FOODIE
Café Toscano Accommodates All
By Leah Weinstein/ foodie@longislandernews.com

On a Friday evening, Café Toscano in Jericho glows with elegant lighting and the start of the weekend adds to the buzz. Couples and groups are scattered throughout two dining rooms separated by the main entrance. In the room to the right, patrons are seated at the bar having their before- or after-dinner drink, while a saxophone player fills the air with a smooth groove. To the left, tables for four and booths for two are filled in a room with the brighter décor and more formal tone.

With years of restaurant experience, Thomas Sexton, executive chef and co-owner, opened Café Toscano on Jericho Turnpike last May.

He and his sister, Katherine, also a co-owner, played upon two different vibes and one great menu.

By providing customers with an elegant place to have a relaxed meal, they hit the nail on the head. The bar room has an upbeat, yet sophisticated style while the other is
a straightforward, dining room.

Café Toscano holds a hip happy hour from 4:30 – 7 p.m. at the bar Monday through Friday. The bar is also open until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday for a late night drink or two.

Whether you are looking for a salad, pizza, pasta, chicken, meat or fish, there is something for everyone in this Italian eatery.

Italian antipasti such as Mozzarella Caprese ($10) includes fresh mozzarella, tomato, grilled eggplant and roasted peppers topped with red onion and drizzled with pesto is a light and satisfying meal-starter. Toscano covers a range of antipasti from fried zucchini ($9) to beef carpaccio ($13).

While most people choose a traditional marinara sauce for the Cozzl Nero ($15- serves two), an oversized crock of Black Canadian Mussels served in a choice of sauces, our waiter recommended the Oriental sauce, a coconut milk broth that was light, sweet and complemented the mussels quite well.  

The Gamberi e Pancetta ($14) strays the most from the ordinary fried delights, with Italian bacon wrapped around shrimp, served over mesculine salad, mandarin orange, red onion and crispy pancetta croutons.

The salad option (Insalate) that immediately stood out was the Rubiola E Pera ($13). It had sliced Chianti poached pear, with Gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and a Chianti pear vinaigrette dressing atop mixed field greens. The pear, cheese and nut combination was delectable.

Other salads available are Caesar ($9), Tre Colori ($9) and the Formaggio Caprina e Albicocco ($13), which includes roasted peppers, pignoli nuts, dried apricot and goat cheese with a white balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

All salads are available with chicken ($4), beef ($5) shrimp ($5) or salmon ($6), which would turn a pre-dinner salad into a great lunch.

The “pizzettes” come in 12 different varieties, but one of the best parts about Toscano is that you could order it however you like and they’ll gladly prepare it.

The Margherita ($11) is the simple option with “San Marsano” plum tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. The Aromatico ($14.50) includes a field of vegetables, from Portobello mushrooms to artichokes, tomatoes and asparagus, with mozzarella, grated Locatelli cheese and a squeeze of lemon.

The Broccoli Rabe and Salsiccia ($15) is the most expensive with broccoli rabe and sausage with mozzarella and diced cherry peppers.

Once again, Toscano stands out for accommodating customers with their whole-wheat linguini that can be substituted in any pasta dish. It isn’t offered on the menu but just ask your waiter. Ours told us that they have a few dishes that aren’t on the menu that people frequently request.

The Linguine Pescatore ($25) comes with a Brazilian lobster tail, shrimp, calamari, scallops, mussels and clams in a fra diavolo sauce.

Another dish that stands out is the Paglia e Fieno ($17), an egg and spinach fettuccine, sautéed with veal strips, shiitake mushrooms and roasted peppers in a brown Madeira wine sauce topped with marscapone cheese.

The Aqua Pazza ($22) is a Sea bass dish, tossed with sun-dried tomatoes, capers and calamata olives in a Chardonnay wine sauce. The waiter let us know that the menu was slightly deceiving since the sauce is actually red, but it complemented the capers and olives better anyway.

Pollo Portofino ($19) is a chicken breast layered with warm proscuitto and mozzarella topped with artichoke hearts in a white wine and lemon butter sauce that allows the flavor of the other ingredients to come through.

For true meat lovers, the Filet Mignon ($32) is a Gorgonzola-crusted 12 oz. filet in a Borolo Chianti wine sauce.

For dessert, waiters brought a tray of samples, which were hard to choose from, although it was almost impossible to leave the table without finishing the peanut butter and chocolate–chocolate chip cake.

End the meal with an excellent Italian cappuccino.

At a prime location right off the Long Island Expressway, this Italian restaurant had to appeal to a neighborhood that already has plenty of great options. Add another to your list and check out Café Toscano.

Café Toscano offers a lot more just a place to eat good food. It can hold private weekend parties and offers off-premise catering as well. Customers can call ahead for take-out during business hours and they now offer delivery during lunch hours ($30 minimum) Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Sexton is also co-owner of another Café Toscano located in Massapequa.

Most recently, he became the co-owner of Spuntino, a new restaurant in Dix Hills located at Old Country Road in the Pathmark shopping center.

Café Toscano
399 Jericho Turnpike
Jericho NY 11753
516-931-2727

Atmosphere: Upscale, cool and casual

Price Range: Inexpensive to moderate

Cuisine: Italian –American

Hours:
Monday through Thursday
11:30 a.m.- 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday
11:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sunday
12 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Main Menu