|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Revamped Verdi's serves up Italian feasts
Review Published 3/31/1999 by the Whitestone Times That's how the Italian restaurant and catering hall on the service road to the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone got its name. But, opera devotees, there's dining - not singing. It all began in 1985 and it's just been enlarged. There's a bar as you walk in the door to the dining room that was redecorated four months ago. In fact, it isn't quite finished. The look is modern with dusty rose walls and chrome bent wood-style chairs. The ceiling and floor steal the show. Look up and there are chrome squares covering the ceiling. Look down and chunks of multicolored marble are inlaid. There's a profusion of modern glass chandeliers in the catering hall with an entrance all to itself. Dark rose cloths are covered with white throws. There's a tall, fresh, red rose on every table. We came for an early dinner on a rainy Tuesday evening and Verdi's was pretty much all ours. It didn't feel awkward. The room actually seemed cozy and we had a great evening. The menu layout was impressive. "Isn't it laid out beautifully?" my companion asked. One sip of the red house wine and we realized it went well with the Italian food listed there. After deliberation - and we really did deliberate and shoo the waiter away - she chose mozzarella in carrozza. "I love fried cheese," she said. I was impressed with the presentation, four triangles arranged on alternating romaine and radicchio around marinara sauce. The sauce was a tasty addition and the salad greens were so generous, they could double as a salad course. My arugula salad was pristine - just a heap of greens. Mercifully, no one recited a long list of dressings for my choosing. A tall bottle of basalmic vinegar and another square cut bottle of olive oil were delivered for self dressing. When did you last see spaghetti on a menu in an upscale Italian restaurant? Well, at Verdi's there's spaghetti carbonara and spaghetti puttanesca. So spaghetti it had to be. The carbonara was delicate, with finely minced onion and bacon. The sauce was delicate, too. The oval rolls were hot and crusty. No complaints here. My companion had mushrooms as a side dish intermezzo, an intriguing approach. Entrees came with cheese-centered, crumb-crusted mashed potato ovals, a delightful potato variation. The broccoli stalks were long. My veal saltimbocca was bedded on fresh, nicely cooked spinach and topped with a hard-cooked egg halved lengthwise. My friend ordered an interesting chicken dish topped with shrimp and all the fixings (shrimp and chicken have become the '90s favorite duo). The tartuffo finale was served in the usual fashion - quartered - which proved especially attractive at Verdi's. Marbled vanilla and chocolate ice cream sat underneath the brittle chocolate covering. I felt as if I had feasted and espresso was in order My friend opted for cappuccino. Takeout menus were not available, but there was a brochure on parties at Verdi's. It talks about a deluxe cocktail hour with butler-served hot hors d'oeuvres on silver trays and hot international specialties served in silver chafing dishes as well as platters of freshly carved roast beef, ham, Genoa salami and assorted cheeses. There are also seafood specialties, including scungili, calamari, crab meat salad, baccala, baked clams and linguine with white or red clam sauce. Giuseppe Verdi would have composed an opera glorifying a spread like that. THE BOTTOM LINE Northern/Southern Italian restaurant and catering hall. Newly enlarged and redecorated. Dusty rose mode. Chrome chairs. Good food. Nice service. Seafood Salad ...$7.95 Food: Northern & Southern Italian Setting: Modern. Newly enlarged and remodeled. Service: Black tie. Hours: Lunch & Dinner 6 days; closed Monday Reservation:Yes Location: Service Road Of Cross Island Parkway Parking: Two lots, adjacent and down the block. Dress: Casual Credit Cards: All major except Discover Private Parties: Two Rooms (40/18) Catering: Yes Takeout:Yes Children: Own menu Smoking: Bar Noise level: Low Wheelchair access: One step. |
||
|
|||||||||
