Don LaVange's Restaurant Reviews

for the Traveller

You will find these pages organized by telephone number and zip code. They are mostly limited to the geographical area I live in (Northeast). Because I travel extensively, I will continue to add restaurants around the country (and in Europe) as time permits. These represent some of my favorite and not so favorite restaurants.

In terms of my taste: I have a penchant for Italian and I am fanatically against restaurants that will not prepare pasta to order. I also shy away from waiters that are insistent on pouring the wine (too full in the glass) and chasing a second bottle.

United States

• 203-799-9601 Pasta Fair Restaurant, 262 Boston Post Road, Orange, Connecticut: This is a family style restaurant but the quality of the food is unsurpassed anywhere! The house marinara is so good that people buy it to take home on a regular basis. The seafood specials are always fresh and creative. Fair wine list. This restaurant will do almost any special request! Crowded on Saturday nights. On premises parking. Most credit cards. A good choice!
• 203-255-9818 (FAX 203-255-6337) Giannetta's, 260 Post Road, Fairfield, CT, Closed Monday, A modernistic Italian Bistro with good food. Kind of a clickish atmosphere with the owner in attendance, but ignoring newcomers. Some excellent dishes worth trying. Not a pasta place! Located in a strip mall with limited parking.
• 203-757-3040, Carmen Anthony Steakhouse, 496 Chase Avenue, Waterbury, CT 06704: This is the best restaurant in Waterbury. Good food, elegant atmosphere and rather expensive. A special place for business or special occasions.
• 207-236-2330, Sail Loft Restaurant, Rockport Harbor, Rockport, Maine: There are restaurants with good views and there are restaurants with good food, but this has the best of both! The view of Rockport Harbor is stunning and the fare is equal to the view. Steamed clams are sweet and fresh. Giant lobsters stuffed with a lobster (yes lobster) stuffing unlike the all-to-common oily variety. Fried clams among the best tasting we have had. The wine list is adequate, but stronger on the whites than the reds. The desserts really are home made and the taste tells, try the pecan pie (with ice cream). This is a popular place so make reservations. It opens at 5:30 every day. Parking is a little confused because of the location but there seems to be plenty from a short hill walk. If you are there, don't miss it! In fact, if you are not there, . . .plan a trip!!
• 207-729-5858, The Great Impasta, 42 Maine Street, Brunswick, Maine: A compact Italian restaurant that has a creative menu, good wine list and excellent food. This place opens at 5PM and there is a line by 5:45. Come early! No reservations, however they will place your name on the waiting list if you call ahead. On premises parking and they take most credit cards. Pasta could be more al dente and strangely, they do not give you bread plates with the delicious garlic rolls they serve.
• 212-799-1000, Josephina, 1900 Broadway, NY, NY 10023, A great restaurant that specializes in Vegan dishes. The food is good, not heavy, not expensive for NY and worth the visit. Parking? Forget it! Costs more than a meal!
• 215-351-1898 (FAX 215-351-4163), La Veranda, Pier 3, Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA 19106, This is an excellent but expensive Italian restaurant with a great location on the water. The food is very creatively prepared. An extensive wine list. They have an excellent Osso Bucco and fish dishes that are worthwhile. The only drawback are occasional waiters who are overbearing in trying to run up an already high tab. Worth the risk if you can keep control! Valet parking available.
• 401-821-8720, Barbara's Ristorante, 495 Washington Street (117), Coventry, RI. This restaurant was in Cranston in an old International House of Pancakes building. We tried it once and it was quite good. But it has since moved and tonight (1/8/00) we found it again. Sorry we did! Outside of an excellent appetizer consisting of a garlic drenched Italian bread loaf, the rest was a disaster. Pasta overcooked and water bloated. An appetizer of stuffed cherry peppers tasted as if they had been kept around a little to long. . . soggy and with an off taste in the cheese filling. The veal Zingarella looked like a feast. . . but the veal as well was NOT even edilble and actually tasted as if it had turned bad! Avoid this one if you can!
• 215-672-5595, Ristorante Mediterraneo, Pine Run Corners, 303 Horsham Road, Horsham, PA 19044: An elegant style European restaurant worth visiting if you are entertaining in the area North of Philadelphia. Parking on premises. Food not quite up to the pretensions of the decor.
• 401-751-5544 Joe Marzilla's "Old Canteen", 120 Atwells Avenue, Providence, RI 02903. This is a quality restaurant that is moderately priced with a good wine list. Mostly waiters and the owner is always in attendance insuring that the guests are happy. The veal dishes are superb. The white clam sauce over pasta is excellent. Try the haddock "Sicilian style" for a unique taste, great! Valet parking in on premises lot. A good place to visit! Credit Cards. Closed Tuesday!
• 401-463-6444 The Sunflower Cafe, 162 Mayfield Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920: A bright and cheery Italian restaurant located in a converted house in a residential area. The food is first class, but it is a BYOB place. Tight on premises parking. Crowded weekends and no good place to wait. Voted the best new restaurant in Rhode Island shortly after it opened! Credit cards.
• 401-942-2900 Papa Razzi, Garden City Center, Cranston, RI 02920, This is one of many restaurants of this name owned by the Westwood Group. The food is good, the atmosphere is quite nice and the staff are helpful. Tough place if you want pasta with a protein side. Most dishes do not come with pasta and you have to spend $ to get it on the side! A safe bet for entertainment. Double strip mall with ample parking and shopping avaialable.
• 401-454-8430 L'Epicureo, 283 Atwells Avenue,(Federal Hill), Providence, RI 02903: This has become the premier Italian restaurant in Providence! Very pricy, but worth it for special occasions and special visitors. The specials are all masterpieces. Extensive wine list and and desserts to die for. A special place! Valet parking and lots nearby.
• 413-256-4110 La Cucina di Pinocchio, 30 Boltwood Walk, Amhurst, MA 01002: If you are visiting a UMASS student or if you are one, this is a pleasant restaurant. It is, however, somewhat overpriced and although the food is good, they seem to load you up with a rather bland Rissotto rather than a pasta option. 1 Block off the main street. Parking adjacent.
• 416-538-2098 Giovanna, 637 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Located in the heart of Toronto's "Little Italy", this is a good bet if you are in Toronto. Pasta is cooked right and the specials are quite good. Parking is a problem in this part of town!
• 508-000-0000 Carbones, Hopkington, MA: A family style restaurant with good quality. Good seafood. Some specials. Crowded early on weekends but large seating capacity limits waiting to a short time. Parking on the premises. Limited wine list. Credit Cards.
• 508-626-1728 Bella Costa Ristorante, 147 Cochituate Road, Framingham Colonial Shopping Center, Framingham, MA: Located in a small strip mall on Rt. 30 near the junction of Rt. 126, this place has very good service, but the food is somewhat lacking. This is one of those places that promises "cooked to order" al dente pasta only to come forward with pre-cooked soggy stuff. The wine list was not impressive and the top of the line red was a "vintage" Valpolicella that turned out to be last years vintage. The Veal Marengo was in a semi-heavy red/brown sauce that had a good taste. Pretty good range of desserts. As said, the service people were good but that did not make up for the food. Not a "keeper".
• 508-543-8424 (THAI) Bankok Cafe, 369 Central St., Foxfield Plaza, Foxboro, MA 02305: This restaurant gets better each time we visit! A small owner operated restaurant located in a strip mall near the Courtyard by Marriott hotel. The food here is outstanding. Thai spices and all fresh ingredients make this an excellent choice. The owner, Danny, (Raungdet Titisuttikul) is almost always there and pays attention to his customers! Try the Chicken Cashew Nut and the Pad Thai. The best Thai ever! Inexpensive. Most credit cards. Some wine available. Parking in the strip mall lot in front.
• 518-435-1027 Bankok Thai Restaurant, 8 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12205: No comparison to the the above! Different each time we visit! But if you are really in need of some Thai food and can't get to Foxboro, MA, this will do. Parking in the rear.
• 603-898-1190 The Colosseum, New location at 264 North Broadway, Rt. 28, Salem, NH: Expensive and crowded, but the best Italian we have found in this part of the country! A very broad menu with lots to choose from. Rated the best by others as well. Good wine list.
• 617-769-7795, Francos, Rt. 1, 1381 Providence Highway, Norwood, MA, 02062. A moderately expensive restaurant with a fair atmosphere. The food can be quite good and the specials are very well done. A frequent salad special with Goat cheese, pine nuts and Balsamic Vinegar is outstanding. The specials, however, are always special in price, coming in at 20% to 30% premium on the regular fare. On premises parking. Occasionally this restaurant has difficulty keeping the temperature at a comfortable level for customers. Average wine list.
• 617-523-0077, Mama Maria, Three North Square, Boston, MA 02113: This is a very good Northern Italian restaurant in the heart of the "North End". It is located a few doors up from the "Paul Revere" house. The food and the specials are excellent. A first choice if you are in Boston. Valet parking or walk from Quincy Market.
• 717-334-9722, Historic Cashtown Inn, Cashtown, PA, 17310: Since being taken over by Eileen & Dennis Hoover (& son Jason), this historic inn has become the best restaurant in the Gettysburg, PA vicinity. The food is excellent as prepared by Chef George Keeney (Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Parke) and the service and the atmosphere make it worth the trip. This is the same Cashtown Inn that was the headquarters of Confederate General A. P. Hill prior to the battle at Gettysburg in 1863. The inn was also shown in the movie by Ted Turner, "Gettysburg". There are 7 rooms for overnight guests. Some of the rooms are reportedly haunted! If you love history and good food, this is the place. Try the maple pecan encrusted chicken!
• 860-233-0220 Restaurant Bricco, 78 Lassalle Road, West Hartford, CT 06107: A shiek Northern Italian place that is worth the visit. Not very large, it can become crowded. Parking on the street in front. Good choice of wines including "by the glass".
• 908-985-8220 Al Dente Ristorante, 1665 Shelton Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854. This is an elegant place. Very high quality food and an excellent wine list. But it is a special occasion type place because it is rather expensive. The specials, as usual in places like these, are special in content and the only thing special about price is that the specials are some 35 to 40 percent higher than the usual fare. Still it is a great place for a special dinner or lunch and is recommended.
• 914- 92 Purchase Street, Rye, NY, There is a new restauarant at this location and we will offer our thoughts after we visit it.
• 574 27 97 PARIS, FRANCE, Le Relais de Venise (de la L'Entrecote), 271 Boulevard Pereire: I first came to this restaurant in 1969 and I have visited it regularly since. It was my favorite restaurant then and it continues to be so today! This place serves only steak in a sauce and pomme frittes. Sounds boring but it has to be experienced! No one that I ever sent there has not agreed that it is superb. Try the profiteroilles for dessert. The restaurant opens at 7 PM and if you arrive 20 minutes before 7 you will find a few people waiting. By 7 when it opens the line will prevent those just arriving from getting in untill the next "shift" at about 8:15 or so. Try it if you have the chance!