Fine Italian Cuisine, Catering Prevail at Bartolino’s

Besides the fantastic food, you’ll love the warm, peaceful ambience, reminiscent of an Italian villa at Bartolino’s Italian Restaurant. Cream colored walls, tile floors, soft lighting and alabaster columns offset dark wood. Lots of leafy plants and soft music also help to create a serene environment that enhances your overall dining experience, as does a glowing fireplace in the main dining room. Whether a romantic dinner for two or a private event for as many as 200, a meal at Bartolino’s is a very special event.

Bobby and Lisa Puccio are proud to celebrate nearly six years of fine dining at Bartolino’s. The chef prepares cuisine from all regions of Italy, incorporating only the freshest meat, seafood, vegetables and pasta. The appetizers on the menu include fresh mussels in a garlicky tomato sauce swiftly scooped up by wedges of warm Italian bread. Mussels Luciano are prepared in a light white sauce with tender cannellini beans for a unique combination ($8). Sliced Portobello mushrooms are sautéed in garlic and oil and topped with melted cheese. Another popular choice is the eggplant rollatini, filled with creamy ricotta and topped with homemade tomato sauce ($8). Also tempting is a bowl of the chef’s homemade escarole soup or pasta e fagioli, with tender white beans. If you prefer a cool start to your meal, try the fresh octopus salad with cubes of potato and red onion in a tangy vinegar lemon dressing. Bartolino salad, fresh arugula, pine nuts and slices of orange topped with shaved parmigiano, is bursting with flavor. A well-stocked wine cabinet houses excellent vintages from Italy, France, California and Chile.

Bartolino’s fresh fish and seafood menu includes fillet of salmon over a bed of spinach in a creamy garlic sauce ($17), shrimp scampi served with a side order of fresh vegetables and potato and shrimp or mussels in spicy red sauce atop a mound of linguine. The fresh fish special of the day, Chilean sea bass sautéed with tender asparagus and olives in a light broth, was delicious. A generous helping of broccoli rabe accompanied the dish. My dining companion devoured lobster ravioli in a light tomato sauce.

Diners who prefer meat will be hard pressed to decide among all the mouth-watering veal and chicken dishes on the menu. Tender veal or chicken cutlets are prepared in several styles, including francese, marsala, parmigiana, Milanese or Florentine with prosciutto and provolone and finished with a light spinach cream sauce. Broiled veal chops are prepared Italian style with tangy vinegar peppers. Chicken vagostella topped with prosciutto and mozzarella in a mushroom wine sauce ($19) remains a popular dish. Juicy shell steaks are cooked to your liking.

Pasta dishes, such as one of my all-time favorites, penne with broccoli rabe and sausage, spaghetti Bolognese in a rich meat sauce and linguine with white or red clam sauce, are prepared on the spot and served in generous portions. Gnocchi al pesto is bathed in a fragrant sauce of basil, garlic and pine nuts. Best of all, pasta dishes run about $14.

Desserts feature such imported Italian treats as frozen tartufo, a tower of semifreddo with hazel nuts and Italian cheesecake. Espresso and after-dinner cordials end the meal with style.

Bartolino’s is currently taking reservations for a sumptuous three-course Valentine’s Day meal in a romantic setting at $49 per person. The staff will help plan private parties for 10 to 200 people. Menus can be arranged, starting at $28 per person for a three-course, sit-down meal and can be customized to meet every desire. Call as early as possible to plan your spring or summer event. In warm weather, French doors in the back open to a garden space for additional guests. Limited parking is available behind the restaurant as well.

Any meal at Bartolino’s is special, due to the quality of the food, great service and ambience. They’re closed on Tuesdays, but open for dinner from 3 to 11 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and from Noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Don’t feel like going out? Bartolino’s will deliver to you.

I can’t wait to go back to Bartolino’s Italian Restaurant.

…whether a romantic

dinner for two or a

private event for as many

as 200, a meal at

Bartolino’s is a very

special event