Dere’s dis eating place with a nonsensical name belies the first-class of the meals: Dat’s Italian.
Once getting beyond the appellation, I absolutely loved my meal. It seems I’m now not the only one to surprise about the name. A laminated card explains its origins: “It’s not just motive us New Yorkers don’t pronounce our t-h’s so nicely. It just regarded best to name the eating place after my husband of 35 years … ”
JoAnn and Dennis Trujillo opened the Old Colorado City restaurant in 2010, and it’s now not the best for travelers who wander in for a flavor of Italy. It’s the locals, though, who seem to understand that reservations are recommended, but lunch is less busy.
The menu is a what’s what of Italian delicacies, with a few Adriatic Sea and Sicilian impacts but generally familiar classics. Ravioli and pizza had been the only requirements I observed lacking. But many other options make it easy to forget about’ dem. And like several Italian restaurants really worth its sauce, the servings are massive.
Among the starters are mussels, forms of meatballs, and clean-pulled mozzarella. Unlike most eating places, no bread basket is added to the table, even though you could order a bread plate ($3.Ninety nine) served with olive oil or marinara or garlic bread ($6.59). An unimpressive dinner roll accompanies each entrée, but it’s not really worth the calories and isn’t even a perfect car for sopping up excess sauces. This turned into the most effective sadness of our meal.
Everything else becomes amazing, beginning with the pignoli meatballs ($7.50). Beef and sausage meatballs filled with pine nuts and included with a complete-bodied tomato sauce set the bar for the rest of our dinner.
Our enthusiastic server knew the menu well and could offer pointers and motives. She shared her private favorites, including most of the seafood dishes, particularly the shrimp scampi ($19). It’s exceptional to avoid this dish if you turn away from garlic. Fortunately, this is a taste I include with gusto — possibly to the dismay of friends and circle of relatives individuals. Whole roasted garlic gloves and a beneficiant amount of shrimp swimming in a creamy sauce, a blend of olive oil, butter, and plenty of Parmesan cheese. More flavor comes inside the marvel bites of roasted lemon. Unless in any other case asked, this is served over angel hair pasta. I asked trenette pasta; similar in size and form to linguini, it’s made fresh, and hand reduces every day. It’s a $2.50 upcharge.
The lasagna ($16.Seventy five) is also made with sheets of clean pasta. The menu describes it as being “The Best,” which may be hyperbole, but it absolutely became some of the better renditions I’ve had. The handiest problem is the quantity of cheese. Apparently, it’s prepared with “Six Key Italian Kinds of cheese.” That might be or three too many. The meat sauce is a strong tomato base that featured floor beef and sausage.
An outstanding array of cakes greets diners as they input the eating place before even being seated and seeing the menu.]
We stated yes to cannolis ($6.Seventy five). Fried pastry dough is rolled into tubes and filled with almond-flavored whipped ricotta cheese, and sprinkled with shaved chocolate. It changed into a great manner to finish da meal.]
Appetizers and entrée dishes have been left at the table long after there were meals on the plates. A little bus carrier might be appreciated. Otherwise, the carrier became attentive, and the noise stage turned into now not a problem for mealtime conversation.
