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Unwind At Gennaro’s
By The Foodies./ foodie@longislandernews.com
Nearly everything about Gennaro’s in Huntington invites
diners to relax and unwind.
It starts when you walk up to the front door and see the elevated
stone patio well-removed from East Main Street.
The Tuscan-flavored interior is awash with muted wood and
stucco tones, soft lighting and gentle music; the bar is concealed
behind a rich red curtain with fringe. And then the menu comes
– it’s on one large piece of laminated paper and
is easy to wrap your head around.
Until last year, the restaurant was affiliated with Umberto’s
in New Hyde Park, but Gennaro’s has been standing on
its own since then. As soon as they get their new liquor license
– expected any day now, said new owner Fabrizio Costelli
– they’ll celebrate their grand opening as Gennaro’s.
Under new ownership, Costelli said much would remain the same,
including the kitchen staff. He plans to tweak the menu, improve
service and introduce live entertainment as a regular feature.
“We’re looking forward to coming in and changing
a little bit,” Costelli said.
Those tweaks will be sure to enhance what customers have come
to love. Lightly fried, tender calamari ($11) comes with mild
or spicy marinara sauce; the spicy version will leave a tingle
on your tongue without making you dive for the breadbasket.
You should dive for it for another reason entirely, as the
fresh, soft Italian bread is plenty of a reason on its own.
As an unabashed gnocchi lover, I jumped at their oven-baked
Gnocchi al Forno ($10.95). Served in fresh tomato sauce with
basil and a bit of garlic and topped with mozzarella cheese,
their presentation of the classic potato dumplings is simple
and delicious. If you’ve never had gnocchi, this is a
good place to start; from there, check out Gennaro’s
creative dishes of penne, pappardelle, lasagna, rigatoni,
ravioli, spaghetti and more.
As relaxing as sitting down and dining in can be, their pizza
counter is also great on the go. You can’t go wrong with
their Neapolitan ($16 for a pie), Grandma’s pizza, brick-oven
Margherita or Sicilian; then with 10 toppings to choose from,
it’s up to you how to tantalize your taste buds from
there.
You can’t go wrong with their current weekly specials,
either. On Mondays, get a salad, any pasta dish, dessert and
coffee for $11.95; on Wednesday, have a three-course meal
for $21.99. And on Thursday, enjoy salad, any Parmigana dinner,
with dessert and coffee for $12.95.
Deals like those are another reason to relax, don’t you
think?
Gennaro’s of
Huntington
138 E. Main Street, Huntington
631-935-1391
Atmosphere: Laid-back, with a Tuscan flair
Cuisine: Italian
Price: Moderate
Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.;
11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Sat & Sun
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