My family and I took the dads in our lives out for dinner on Saturday night, to avoid the chaos on the actual holiday. My dad was craving Italian and my mom had to go along with it since it was his day. My mom is deathly allergic to cheese, so she always gets a little nervous and has trust issues with restaurants. One Brooklyn restaurant years ago used a special cheese as a "secret ingredient" in their meatballs and put her in the hospital. Needless to say she's been skeptical ever since, but we do what we can to warn the restaurant of her allergy.
We ventured to Gravesend for some quality Italian at Fiorentino's Ristorante, a restaurant that has withstood the test of time and offers incredible food at even better prices. I know this place is out of the way, but it is so worth it - trust me!
After arriving at 8pm with no reservation (my family is cool like that), we were seated after about 10 minutes. Just enough time to ogle the desserts in this display case.
We started out with a few appetizers, which I did not get pictures of. I was so hungry, along with the rest of my family, that we inhaled everything. We ordered the fried calamari with both the marinara and the fra diavolo sauce, and the clams casino (which are baked clams with a nibble of bacon on top). It was family style portions, so there was plenty for everyone. My mom ordered a side salad and it was enormous, so we passed that around for everyone to have a taste. My dad was in heaven with the clams casino. It might just be his most favorite food and ate about 6 of them. I thought they were tasty, but liked the calamari more. Anything fried in my book is amazing.
Entrees took a while to come out, but that's okay since I wanted to digest from all the appetizers we devoured. They came out as they were ready, so some started to eat before everyone else, but that's okay, we didn't mind.
First up was Richie (my brother-in-law) who ordered the Chicken Parmesan. I know what you're thinking - "how typical!" - but it isn't what you would expect.
His thinking was that he's had a ton of chicken parm from all sorts of places and its just been "okay" and wanted to see what a fancy Italian place would do with it. He figured if it wasn't good here, there was no hope for it anywhere.
Well, turns out it was incredible and he joined the Clean Plate Club in a hurry! I even took a bite, regardless of the repercussions I would later deal with. (Hives not the poops). It was lightly breaded and perfectly pounded, cooked chicken. The sauce was definitely homemade and amazing with the most delicious mozzarella spread evenly over the whole dish.
My dad wanted a veal dish since its something he never really orders and eats. I feel bad for the baby cows, but he ate it, not me. So pass your judgement somewhere else. I was not about to give my dad a guilt trip on father days.
He asked our waiter, Charlie - who could have been straight out of a mobster movie, what he recommended. This was the recommendation and my dad was a happy camper.
This is called Veal Scaloppine Alla Bolognese, which is thin veal steaks with prosciutto and melted mozzarella on top in a white wine sauce. I took a little nibble (I know, I'm a horrible person!) and it was really good. Not something I would EVER order for myself for obvious reasons.
RJ (my nephew) ordered his favorite food (at the moment anyway) which he refers to as Monster, cause he's inventive and awesome. He got the Eggplant Parmesan. He was overwhelmed by it, as it came in a giant metal bowl straight from the oven. Not exactly kid-friendly, but after we set him up on a plate he was digging in like a kid in a candy store.
I didn't have a chance to try it, but he asked to have it wrapped to eat for lunch the next day. How many 10 year old do you know who like left overs?
Mama Maria wanted shrimp and asked Charlie for his recommendations and this is what came of it. I think its called Shrimp Marinara and its giant grilled shrimp and clams smothered in the amazing marinara sauce.
She seemed to enjoy this a lot and I took a few tastes myself. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and enormous. Where do you get shrimp this big?
As for my sisters and I, we were all so indecisive. We wanted fish and Charlie was adamant about how good the broiled Filet of Sole was. Mel and I decided to split this dish and the scallops, but when she ordered the scallops Charlie said "no, that isn't a good dish, get something else." How many waiters do you know who would say something like that?
He was honest about 3 dishes not being good, the scallops, the lasagna and something else, perhaps the clams (zuppa?). So she went with the broiled Filet of Sole too. We were THRILLED with our selection as it was huge, fresh and delicious. Again, where are they getting this giant seafood from? I really didn't like the stinky potato croquette which looks like a baked potato here. There was something off and it there might have been cheese mixed in. Everyone else seemed to like it. Eh, who needs potato when they have all this fish? We also shared sauteed asparagus, which was a little overcooked but still super tasty.
In the end, RJ, Mel, Sandy and I took home left overs. I ended up eating mine on Monday for lunch at work - and it was still so tasty!We asked RJ what he thought about the Eggplant Parmesan, whether it was the best he ever had.
He said yes (to Sandy's horror since she makes it for him at home) and gave it a thumbs up!
Here's Richie, Sandy and RJ - one happy family!
We all had such a great time pigging out and celebrating fatherhood.
They had a long drive back home, so after dinner and a little digesting at the restaurant they were off. Although its important to note that the restaurant didn't rush us one bit, and we were there for over 2 hours.
Food was a little slow to come out, but it was fresh and hot. This place is big and packed, so its understandable that it takes time to cook food for 7 people at a table.
<-------------Sisters!
It's always nice spending time with my family, which usually means lots of food and then naps (okay, not really but I wish I could nap after eating this much).
My parents were really happy with their meals and raved about how inexpensive the meal was. After 2 appetizers, 1 carafe of wine (which we didn't even finish), 7 entrees, 1 vegetable side, 2 salads, 2 coffees and 1 dessert (cheese cake), the total bill was $175. They did comp us 2 sides of spaghetti and a small slice of spumoni for my mom. It was a meal fit for a king at a fraction of the cost. Needless to say we'll be back, and ready to eat!
So again, Happy Father's Day to my awesome, amazing, fantastic Dad!
I have you to thank for my gastronomic curiosity since you were always the adventurous eater in our household.
LOVE YOU!
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