I was hankering for veal Parmesan, the kind I remember ordering at Mama Leone’s in New York after a Yankee-Red Sox doubleheader—loaded with fresh homemade sauce and perfectly browned mozzarella cheese. So we set out to Café Italia, which is no secret to locals, as the place is packed for lunch and dinner almost daily. As if the culinary angels were listening (imagine a light shining down on our table and a choir singing at this point), we dined on baked clams loaded with garlic butter, fettuccine Alfredo with grilled shrimp, classic cheese pizza and veal Parmesan. Then the owner informed us during a table visit that her own family started the great Mama Leone’s! Yes, the culinary angels do sing: Brooklyn is in Sarasota in a strip mall next to Winn Dixie. A tip: You can purchase their garlic oil, perfect to drizzle on halved tomatoes for broiling, also perfect with a sprinkle of feta cheese over corkscrew pasta. By "Judi Gallagher"
Café Italia Menu Links & Phone # 941-343-9979
Aug 18, 2010
Judi Gallagher Reviews Cafe Italia
I was hankering for veal Parmesan, the kind I remember ordering at Mama Leone’s in New York after a Yankee-Red Sox doubleheader—loaded with fresh homemade sauce and perfectly browned mozzarella cheese. So we set out to Café Italia, which is no secret to locals, as the place is packed for lunch and dinner almost daily. As if the culinary angels were listening (imagine a light shining down on our table and a choir singing at this point), we dined on baked clams loaded with garlic butter, fettuccine Alfredo with grilled shrimp, classic cheese pizza and veal Parmesan. Then the owner informed us during a table visit that her own family started the great Mama Leone’s! Yes, the culinary angels do sing: Brooklyn is in Sarasota in a strip mall next to Winn Dixie. A tip: You can purchase their garlic oil, perfect to drizzle on halved tomatoes for broiling, also perfect with a sprinkle of feta cheese over corkscrew pasta. By "Judi Gallagher"
Jul 27, 2010
Jul 20, 2010
Jul 2, 2010
Srq Magazine Review
Café Italia Grill
Great family Italian dining is a thing of comfort and beauty, a Northern necessity that is all-too-often elbowed out in favor of barbecue and soul food south of the Mason-Dixon. If the recent cold weather has you craving a nice big plate of pasta, or something hot, with plenty of Parmesan, you should make the trip out to Café Italia. The dining room has the warm, low-lit atmosphere that you’d expect to find in a Jersey neighborhood hub, and a cast of regulars contributing to the family-dining feel. The menu is all classic Italian dishes from the Lubrano family’s cookbooks: Bolognese Di Angelo, Fettuccini Alfredo, Eggplant, Chicken and Veal Parmiggiana, Gnocchi Gorgonzola, Penne Alla Vodka and the list goes on. But since this is Florida, you can also get the Lubrano treatment with a plate of Grouper, garlic crusted or pomodoro. Tiramisu is made in-house by mama Lubrano herself, and of course, there’s cannoli too. It’s a perfect place to order a portate (3-6 courses) and prove your appetite’s bona fides.
Café Italia Grill, 5406 Fruitville Rd., Sarasota, 941-343-9979
"Produced by the editors and writers of SRQ: Sarasota's Premier Magazine"
Jun 23, 2010
Jun 20, 2010
Great Pizza Special
2 Large (16 inch) Cheese Pizza for $10.00 Each
Must present coupon, Not valid with any other offer or discount. Pizza Special Available for takeout only Expires 6/29/10
May 18, 2010
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