another dimension to the pizza and pasta dishes, so there are plenty of options for the kiddos. A family-style menu for parties is also available.
Pat Bruno