italian – Kansas City Lunch Spots

Original Pizza: 11134 Antioch, Overland Park

Posted by Dave at 7:37 am

Aug 242011

The folks at Original Pizza know what they are doing. The guys who work behind the counter have exactly the demeanor to handle the significant lunchtime rush at this spot near Corporate Woods in Overland Park–jokey, effusive and quick-witted. The ordering process works well enough, although it can be hard to fully process the range of pizza slices available behind the counter when there is a line behind you.

Those who order salads step aside to the front of the counter where you can choose from among a dozen or so toppings for the tepid pile of iceberg and romaine lettuce. Not a great salad, but at least there is choice involved.

When original Pizza is firing on all cylinders, it’s hard to beat their slices. This is thin-crust pizza served in large-ish New York style triangles.

Despite looking somewhat undercooked on the top, the slices in the photo above have crispy, scorched crusts. You can order thick-crust (Sicilian-style) pieces but they are not nearly as delicious.

All pies are premade and stored in the deli case. Upon ordering, slices are put into the oven for a minute or two to crisp up. This is not only a common practice among pizzerias, but one that effectively balances freshness with quickness. If there is a small line, your slices will probably be ready by the time you pay and help yourself to a fountain drink. My preference is to order the slices well-done, which can take a couple minutes longer. The guys here have a tendency to pull slices out of the oven too quickly which can deprive diners of the joy of a fully crispy bottom crust. So I recommend asking them to keep it in the oven a few more minutes.

But this pizza evokes the classic New York style unlike any other I’ve had in Kansas City. Order a plain cheese and see if you don’t agree. Interestingly Original Pizza has a location in the Oak Park Mall which is highly regarded by some. I actually ate there once and couldn’t get past the utter drudgery of eating in a food court. I also remember the plain, premade salad and the undercooked pizza being inferior to the flagship location.

Original Pizza has a number of other Italian menu offerings but in limited varieties: sausage stromboli, ham and cheese calzone, and a very good meatball sandwich on excellent crusty bread. The sub is hard to eat, but worth ordering. While not perfect, Original Pizza is a highly worthy lunch spot in the heart of Overland Park, perhaps better suited than any other to satisfy a pizza craving.

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Villa Capri: 8126 Metcalf – CLOSED

Posted by Dave at 4:33 pm

Jun 272010

This little stretch of Metcalf in Overland Park is home to a handful of businesses that anchored the small downtown area in the late 1950’s and 60’s. Villa Capri and John’s Space Age Donuts share a building on the west side of the street, Mac’s service station and the White Haven Motor Lodge across the way complete a sketchy picture of what Overland Park was like in those heady days of early suburbanization. Metcalf Avenue grew of course, but was largely spared the crass overbuilding of blocks south, with the notable exception of a huge Turtle Wax Car Wash which nearly obliterates Villa Capri and John’s from the vision of passing motorists.

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In the intervening decades, all these businesses have held on due to a steady trickle of old-timers, regulars and nostalgia enthusiasts, but sadly seem destined to fade away. Indeed, last week word came down that the White Haven had closed and would be auctioning its contents piecemeal. John’s Space Age still does quite well, as last month’s visit demonstrated to me but Dunkin’ Donuts seems poised for a full-fledged assault as they creep into the metro.

I did not plan on liking the food at Villa Capri. Most things I read online and heard from people prepared me for cheap ingredients, bad sauce and crazy old people. Well, here’s the thing: the food is pretty decent.

Don’t come to Villa Capri expecting the world. But for less than the price of a Quizno’s sub you can get a home-cooked plate of lasagna with a giant homemade meatball. What can you get for $4.95 any more that isn’t fast food?

The salads are rather dismal affairs with not much going on apart from iceberg lettuce.

But the salad dressing is very tasty, despite the fact that it is too sweet. It is clearly homemade since you can see the herbs and pieces of shallot sprinkled liberally throughout.

I’ve also eaten a highly serviceable chicken parmesan sandwich ($6.85) there. It was made with a hand-breaded chicken breast but came on a roll that was a little too fluffy and chewy. I like a little more crust on my bread.

The potato chips that come with sandwiches are familiar to me. They come from the generic, food service bulk bags and are the absolute cheapest available. They are greasy, mealy and awful. The pickle was also terrible and cheap. It is very interesting how a restaurant can take the time to prepare homemade salad dressing but skimp on details like these. It speaks volumes about the way restaurants have been run in previous years. Thankfully we have come to be properly wary of packaged and processed foods, and restaurants by and large have taken notice.

Have I mentioned the decor? Behold Villa Capri in all its glory:

This is the point at which we can stop taking Villa Capri seriously and venture bravely into the world of kitsch. And this is true kitsch because the owners obviously think that Christmas lights, murals, plastic grapevines and cheesy checked tablecloths are genuinely nice atmospheric elements for the interior of a restaurant. And thank god they do because I find it a delightful ambiance in which to enjoy lunch. While many Italian restaurants focus on intimate, dark interior spaces, Villa Capri is more like a happy carnival. And the place really gets very nice light as well. Some picky people seem to mistake the decor for uncleanliness but I have to say that it did not strike me that way at all. Just because the interior hasn’t changed in 50 years doesn’t mean the place hasn’t been cleaned.

The people who run this joint are nice enough, but they are not ass-kissers. Anyone who runs a place like Villa Capri really doesn’t care what you think about the food or the service, they get by on knowing pretty much everyone who eats there. When not actively waiting on tables, the waitress visits with people, occasionally even sitting down at a table with someone for a chat. This is both charming and irritating. I like some semblance of professionalism and it fees strangely like I’m interrupting when I walk in to find the staff sitting down and chatting. But they have been operating for better than 50 years and have a right to rest on their laurels. I like that Villa Capri holds special memories for people who grew up in Overland Park and serves as a kind of social center for Overland Parkers to catch up.

No, this is not great Italian food, but it is fairly priced and tastes good.

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Spin Neapolitan Pizza: 4950 Main

Posted by Dave at 4:25 am

Dec 022009

Spin has operated three metropolitan locations for several years now, but they only recently moved into the urban core with the development of the shops and living quarters along Oak and Main that cater to UMKC students. This fourth location fills out the little burgeoning restaurant area south of the Plaza, strangely complemented by a few other Italian/Pizza joints like Minksy’s, Il Centro, Pizza 51, and Accurso’s which moved into the new strip mall away from its homey (demolished) location a block or so south.

Interestingly enough, Spin appears to be competing well with these other pizza places in the area. They all have a slightly different niche after all. Spin is decidedly more upscale than Minksy’s or Pizza 51, specializing in wood fired, hand tossed gourmet pizzas with interesting flavor combinations and a crisp, urbane atmosphere. It couldn’t differ more from the low-brow comfort of Minsky’s wooden booths and plastic beer mugs. There is no Taco Pizza at Spin.

For lunch, there is really one option, the so-called “Pizza Mia” which gets you one of their signature pies in 6-inch form along with any side salad or cup of soup (8.25). Personally pizza and soup seems like a mighty curious combination so I have always opted for pizza and salad which is a mighty fine pairing.

The service workflow is weird. You walk in and place your order with one of the eager young cashiers who take your money and give you a wooden number placard. Upon sitting down, a server brings out a glass of water and the beverage you ordered. If you ordered a beer, he will even pour it for you.

After a few moments, an entirely different server will bring your food. He will introduce himself, give you his name, ask if there is anything else you need. Hell, he will even clean up your empty plates after you finish. So basically, Spin is a full service restaurant except that you don’t order from the waiter. But the waiter does everything else. You know what this means: give the goddamn waiter a tip.

The staff has clearly been trained to be uber-professional and chatty, not my favorite service aesthetic. But these folks are pretty much all college students and they do a nice job, despite being told to pucker up and kiss ass profusely.

The pizzas are mighty fine but not earth shattering despite what enthusiastic yuppies will tell you on Yelp and Urbanspoon. The crust is a little dense and doesn’t cook well enough into the center to create a crunchy surface for the sauce and toppings. The toppings are certainly of good quality although I found the chicken sausage to be entirely too smoky and firm, kind of like a hickory farms summer sausage.

Salads are uniformly delightful and topped with high-quality ingredients if somewhat overdressed with pungent dressings. I haven’t tried the soup or paninis, but I expect that they are similarly well-prepared and accompanied by forgivable flaws.

The space is clean and classy, featuring a cool false ceiling of wooden beams over the bar and a neat cinder block appliqué on the west wall.

Spin gets pretty darn busy at the height of lunch hour, but the ordering system makes the process run pretty smoothly: no waiting for drink orders to be filled at the counter. There is plenty of seating at the bar or long tables for the solo diner.

All in all I have to say I’m pleased with Spin. It spits out uniformly good food that may not challenge your taste buds, but rarely disappoints. You can get a decently priced beer or bottle of wine with your meal, making it a viable option for that lesser but necessary meal, dinner, as well.

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D’Bronx: 3904 Bell & 7070 W 105th

Posted by Dave at 2:45 am

Oct 012009

I’m not sure what the history of D’Bronx is in Kansas City, but the 39th Street and Bell location has all the hallmarks of a local institution. Occupying a couple storefront spaces, the interior is bustling and little crusty. It features well-worn hardwood floors, utilitarian seating, a chalkboard menu and lots of graffiti on the stone walls.

It always seems fairly crowded and boisterous. You walk through the dining area to place your order at the front counter. After paying, collecting napkins and silverware and procuring a beverage you find a seat in one of the little dining areas and wait for your food to come out. And wait. And wait.

Yes, it takes a while to get even a slice here, and I assume that’s because they put everything together to order, not to mention the fact that they do a high volume. Pizza is one of those foods that you should expect to wait for unless you’re getting it from under a heat lamp.

But it actually tastes very good, despite looking a little haphazard. The toppings are applied in great quantity but don’t really melt into the slice; they kind of rest there in a little mound.

The relatively thin crust manages to stay quite crispy and is a very pleasant texture. In short, this is good pizza. The “D’Bronx Special” is a veritable shit-ton of ingredients. A slice will cost you $5, but it is a huge meal, easily worth the money.

The Overland Park location of D’Bronx gets kind of a bad rap because the atmosphere is so completely different (i.e. lamer) than the original. It is located in a strip mall at 105th and Metcalf, the same complex that houses the serviceable Korean spot, Choga. Despite what you may have heard, this location serves up the same delicious slices and sandwiches as its KC counterpart.

I’d even venture to say that the service is better in JoCo; there are a number of folks running food and clearing tables. On each of my visits, the owners or managers were there fetching refills for people. Moreover, the food runners don’t shriek at the same annoying, earsplitting volumes, undoubtedly because it is much quieter. Of course, the atmosphere really is terribly boring compared to the 39th street original, and the clientele is distinctly more douchesque.

Always a fan of the Reuben I tried the version at the Overland Park D’Bronx and while it was tasty, I can’t say it’s close to the best I’ve had. While they should be lauded for not falling into the dreaded Marble Rye trap, their rye bread is barely recognizable as such. It is a well-prepared, grilled sandwich with plenty of melted cheese but in my mind a reuben should be a gigantic sandwich, overflowing with corned beef. The reuben at D’bronx is good but not great.

All in all, I’m a fan of this place. I know opinions differ as to the quality of their pizza, but I personally find it quite pleasing. The crust remains crisp despite the preponderance of toppings. While I don’t always approve of pizza that requires a fork, this is good stuff, though not quite the New York style that their name implies.

D’Bronx has a whole host of sandwiches, salads and soups as well, including matzoh ball soup which is a rarity in this area. My impression is that everything on the menu is of high quality and well-prepared. The 39th street location is far superior in terms of ambience but both outposts will do when it comes to food.

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Avelluto’s Italian Delight: 6522 Martway

Posted by Dave at 10:04 pm

Apr 042009

Avelluto’s Italian Delight is a semi-cafeteria style restaurant that offers simple versions of pretty much any Italian-American dish you could ever want. Based on what I had heard, I expected someplace a little more dingy, but it is actually quite nice inside and, despite what the photo below shows, is really hopping at the height of lunch hour.

All food is ordered from a register at the end of a large series of deli counters as you walk in. There is so much to choose from that I found it very difficult to make a decision. Pizza, pasta, stromboli, calzones, Italian sandwiches, they have the whole 9 yards here. Side dishes are a little lacking. The side salad is a tepid affair, featuring iceberg lettuce, cheese and a pretty good, traditional Italian dressing. But it is a far cry from satisfying a true vegetable craving. They do offer sides of spinach and broccoli but at more than $3, they are really prohibitive as side dishes. I’ve had the pasta salad which is a solid bow tie noodle dish with diced peppers and fresh basil. Good, but not as good as I make at home.

The meatballs here are pretty good: light fluffy and full of flavor. But the overall effect of the meatball sub was less than ideal. The sauce was overly sweet and tasted canned. The bread was too soft, lacking the definitive crust of a good Italian bread.

Similarly the pizza is fine and the toppings are good, but the dough has none of the qualities of exceptional crust. It bakes up rather chewy and soft, and is slightly undercooked if anything. The slice is vaguely reminiscent of square cafeteria pizza.

I have never eaten anything bad here, but I do find it underwhelming. In the immediate area there are few lunch spots that can compare. If the Mission Twittical pub crawl taught me anything, it’s that Mission has really terrible food. Avelluto’s does handle a high volume lunch crowd very efficiently. I’ve never waited very long to get my food after ordering. If you order multiple items, be aware that they will bring out faster things like salads more quickly.

I can see Italian Delight being perfectly good for folks who want to pick up a pizza or carryout some lasagna or chicken Parmesan to heat up for dinner. I would go again if I had a craving for pasta (which never happens) or Italian deli meats(more likely). But don’t expect to be blown away.

Check out their menu here.

Yelp

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Bella Napoli: 6229 Brookside Blvd.

Posted by Dave at 7:27 pm

Jul 142008

Bella Napoli is a nice little Italian market and deli located near the black hole of death also known as Brookside Boulevard and 63rd Street. Like most places in Brookside, Bella Napoli is very good, but not nearly as good as everyone tells you. But that’s just overcompensation for the Midwestern inferiority complex (“no, I swear! Waldo pizza is better than anyplace else in the entire world!”)

Bella Napoli proper is the center storefront in a row of three allied business. On the north side is an attached pizza and pasta place, with table service and a faux finish inside which gives the impression that, rather than painted drywall, you are looking at 300 year old Italian stucco. It’s called ‘La Cucini di Mama’ or something that I assume means “Mama’s Kitchen.” Is that anything like “Mama’s Family?” I love it when restaurant owners try to immortalize their mothers with half-baked business ventures. In memory of my mother I’m gonna open a restaurant featuring fried spam, corned beef hash out of a can, and syrup made of brown sugar melted in butter.

On the south side of Bella Napoli is an attached espresso bar and a few tables.

The market and deli is obviously the oldest of these three establishments, and obviously the most interesting. There is a small but nice selection of foodstuffs and beverages for sale, as well as at least 6 varieties of olives in wooden barrels, and a mouth-watering assortment of Italian meats and cheeses behind the counter.

They offer seven kinds of sandwiches. I’m not gonna list them, go look at the damn website (I’d link directly to the menu but all those fools who build restaurant websites don’t realize that they foil me by building every damn thing in flash. Really. Sure, building a site where you can’t copy and paste text or link to any subpage is a great idea. Go look at the site–any reason it should be all Flash? Just wonderin’).

These are the best kind of Italian sandwiches. A small portion of highly seasoned meat, some fresh cheese, olive oil, maybe some roasted peppers or giardinera. Contrary to popular belief an Italian sub should not be piled high with three inches of salami (joke? anyone?), much less ham or mustard or *gag* mayonnaise. Bella Napoli does a nice job with the sandwiches, these fresh mozzarella is perfect, the olive oil is good, and the meats are high quality. I enjoyed a sub with prosciutto, fresh mozz, roasted red peppers and fresh basil.

My only quibble is the bread, which lacks the definitive crust that I’ve come to expect from good Italians. Italian bread should hurt the roof of your mouth a little when you bite into it. The bread at Cupini’s is better, but their sandwiches–while also good–are a tad less authentic than Bella Napoli.

You don’t really need side dishes with your sandwich, but chips are available. Drinks can be procured at the register. Sandwiches cost between 6 and 7 dollars so you’ll get out for less than 10 bucks all told. As for seating there are half a dozen tables scattered throughout the place and a few outside.

In terms of a quick lunch, I’m not sure you can do much better in Brookside than Bella Napoli.

Yelp

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Antonio’s Pizzeria and Walnut Deli: 527 Walnut – CLOSED

Posted by Dave at 4:26 pm

Sep 212007

For some reason I always avoid the places on the east side of walnut. Never been to Vivace, because its name reminds me of 5th grade piano lessons. The owners probably have no idea what it means. Or maybe they do, and just have an inflated sense of how great the place is. Anyhow, nestled close by is a nice little lunch spot called Antonio’s.

Antonio’s has a menu a mile long. I have mixed feelings about this, mostly because it took me 10 minutes to find a freaking sandwich without mayo on it. Mayo is disgusting. All the sandwiches are named after celebrities, which is nice but unnecessarily dates the place about 5-8 years before the present. I mean, who has hear the name ‘Ally McBeal’ since like 1999? As you can imagine the McBeal is a low-cal alternative, which is relatively funny. Anyhow, their sandwiches are really good, made with higher quality meats, cheeses and bread–this already puts it head and shoulders above most other sandwich places downtown. That shouldn’t be the case, but it is.

Prices are decent, about what you would expect. My last visit there I ordered a nice sized turkey sandwich with stuff on it, a bag of chips, a delicious fountain soda, and a cookie for about 8 bucks and change. Normally I would get the sandwich and nothing else which would put me in the 6 dollar range. But I just want good food, I’m not gonna split hairs over three bucks unless it tastes like crap or is served by annoying people.

Antonio’s advertises itself as a pizzeria, but I have not had the pleasure. Pizza is really not a lunch time food unless you’re talking slices. I don’t even know if they are open in the evenings, this really doesn’t seem like a dinner restaurant, but then again, nothing in the river market really does. But I’ll warrant the pizza is good here, just judging from the quality of their ingredients.

In summary, I’m a fan of Antonio’s because the selection is good and the sandwiches are made like the give a shit about what they are doing. That shouldn’t be too much to ask for. in most cities, Antonio’s would be just a good, run of the mill option, but here it outshines the rest of the crappy competition. I plan to go back often.

Anthony’s: 701 Grand

Posted by Dave at 4:05 pm

Aug 162007

Nestled next to a small bluff at the intersection of 7th street and Grand Blvd (“of the Americas”), Anthony’s is a classic Italian joint. I’ve been here for dinner, sampled manhattans and Campari on the rocks, listened to the roving crooner sing “Volare” and eaten linguini and meatballs served by teenage Italian kids in white and black. So, i really like this place because it feels like it should.

I went in for lunch recently and had a decent experience. We were seated by a short, skinny, older woman with the largest hairdo I have ever seen. It looked like a huge, black football helmet. Very very impressive.

The lunchtime waitstaff pretty much consists of middle aged italian ladies who have been around the block a time or two. Our server was very friendly and did everything right. The lunch menu is big and doesn;t really differ much from the dinner menu. You can get pastas, chicken parm sandwiches, meatball subs, spiedini, all that stuff. Prices are ok–anywhere from 7-12 bucks depending on what you order.

The food here is not great: let’s make that perfectly clear. I don’t care what anyone says. The sauce is way too sweet, reminiscent of spaghetti-o’s. There is nothing remarkable about the way things are prepared or the way they are plated. That being said, so what? I would be disappointed if this place was too good. The reason you like Anthony’s has to do with the whole package: ambiance, music, decor, clientele, hairdos…The food is part of that certainly, just not a draw in and of itself.

Oh yeah, before I forget: Sinatra was playing in the restaurant the whole time I was there. On your way out, be sure to stop by the Virgin Mary shrine nestled in the limestone wall in the parking lot. Pay your respects, people. In summation, I would’t characterize Anthony’s as overly fast, or overly fancy. As they say: It is what it is.

Yelp

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Cascone’s Grill: 20 E. 5th

Posted by Dave at 7:13 pm

Jun 222007

I have been to Cascone’s Grill for breakfast before while visiting the farmer’s market on Saturday. I was moderately impressed, not necessarily because the food was good, but because it seemed somehow to escape the onslaught of dog and baby-toting yuppies and clueless crowd-navigators that populate the area across the street. So anyway I decided to pay a visit for lunch the other day.

As usual, I was on my own so I was really pleased to see a lunch counter that I had not remembered from my first visit. A lunch counter is a great thing: designed for the lone diner because there is plenty to watch in the kitchen, often there is a tv or at least some random newspapers to occupy your time. I decided to conduct the ultimate test of a lunch spot: the classic American Lunch. What would that be? Why of course a cheeseburger, fries and a coke. I’m happy to report that Cascone’s passed the test on all three counts.

There are two different genres of restaurant burgers. You have the “diner-burger” typified by places like Max’s, and Town Topic which are small, thin patties, fried on a flat grill. These are often served, preloaded with lettuce, tomato and condiments inside a cheap wonderbread type bun. Even more often, they are served without vegetable accompaniment at all, simply meat and cheese (and maybe onion). The other type of burger is what we typically call the “restaurant burger.” This is a fancier and more substantial beast, available at most mid-ranged bar and grill places like McCoy’s et al. They are thick, seasoned, and come with a substantial bun, and feature any number of add-ons. I think both of these can be things of beauty, but they are different animals. The fancy restaurant burger runs the risk of being boring and overpriced, while the diner burger runs the risk of being just plain gross.

Fortunately, Cascone’s serves a perfectly good diner burger: smallish, cheap and hot. American cheese is standard, and lettuce and tomato will cost you a quarter extra (it’s worth it for the McDLT effect). The fries are average but fine. And best of all the Coca-Cola comes from a fountain. I look forward to a future rant about the virtues of Fountain Soda versus cans/bottles.

Anyhow, Casone’s has all the earmarks of afamily-run joint and is worth a visit. i should note that the server was excellent and extremely fast. I was out of there in 20 minutes without even trying.

Yelp

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Tarantino’s: 601 McGee – CLOSED

Posted by Dave at 6:32 pm

Jun 202007

This is what I’m talking about. I’ve passed Tarantino’s a time or two but never gave it much thought. Thanks to the suggestions by a couple readers of this blog I decided to check it out. Tarantino’s is situated on 6th and McGee, basically overlooking the highway to the north and the buildings down by the river. It’s a classically urban setting in which to enjoy a bit of lunch. Not too slick, not too gritty. It’s basically across McGee from Gland Slam Liquors, in case you want to pick up a pint of Popov vodka on your way back to work. It’s like a vestige of what KC looked like before 6th street was an actual city road and not a glorified highway feeder.

I arrived shortly after the lunch rush proper, and as a result the staff failed to bring a menu or wipe the table for 5 minutes or so. Uh oh, I thought, we have another John’s situation on our hands. But two waitresses noticed me eventually, and made up for the small wait with excessive quantities of friendliness. The primary waitress didn’t make me wait to place my order. For that, I’ll also forgive the short-shorts with “Team Pink” written across the butt.

The restaurant is quite small, maybe seats 40-50 people andthey seem to do a nice business. The patrons were mostly a middle-aged, white bunch of people, though i saw a couple teenagers as well. This is the kind of place where you will find well-heeled businessmen, secretaries, construction workers, and housewives all having lunch together. At least half the people in the place were regulars whom the waitresses called by name. The bearded gentleman next to me wearing overalls and carrying a 64oz plastic coffee mug was one of them. They brought him an iced tea without him needing to ask.

And jesus, the food came out in a hurry. The menu offered all sorts of Italian favorites–sandwiches, pizza, calzones, pasta, spiedini, sausages–and a number of daily specials as well. Except for pizza, I don’t think anything on the menu was over $7. They also serve several kinds of beer. At least one lady was smoking. No one cared. I opted for a meatball sub. After all, any self-respecting italian joint worth its salt will know how to dish out a decent meatball. And decent it was.For 6 bucks I got a nice sized (but not outrageous) sandwich, a bag of chips, and a pile of dill pickles. Sodas were only a dollar, so I got out of there without spending more than $10. And the meatballs had all the hallmarks of being homemade. That’s all I ask.

Moreover, my check was brought promptly, and I was out of there about 15 minutes after I walked in! This is incredible for table service. Depending on where you are, it shouldn’t take folks more than 10 minutes to walk there from Main Street, so a 1/2 lunch is a distinct possibility. Best of all, a friendly gent walked by everyone’s table to make sure the food was ok. I assume he is the owner. This is a nice touch, though I have definitely seen it done badly. Sometimes overly attentive service can seem disingenuous.

This place knows how to do it right: Good food, fast, friendly service, interesting clientele, good prices…I don’t know what else to say. Tarantino’s is going on the regular rotation.

Yelp

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