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Hearty Italian
Fare
By The Foodies./ foodie@longislandernews.com
NSometimes you just want some hearty, standard Italian fare.
But with restaurants trying harder now than ever to differentiate
themselves from the other guys, it’s not always easy
to find anymore.
Enter Tre Scalini in Farmingdale, where the standards are
good, the specials are unique and the choices are plentiful.
We first met owner Angelo Barrera at a restaurant bearing
the same name on Route 110 in Melville. Barrera opened Tre
Scalini Farmingdale in July 2011 and seems to be drawing a
crowd.
Barrera’s personable partner, Jimmy Boccio, is the one
who will be taking your order and making you feel at home.
In fact, on our recent visit, diners felt so at home that
a conversation about the good old days and the Canarsie pier
broke out among four tables of Brooklyn-to-Long-Island transplants.
“Do you remember the lady with the big hair on the corner?”
one man asked.
“Mrs. McKenna! I know Mrs. McKenna!” another shouted
back.
“The whole world is from Brooklyn,” a third man
concluded.
The scenario is a good example of what Tre Scalini Farmingdale
is trying to do: “When people come here they’re
like our family,” Boccio said. “They feel like they’re
at home.”
The warm lighting, friendly atmosphere and eagerness to please
helps create that tone. There are two dining areas –
a larger room ideal for larger groups and parties, and a smaller,
brick-walled room with a small bar and a few tables. Tre Scalini’s
menu has many choices, but they will make whatever you want
as long as they have the ingredients.
Appetizers are standard, from friend calamari to eggplant
rollatini, ($8.95). The night of our visit we had a special,
grilled vegetable tower. Piled one slice on top of another
are roasted peppers, portabella mushroom, tomato, mozzarella,
zucchini and eggplant with balsamic – all around, it’s
a nice, healthy starter. Polenta with mushrooms in a brown
sauce, another special, is good if you’re looking for
something different – no lumps, and baked nicely.
Entrees include pastas ($9.95-$14.95), chicken ($14.95-$15.95),
veal ($15.95-$24.95) and fish ($17.95-$22.95). Some of our
favorites include the rigatoni alla ortolana (with fresh tomato,
eggplant, ricotta and basil); penne alla vodka; and filet
of sole fiorentino (over spinach in a lemon and white wine
sauce).
Boccio said some of the more popular dishes include the Chicken
Scarpariello Campagnola, served on the bone with sausage,
roasted peppers, mushrooms and potatoes; Branzino, served
whole or filleted; and veal shank with risotto.
We started with a special, made-that-day spinach gnocchi.
Described by a table next to us as “heaven,” it’s
light and fresh. Tre Scalini puts it in a creamy pink sauce
with prosciutto. A pork chop special that day came in a thick,
tasty Barolo wine reduction, topped with mushrooms. A nice,
light choice is the fresh halibut, another special that day,
served with a balsamic reduction.
Finish your meal with a slice of cheesecake and a cappuccino,
and you’re good to go. Unless another conversation about
Brooklyn starts up again; then you may be back to appetizers
before you know it.
Tre Scalini
196 Main St., Farmingdale
516-249-0140
Cuisine: Italian
Price range: Moderate
Hours: Mon-Thurs 12-10 p.m.; Fri 12-11 p.m.; Sat 2-11 p.m.;
Sun 2-9 p.m.
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