FOODIE

Taking Three Steps To Good Italian
By Luann & Lou / foodie@longislandernews.com

We’ve come to learn that there are three steps to making good Italian: one, use quality ingredients; two, don’t rush it; and three, make it with love. Some Italian restaurants get that, and Tre Scalini seems to be one of them.

The restaurant that took over Luigi’s on Route 110 in Melville is the same Tre Scalini – meaning “three steps” – of the Maddoloni Jewelers shopping center on Jericho Turnpike, where it had been since the mid-90s. The humble Melville dining space almost has a diner-like feel at first, filled with booths, tables and a wide assortment of people; on our Tuesday night visit, patrons ranged from a table of 10 for a birthday party to a couple sharing a romantic evening out.

Heading the operation are Tony Dushaj and Angelo Barrera, both active figures in the restaurant, talking to diners, taking orders and making sure things run smoothly.

Tre Scalini’s menu is typical of your every day Italian restaurant, filled with staples like fried calamari, antipasti, Bolognese, penna alla vodka and chicken parmigiana. The kitchen seems to be more adventurous with their specials.

We started with, as we usually do, the fried calamari ($7). The calamari was tender, but the batter left us wanting more. However, the marinara sauce it came with was wonderful, more of a filetto di pomodoro, leaving us hopeful that Tre Scalini’s marinara-based dishes would be a tasty treat.

Next up was a pair of chicken dishes. The chicken in the Scarpariello ($13) comes as two large, thick cutlets, sautéed in a delicate white wine sauce and topped with sliced eggplant, prosciutto and melted mozzarella. The chicken is thick and juicy, and the eggplant is sliced thin and breaded, but doesn’t overpower the dish. The prosciutto is thicker than most we’ve had, but tastes great and complements the other flavors well.

The standout of our meal, however, was the Chicken Angelo special ($14). The dish is made with the same delicious, juicy cutlets, and topped with the same melted mozzarella, but the surprise star here is the asparagus and roasted red peppers on top of that. And these aren’t just your average asparagus spears. These are huge – only three were needed to cover one chicken cutlet – but didn’t lack flavor. Despite the fact that the portion is generous, the dish is light and doesn’t leave you with that “I’ve stuffed myself again” feeling.

What’s more, the broccoli with garlic cloves and oil that came with both dishes was stellar.

For dessert, we opted for the standard tartufo, but Tony suggested the cheesecake. Naturally, we went with both.

A ball of chocolate and vanilla ice cream covered in hard chocolate, the tartufo satisfies the sweet tooth. However, we were really impressed with the homemade cheesecake. We couldn’t discern what was in it, and Tony wouldn’t reveal his secret, but we believe there was a hint of anisette in the ricotta-like cake as well as some chocolate swirls.

Overall, we were very satisfied with our visit and are anxious to return. Next on our list: some of those pasta dishes.

Tre Scalini

672 Walt Whitman Road
Melville
631-673-1766

www.originaltrescalini.com

Cuisine: Italian

Atmosphere: Casual, family friendly

Price range: Inexpensive-moderate

Hours: Monday-Thursday noon-10 p.m.;
Friday and Saturday noon-11 p.m.;
Sunday 2-10 p.m.

Main Menu