Friday, March 16, 2012

3/16/12-Zingarella Pizzeria & Ice Cream Cafe, Plantsville, CT

This new restaurant is quite the popular place in town! I remember (and fondly miss) Kry's Pizza inhabiting this building and I was really hoping that this was a good replacement. They really have done an excellent job updating the outside and the inside of the building, adding to the revitalization of downtown Plantsville. The interior is warm, a bit cramped and slightly quirky with the mix of different chairs, but it has an overall nice atmosphere. Shortly after 530 when we arrived, the placed was packed and we got the last table in the dining room, which was unfortunately right next to the door--it could get very chilly when people kept the door open!

After we were seated, our waitress came by and mentioned that she was backed up with a bunch of new tables and she'd be by in a little bit--this was a precursor to how service went for the rest of the evening. A while later, she came by for the drink order and then the food order. We decided to start with some garlic knots--they were delish! I was expecting a bread basket as is customary in Italian restaurants, but I guess not here. Family-style salad came at the same time, which was already dressed in balsamic vinaigrette dressing--standard table salad. After the salad, we had a very long wait before our dinners arrived--a bit too long.

Onto the entrees! Dad had the three cheese raviolis with a side of meatballs--we noted that the portion seemed to be on the small side, but the meatballs made up for that because they were huge! Mom had the Salmon alla griglia--she really enjoyed this dish, especially the dill vinaigrette that dressed the fish filet. Tom had the pollo scallopine piccata--he enjoyed the chicken but found the side of mixed veggies to be overcooked. I had the lasagna pasticciata--I also found my portion to be on the small side, but it was satisfying--probably the first time I've ever been able to finish a pasta dish, which Italians know is not usually feasible! Our waitress was sporadic, not very careful about refilling drinks and then trying to clear plates before everyone had finished, which put us off a bit.

It is a new place, going through growing pains. With time, I hope that service gets better, both faster and friendlier and that they find their groove and become a consistently nice place to get a meal. The food was good overall and I would say that we'd come back, but most likely only on an off peak time, like a late lunch. Actually, I'd like to give their pizza a chance--but for take out.

www.zingarellas.com

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