Company description
Amarone's Italian Cuisine offers Italian Restaurants services in , NY area.
More details
- Editorial Text 1
- Amarone is backwards(E). We've just pulled into the parking lot, and signs guide us around to the back of the building. We pass large windows that look into the spacious dining room and an attractive, tiered stone wall covered in ivy before reaching the entrance. Inside, there's a foyer with a bar area beyond. The hostess leads us to a table along the wall, and we're handed menus and a wine list. The room is bright and open with oil paintings, wine bottles and other decorations. Tables are attractively set with small lamps and blue napkins and tablecloths. A gentleman asks us if we'd like cocktails, and then we wait. And wait. And wait some more. Our waitress is first engaged at one table, then another, and then it's into the kitchen with the orders until, finally, she arrives at our table. It's not such a big deal, except another waitress is only a few feet away, standing bored since her section is almost empty. The dinner specials are fairly numerous; our waitress elaborates on each dish and every last ingredient. The only thing missing from the performance, naturally, are the prices. What's the big deal? I'd like to know the prices of what I'm ordering rather than get a surprise when the check arrives. While many of the prices at Amarone are reasonable, the special offerings can be quite expensive. The menu is basically an Italian-American menu – mussels and clams, shrimp and mozzarella, plus chicken and veal in many different guises. Pastas are offered in a nice mix-and-match format; pick a type of pasta and then choose your favorite sauce/preparation. Prices on the menu are all over the place; while appetizers tend to be pricey, the pastas and some entrees are quite reasonable. We start with a half order of a pasta special, Homemade Chicken and Ricotta Ravioli ($11.95). The sauce is comprised of shiitake mushrooms, small shrimp, fresh tomato, garlic and cream. The ravioli are filled with a pureed mixture that has a fine chicken and cheese flavor. The combination is delicious in an over-the-top way, lots of ingredients and lots of flavor. My appetizer is Beef Carpaccio ($10.95). The menu mentions fresh arugula and olive oil, two classic accompaniments. Instead of raw beef, ruby red, we're served thin beef, grey with spots of pink. A heavy-handed vinaigrette has been spread over the meat and, instead of wonderful, bitter arugula, the beef is served with plain old baby greens. Big chunks of Parmesan replace the traditional shaved cheese for this dish. This version is a pale shadow of the real thing House salads are a simple blend of greens, tomato and cucumber. The choices of dressing are few; you can either have the house dressing, a decent Balsamic vinaigrette, or plain oil and vinegar. Entrees continue to wobble and weave. My Linguine With White Clam Sauce ($14.95) is a fine affair. Small baby clams are scattered everywhere, and the pasta is cooked to a perfect al dente, even a bit crunchy. The sauce is also good. The clams are mostly tender with a few chewy ones here and there. But my guest's entree, Broiled Flounder ($17.95), is another rough spot. The flounder itself is overcooked, dry and mealy. The garlic in the coating is undercooked and bitter. And the vegetables are a mixed lot,with undercooked, almost raw carrots. Inconsistency is a major issue here. Tiramisu ($6.50) ends our meal on a high note. This version features lady fingers that haven't been totally drowned in liquid and still retain their texture. The result is a fine dessert. With dinner we drink an Italian chardonnay from Mezzacorona ($22). It's full-bodied for an Italian chardonnay, but it smells and tastes musty. The wine list is a collection of some very fine wines, a number of amarones among them, and prices are relatively high. Turbulent. Service is provided by a team of waitpersons and buspersons, all of whom are friendly and polite. Besides our extended wait when we first sat down, the rest of our meal goes OK. Dinner comes to $86.80, a fair value for an uneven experience. Much of the staff here are from the kitchen and dining room staff of the now closed Rainbow Restaurant. The owner, Steve Brown, is new to the restaurant business. But with most of the staff veterans, it's hard to understand our dinner experience. Service is cordial but spotty. The food here was sometimes very good and sometimes mediocre. Prices are inconsistent; there are some terrific, inexpensive pastas, but many items carry a high price tag. Considering that this place is relatively new, hopefully the bumps we experienced will be smoothed over in the near future.
- Payment Accepted
- American Express, Visa, Discover, MasterCard
- Rating
- 60% of 10 people liked it on Urbanspoon
- Cuisine
- Italian
