After touring Italy last summer, it’s hard for me to make an unbiased assesment of a local Italian eatery. Upon entering Toscana Little Italy, I was skeptical, because our maitre’d looked like a character from The Sopranos. He was very friendly, dressed in a purple suit and matching tie, had slicked back hair and fancy, two-toned leather shoes. What had we stepped into?
Well, for starters, a huge restaurant; there are booths lining the perimeter of the room, which is split by a half-wall into two separate dining areas. The walls are painted a warm gold, which complements the dark wood accents, tables and chairs. It’s large, but still cozy. There is a full bar which had a television on a sports channel, at which my companion could not stop glancing. Men…
Keeping things traditional, we decided to have wine to begin our experience. I chose the Chianti Classico and he ordered a glass of the house cabernet. My dining companion and I decided to start with a couple of appetizers. I ordered the tomato salad, which was topped with feta cheese, kalamata olives and a garlic and herb dressing, while he ordered one of the specials, Classic di Carbonara ($12.95). Both dishes arrived quickly and we noticed that his pasta bowl seemed more like a dinner portion—which explained why our server asked what type of dressing he would like for his side salad. We were confused because the specials menu wasn’t clearly marked. There was an appetizer header, but no main course header, and it jumped straight to dessert. However, both dishes were delicious, and I couldn’t stop myself from stealing bites off his plate. The egg nest fettuccine noodles were prepared in a light portabello mushroom cream sauce with crispy prosciutto. It was infused with a mushroom earthiness complemented by truffle oil.
For my main course, I couldn’t resist ordering the classic chicken parmigiana ($14.95). After reading the description on the menu, I was excited because it sounded like an unconventional version of the dish, baked together in a creamy sauce with spinach linguini and ravioli. When it arrived, it was a standard chicken parmigiana, with a side of linguini with spinach and another side of ravioli. While it was all yummy, I felt that the menu description was a bit misleading; the presentation was not what I expected. We both ate from my plate since my companion had already finished his main course in the appetizer round. It was very enjoyable and there were no leftovers to take home. Other menu highlights that sounded interesting, possibly for a return visit, were the caviar pasta ($12.95), grouper Oscar ($17.95) and roasted baby rack of lamb ($21.95)—to name just a few.
We decided dessert would be too much to eat after such a filling meal, so we ordered a house-made tiramisu ($5.50) to go—even at home it was delicious. It was a fitting end to the evening, and all we were missing was the espresso.
Toscana Little Italy
4440 Hendricks Ave., Miramar; 900-1059
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 AM-9 PM; Friday and Saturday, 11 AM-10 PM; closed Sunday
I’ll Drink to That: Toscana has a lengthy list of reds and whites. Full bar service is also available, but not listed on the menus.
Where the Stars Dine: On this particluar evening, we had a local celebrity sighting. Channel 4 anchor Mary Baer was enjoying a meal in an adjacent booth.
Large Scale: The interior is vast, with dozens of comfy booths lining the walls. Four-top tables populate the rest of the dining room.
Desserts: Toscana’s dessert menu is small, with only a few offerings. The chef’s special of the night was a “tuxedo bomb.” In hindsight, maybe we should have been more adventurous and ordered that (pictured below).
Pizza, Pizza: An assortment of 14-inch and 16-inch pies, as well as calzones, are offered for lunch and dinner. And, Toscana delivers.