So, last weekend, when the pasta cravings came on full force – I closed my eyes and saw nothing but delicate strands of angel hair floating in front of me – we put our thinking caps on.  Surely there had to be someplace we hadn’t tried yet…then I remembered Ronaldo’s, an Italian restaurant on route 1 in North Hampton, NH – we drove past them all the time and swore we’d try them, but never had.

So we ventured off to Ronaldo’s.  They were smaller than expected inside and running a long wait, but despite our ferociously growling stomachs, we decided to go the lounge area and wait.  Despite being small, and a little noisy, the restaurant had a cozy atmosphere and a comfy lounge.  Once we were comfortably seated in the lounge and entertained by a hysterically funny and attentive bartender, we decided to stay put and eat dinner there.

As our eyes were growing bigger than our stomachs, we over-ordered.  We started with Bruschetta Italiano, which while not your typical bruschetta, was some of the best we’ve had.  It’s basically large hunks of garlic bread smothered with sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, mozzerella cheese, and prosciutto.  I can still taste it almost a week later – all of the flavors were in perfect harmony and the bread was crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside…perfection.  It was a generous serving size, too, so we ate half and packed the rest up (though we could make a light meal out of the bruschetta alone). 

We probably wouldn’t have ordered the bruschetta if we’d known that a big bread basket was coming our way, but I’m still glad that we did.  Normally I wouldn’t eat bread and bruschetta, but this wasn’t ordinary bread…it was heavenly.  It was perfectly chewy, soft, bready, doughy, tasty with a crunch exterior…forget the bruschetta, I could make a meal out of their bread basket.  We packed some of that up, too.

For dinner (with appetites waning), I had cheese ravioli with a pesto sauce with plum tomatoes, and my husband had the Italian Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu.  My ravioli was wonderful – filled with soft ricotta, it had the perfect texture.  And, it actually tasted like cheese unlike so many cheese ravioli that are bland white masses.  The pesto was delicious, too, a little chunky with whole pine nuts scattered throughout – it was well-seasoned and the addition of the plum tomatoes kept the sauce from becoming too one-note – it added nice texture and sweetness to the sharp pesto.  My husband’s dish had a great tomoto-cream sauce that was just creamy enough and just tomatoey enough.  I didn’t love his stuffed chicken, but, then, I’ve never really been a fan of ham.  We ate half, and, you know the drill…packed the rest up.

I also had a great glass of Montepulciano by Dragani – it was fruity and dry and delicious.

Finally, because everything else was so good, I had to try a dessert.  We split a piece of Ronaldo’s cheesecake, which we were told was made in-house.  The flavors vary and it was a plain cheesecake in a raspberry sauce on this particular night.  Following suit with everything else, it was superb.  It was firm but creamy, fresh, and the raspberry sauce added a nice sweet-tartness to it.  Only this time…I didn’t pack any up.

We’ve found our mid-grade Italian spot – mid-grade on price with a casual atmosphere - but not mid-grade on quality.  I think we’ll be regulars.

For about $60 we had an appetizer, two entrees, a glass of wine, a vodka tonic, and a piece of cheesecake – and, better yet, we got two meals out of it.  Dinners also come with a choice of soup or salad – we never received ours, but I think this was a blessing given how much we ate – next time, though!

We arrived and despite having made reservations, we were seated in a very cramped area near the kitchen.  We, and nearby diners, were all told that there was a birthday party in the larger portion of the dining room.  The hostesses were clearly aware that it was subpar seating, yet they continued to seat diners with reservations in uncomfortable quarters.  One couple nearby was seated at a counter abutting the kitching that was more like bar seating; they were not moved or accomodated despite their clear distaste for their cramped stool seating.  They didn’t stay long.   Throughout the meal, servers bumped into us in order to serve nearby tables and jostled our table.  It was a bit claustrophobic to say the least.

Despite our disappointing seating situation, we were ready to enjoy several small plates and desserts.  The meal started strong with appetizers of Fontina in Carozza (fried fontina cheese served with salsa verde), Polpette (meatballs), and Suppli (fried spinach risotto balls with cheese). 

The fontina cheese was perfeclty melted and oozing out of a perfectly fried crunchy outer coating.  It was served with a pleasing salsa verde that did not overpower the mild cheese with its sweet onions and herbs.  The Polpette were equally great.  I’m not a huge meatball lover, but Tomasso could convert me with their perfectly tender beef and pork meatballs served with a lovely chunky tomato sauce and sharp parmesan gratings.  They were perfectly seasoned and not at all dry.  The Suppli were fried balls of perfectly al dente risotto with spinach and tallegio cheese.  The flavors were well balanced and the suppli were appropriately moist and dense inside.  The appetizers were a good value at $5 to $6 each, with decent portions provided.

We moved on to small plates, or Primi Piatti.  The dishes we ordered, Risotto al Funghi (risotto with mushrooms) and Ravioli con Uovo (egg filled ravioli), were $11 and $12, respectively.  Relative to the appetizers, these dishes were surprisingly expensive with much less food than expected.  The Risotto was a bit too al dente for my taste and a bit on the salty side, but very flavorful with strong red wine and mushroom flavors throughout.  The Ravioli was in fact one ravioli, albeit a large one.  Given that the restaurant encourages sharing, it was surprising to receive one large ravioli that was very difficult to split.  As soon as I cut into the ravioli, egg yolk seeped everywhere.  The ravioli was tasty with inital flavors of black truffle followed by creamy mascarpone and egg flavors that mingled nicely on the palate.

I also enjoyed a glass of Montepulciano that was full-bodied and a little dry, while my husband had a cabernet sauvignon-merlot-sangiovese blend that was lighter and fruity.

After enjoying several small plates, we were excited to move on to dessert.  We split an assortment of biscotti, semifreddo and mascarpone gelato.  The biscotti arrived in abundance and included traditional biscotti and other Italian cookies including a lemon cookie with fennel seeds, a strawberry jam filled sugar cookie, and a nutella sandwich cookie.  Some were a little dry, but most were very good and the variety was excellent.  The semifreddo, which literally translated means half-frozen, is a frozen treat that is icier and less creamy than ice cream.  Ours was served layered with mocha semifreddo, white and chocolate cake, and raspberry filling.  It was interesting with some nice flavors, but not exceptional.  The gelato of the day was mascarpone, but tasted more like an ice cream.  More surprisingly, we could not detect mascarpone flavors at all – instead the gelato tasted like a very strong Amaretto ice cream, which was incredibly disappointing.

While enjoying our desserts, the manager approached our table full of questions and concerns about the semifreddo.  He explained that he had hired a new pastry chef and was trying out some new desserts, including the semifreddo.  He displayed a surprising lack of confidence about the nearly completed semifreddo on our table and was concerned that it might be too dry, or just disappointing.  I admitted that the cake was a bit dry, but overall, we really enjoyed the semifreddo.  I went on to ask about the gelato, which we were wholly confused by.  I explained that the waitress had told us that it would be mascarpone gelato, but that it tasted like Amaretto.  He explained that the chefs fold Amaretto in to the mascarpone gelato, then glanced at our still full melting bowl of gelato and scurried away.  It was pretty clear that we had finished our biscotti and semifredo and avoided the overpowering Amaretto gelato.  Amaretto was far too strong a flavor to pair with the mild mascarpone.  We were disappointed that he didn’t address the issue.  Worse, several waitstaff scurried by, asked if we were done, and cleared the rest of the dishes.  While we waited a significant amount of time for our check to arrive and be taken care of, our gelato sat and sat, melting into an unappetizing yellow pool of liquid.  Nobody asked if there was a problem with it, and nobody seemed to want to remove it, either.  It became a comical annoyance.  Our waitress was polite but seemed slightly put out and/or annoyed.

All in all, the meal started strong but became slightly more disappointing by the course, with inconsistent service throughout.

Runner-Up: Tomasso Trattoria, Southborough, MA - This restaurant is a bit of a hike for me, and it is easy to over-order (and over-spend), but I couldn’t leave this restaurant entirely off the list.  I could make a meal of their antipasti alone (perfect meatballs!), and I enjoy the flexibility that their menu offers with multiple courses to choose from.  They have a fabulous wine list, too.  I also noticed in perusing their website again that they now offer a pris-fixe menu on some evenings…I sense a return trip coming on!  http://www.tomassotrattoria.com/

5. Ristorante Molise, Amesbury, MA – While I was disappointed to find higher prices and smaller portions on a recent visit, I love this restaurant for their ample options and rich food.  They have a lovely location in downtown Amesbury as well as a location in Wakefield that I haven’t tried yet.  http://www.ristorantemolise.com/

4. The Chateau, Andover or Waltham, MA – This family-owned restaurant has several locations (some under different names) and every location that I have visited has consistently offered extremely affordable Italian comfort food in large quantities.  I grew up eating their fried ravioli and I also adore their eggplant parmigiana.  This is a great family restaurant.  http://www.chateaurestaurant.com/

3. Bella Italia, Tyngsboro, MA – This unassuming restaurant offers authentic Italian food at reasonable prices.  The atmosphere is simple and homey, complete with a fireplace.  My favorites include their Gnocchi Parmigiana, Carbonara, Lasagna, and Rotini Filanti.  http://www.bellaitaliatyngsboro.com/

2. The Colosseum Restaurant, Salem, NH – You may not expect to find North End quality food in a strip mall, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised.  My only complaint is that the atmosphere is a bit lacking – the restaurant is a bit garish with dated decor, and it can be noisy at times.  That said, they consistsently wow me with their fresh ingredients, authentic offerings, and complex flavors.  And if you like Italian desserts (or any desserts, really), you will do yourself a great disservice if you don’t see their dessert cart – it is larger than the hostess cart on an airplane, and offerings change frequently.  There are mainstays such as Tiramisu and Cannoli, but there are new surprises on each and every visit.  http://www.thecolosseumrestaurant.com/

1. Tuscan Grill, Waltham, MA – I hesitated to place this in my coveted #1 spot, and I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I have only eaten there once (and saddened that it took me so long to discover it).  However, they offered me my most memorable Italian meal outside of Boston in 2008, so it earned the rights to #1!  It is a bit pricier than some of my other options, but it offers more ambiance  and upscale dining as well.  I still salivate months later when I think about the pizzetta appetizer topped with figs, honey, and gorgonzola.  It was perhaps the perfect food.  When you also take into account the great wine, innovative entrees, and cozy Tuscan-inspired decor it is perfect for a romantic Italian get-away!  www.tuscangrillwaltham.com  (Some menu items have changed since my last visit).