I Ran Out Of Italian Adjectives
In Orlando for business and tired of cooking for days in our well-appointed hotel suite, COVID be damned, we just HAD to find a good Italian place on our last night in town. Previous stops in “The City Beautiful” have taken us to Mama Della's Ristorante in the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. Alas, “Mama” had been forced by the virus into temporary closure, so we went on the hunt for someplace else where we could get some good Italian food. And, my oh my, did Tartini Pizzeria & Spaghetteria ever fill the bill!
Touted on Google as a “polished yet casual stop for pasta & wood-fired pizzas, with a modern decor including leather seats,” Tartini is all that and much more.
We dropped by early in order to avoid any potential crowds. In that we were successful, being the only couple in the place at five o'clock on a Friday afternoon. A few others filtered in while we were there but social distancing wasn't a problem. Well, there was a slight problem: our cameriere was a terrific guy, very friendly and enthusiastic. I knew he was smiling under his required face mask because his eyes were smiling. But he had to stand so far away. Between my slight hearing difficulty and the recorded music that, though perfect for the atmosphere, may have been a trifle too loud, and the fact that he was talking through a mask, communication was not all it could have been. I, too, was wearing a mask, of course, and the combination of English and Italian we were exchanging was challenging at the least. Not his fault. Mask and distance impaired communication aside, the service was impeccable.
And the food was divino! Mio dio, after buonissimo, delizioso, meraviglioso, il migliore, and several other words of praise, I simply ran out of Italian adjectives.
Let's start with the antipasto. They had the usual mozzarella sticks, caprese, calamari and such. They even offered Italian nachos. But I'm a sucker for good garlic knots and the five decadent twists of garlicky, cheesy, olive oily warm, wood-fired bread that we were served moved my long-time favorite knots at Best Italian in Gatlinburg, Tennessee into second place. These were – as I employed my first adjective of the evening – spettacolare! Ah, but the wicked little morsels were but a harbinger of things to come.
I was torn between pasta and pizza. This was also a “spaghetteria,” after all. But ultimately, my wife's suggestion that I would never forgive myself for not sampling the wood-fired pizza won out and I ordered a simple cheese pizza. They had lots of fancier ones on the menu, including the San Danielle made of pomodoro sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula, and shaved Parmesan. That looked good. So did the house specialty Tartini pizza that added salami, sopressata, and Italian sausage to the pomodoro sauce and mozzarella. But I've always found that a restaurant can best be judged by how they prepare simple classics, so I had a simple, classic cheese pizza. The. Crust. Was. To. DIE. For! I'm writing this days after and I'm still dying for more of it. Easily one of the best pizze I have ever had.
And she who convinced me to try the pizza had absolutely no complaints about her choice of pasta. She chose the Pasta Mare E' Terra, a rich combination of penne pasta in a lobster cream sauce with sauteed beef, shrimp, zucchini, and spinach. It was a toss up between that and the restaurant's signature dish, Pasta alla Ruota; their “show-stopping” spaghetti, flamed with Hennessy brandy and tossed in a wheel of cheese. Next time. Definitely next time.
We both went into the place with the intention of having no leftovers since we had a long road trip facing us the next day. Yeah. Right. So much for intentions. This is an Italian-American restaurant, you know? So when our friendly cameriere came by to check on us, I first told him, “Mi hai rovinato! (You have ruined me!)” Then I instructed him to carefully and lovingly package every last droplet and crumb of the cibo straordinario as if it had to travel five-hundred miles, because it did. There was no way I was leaving a bit of anything behind. We had coolers. We were good. The leftovers would be perfect for dinner when we got home the next night, and they certainly were.
Dessert? Uffa! Che pazzo! But the choices were tempting. Cannoli, tiramisu, gelato, zeppole, Nutella cheesecake........but my resolve was strong. And my stomach was full.
Tartini has a nice wine list and they feature Peroni on tap as well as the usual choices of soft drinks, tea, coffee (American and Italian) and Aqua Panna and San Pellegrino waters.
In addition to being delicious, everything was very reasonably priced. Even the signature Pasta alla Ruota clocked in at less than twenty-five bucks.
One slight critique is offered only to satisfy the pedantic pedagogue in me: spelling on both the printed menu and the website is absolutely horrendous. I would let it slide if it was written by an Italian struggling with English, but even some of the Italian words are misspelled. Oh well. Chalk it up to part of the charm of a small, local place.
You can find Tartini Pizzeria & Spaghetteria at 6321 S. Orange Ave, #101 in Pine Castle (suburban Orlando) Florida. There's adequate parking and limited outdoor seating. Reservations are accepted but not required. Dress is casual. A kids' menu is available. As of this writing, open for dine-in, takeout, and delivery from 11 am until 10 pm Monday through Saturday and from noon until 9 pm on Sunday. Phone (407) 704-8011 or log on to http://www.tartinirestaurant.com. And bear in mind that COVID may force changes to hours and/or services.
Move over, Mama Della. I've got a new favorite Italian restaurant in Orlando.
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