A good friend of mine gave me a $100 gift certificate for Sabatino's as a Christmas gift , and I redeemed it tonight. I invited two of my neighbors to dine with me as a treat for their continuing acts of kindness.
A dinner club I'm familiar with eats at Sabatino's almost weekly, but I've almost always passed-up the opportunity. No particular reason why - but it just hasn't interested me much (the restaurant, not the group). I've also eaten in the upstairs banquet room, and haven't been impressed.
Tonight I had a very pleasant experience in the main dining room. I feel like a stuffed animal, awaiting my place over someone's fireplace!
I reviewed prior Sabatino posts earlier this afternoon and made some notes. Thanks to those of you who've shared your own experiences and recommendations.
The place was jumping tonight. It was good that I called ahead a couple of days ago to make a reservation for 7 p.m. - because when we got there "walk ins" had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. We were seated quickly, without a wait.
No sooner had we been seated when the complimentary pizza bread arrived. How light in texture it was. Very easy on the stomach. Soon thereafter the first loaf of crusty bread arrived. My table companions - long-time customers and friends of the owners - were ecstatic with the bread's quality.
A appetizer special for the night was the baked artichoke, and having earlier in the day read about this "winner" I ordered it, along with the bresaola over argula - another home run selection. The artichoke was the real winner, though - great texture/taste without much weight - and the "finger food" quotient was a nice start to the meal.
My companions, when I could get their attention away from the bread, ordered minestrone soup, while I opted for the stracciatella with spinach (a selection to which I owe gratitude to others here who've spoken of it here). The soup of the others was okay, but mine was rich in texture and flavor - I, too, heartily recommend it.
One of the brother-owners stopped by the table to greet my guests and afterwards sent over some bruchetta (maybe everyone gets this, but I was impressed). Then, the other brother-owner stopped by to say hello - and afterwards he sent over a plate of bow-tie pasta in some sauce with peas and other things, and it was very good.
The salads were the next to arrive - very fresh, but the tomato's were over-ripe and not very good. I opted for the house dressing: Italian with gorgonzola cheese, and the cheese was disappointingly unflavorful.
My guests don't drink alcohol, but I was sipping on several glasses of Kendal Jackson Chardonnay throughout.
My entree choice was Veal Braciole served in a mushroom sauce. The sauce was too rich/flavorful and it overshadowed the meat. The meat was a thin piece of veal wrapped around "Italian sausage." The veal was so/so, and the Italian sausage was actually a finely ground, unflavorful, meat filling without a casing. As I've already said, the strength of the sauce obliterated the meat. I don't recommend this selection.
My guests ordered the Veal Marsala, and liked it very much.
We're now into our third loaf of bread. This table liked the bread a lot!
After the entree, and before we could think about dessert, one of the owners sent over a large plate of fresh fruit (maybe this is customary, but I'd not received it before on earlier visits). I ordered an espresso and a sambucca, and the three of us shared one order of Chocolate Tartufo for dessert. It's a rich ice cream-sort of dessert. I wasn't impressed.
Our foraging consumed 2.5 hours, and not one of the three of us ate all that was placed in front of us. We each had "take home" bags when we left. What we did consume was an enormous amount of food (and my various drinks), for which the bill totaled $105 before the tip was added.
I'll agree with comments of others, earlier, that Sabatino's doesn't offer "great' Italian food. It's "good." It's well priced, and therefore a "good value." There's nothing wrong with being good. The service was impeccable - well-above restaurants I've frequented in a comparable price range. The surroundings/decor was first-class - very comfortable.
A very good time was had by us all.