DINING REVIEW
Ristorante Lombardo: Prix fixe menu hits the spot
The restaurants that will succeed in these perilous times are the ones that attempt to accommodate our dank economy. Restaurateurs are all too aware that dining out heads many “Dispensable Luxury Lists.” That’s the reason for all the coupons, bar menus and two-for-one offers you’re seeing now. Let’s face it: This is a buyer’s market.
So keep your eyes open and your taste buds sharpened, and make the most of the situation that, let us hope, will not last forever and a day.
The idea is to stay flexible, because most of the deals run during the week. Maybe “Date Night” could move from Saturday to Wednesday?
Case in point: Ristorante Lombardo on still-burgeoning Hertel Avenue. It’s a restaurant that has expanded through the years and now includes a glamorous bar and patio. Ristorante Lombardo is prettily adorned with fresh flowers in Italian pottery pots, and it is now offering a $30 three-course, fixed-price meal with many options Monday through Thursday evenings. (True, there was once a time when a $30 meal in Western New York was rare and scaled extravagant financial heights, but restaurant price structure has definitely changed and, considering that Ristorante Lombardo’s prix fixe allows you to choose at will from the anitpasti, primi, secondi and dolci sections of a menu filled with innovative ideas, it definitely can be considered a bargain.)
This special menu changes frequently but reflects the calendar as it should. On the evening of our visit, we pretty much devoted the evening to the “Three for $30” menu, beginning with an antipasto course of littleneck clams and lump crab scampi cooked in the traditional way with white wine and lemon served with plenty of broth and, thankfully, plenty of garlic.
We also went for a primi course of wild mushroom and Buffalo mozzarella agnolotti, which turned out to be the favorite dish of the night — not that there wasn’t plenty of competition. That stuffed pasta that we ordered included house-smoked ham, spinach, a hint of truffle and Parmesan, and it was amazingly rich and satisfying.
Luckily, my secondi choice was a little lighter, at least in feel. Crisp, soft-shelled crab — now is the season! — had been sauteed in citrus butter, accompanied by mascarpone orzo with a few sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Though I usually like crab served as simply as can be, I think that the orange flavor “worked” in this case, although it did provide some distraction of sorts. It was more than fine — but, to tell the truth, it was not my favorite dish of the evening.
The Companion, on the other hand, opted for a tasty if not overly innovative four-cheese stuffed ravioli with pesto and tomatoes and then moved on to a zestily spiced crusted prime rib eye with a dense, thickened sauce. The meat was ample and tender; sauteed greens and potatoes au gratin filled the plate up nicely. His dessert was pistachio semifreddo, piquant custard adorned with a strawberry or two.
We hardly walked away hungry. That’s not surprising when you consider that we strayed from the straight and narrow path, indulging in a few a la carte goodies along the way. A meatball bruschetta “sfizi” (it means “snack”) cost $5 and was more than worth the price. Picture meatballs made from pork and beef nestled on crisp flat bread and resting on arugula. It was a nice complement to cocktails and wine. Other sfizis — I love this word — included toasted almonds and Parmesan fries with truffle aioli — a combination that’s turning up on more and more menus these days and is probably the year’s most popular gastronomic spinoff. There are marinated olives and provolone marinated with chile and garlic listed also.
We tried some plump, grilled gorgonzola-stuffed figs ($12) wrapped with prosciutto and served on mesclun with balsamic vinaigrette. The dish could hardly miss, of course, given that combination of ingredients.
The regular menu at Lombardo’s is a luxurious one. It’s slightly more conventional, but the Caesar salad ($16) is prepared tableside and the grilled Asparagus Milanese ($10) is topped with a fried duck egg. There’s always Pork del Giorno made with locally raised heirloom meat. The evening of our visit, the meat was prepared stir fry. And, for the time being at least, the pan-seared halibut ($26) is served with ramp butter. And who could ever forget the warm lentil salad?•
RISTORANTE LOMBARDO
Four stars
WHERE: 1198 Hertel Ave. (873-4291; www.ristorantelombardo.com).
Comfortable, sophisticated restaurant that serves classic and contemporary Italian cuisine now offers a three-course prix fixe dinner Monday through Thursday evenings.
Credit Cards: American Express, MasterCard and Visa.
FAVORITE DISH: Wild mushroom and Buffalo mozzarella agnolotti
NEEDS WORK: Food is of excellent quality.
PRICE RANGE:Secondi from $19 include vegetables (many $25 and up). Prix fixe dinner, $30.
SERVICE: Excellent
HOURS: 5 to 10 p. m. Monday through Thursday; 5 to 11 p. m. Friday and Saturday.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
PARKING: Valet service in the lot.
RATINGS:Stars reflect the overall dining experience at the time of The News’ visit — including service, ambience, innovation and cost — with greatest weight given to quality of the food.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments