Under New Management, Pomodoro Still Shines

A row of whirring ceiling fans above the front counter at provided some refuge from the 100-degree temperatures last week. With 30 pastas, 34 dinners and 23 sandwiches, as well as pizzas, wraps, salads and appetizers, the multipage menu was almost as overwhelming as the heat.

Serving Italian food on Morris Street for the last three years, Pomodoro has been under new management for the last month. Some have suggested that the new owners are transforming this space from casual pizzeria to restaurant.

The dining area is informal and offers a good view of the kitchen. Sit at a table, and you can watch dough being tossed and pizzas being made. One dining room wall is exposed brick, the others are golden and yellow, adorned with larger-than-life photographs of Italian dishes and classic Italian advertisements. The advertisements add charm, the large photographs can go.

A row of track lighting illuminates three booths along the brick wall, and tiny hanging fixtures illuminate bar seating that looks onto Morris Street. Three other tables are available in the main dining area, and a doorway opens to an unlit (at least last week the lights were off), more formal adjacent dining area. 

Two flat screen televisions offer images of news and sports, while music plays in the background.

Still trying to cool off, I began my meal with a soda from the self-serve fountain and a garden salad ($4.95), a good healthy mix of spinach, baby greens, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and black olives, with a house vinaigrette spiked with a sprinkling of dried herbs and served in a large wooden bowl. With quality and quantity, this is the salad we were hoping for two weeks ago at . All that was missing was a little more salt.

Next up was my dinner: a sausage parmigiana sandwich, brought to my table. The sausage was sliced lengthwise, making the sandwich easier to handle and also giving a glimpse of the finely minced pork and whole fennel seeds inside.

The sausage was not as spicy as hot sausage, but it had much more of a kick than traditional sweet Italian sausage. The cheese was melted well (and I had a mouthful of it on my first bite), the sauce clearly homemade and the bread perfectly toasted. The bread had a good, tasty crunch on the outside, and it held the sandwich together well without dominating it.

The service here came with a smile. Though I had ordered at the counter, the girl behind the counter brought a napkin and silverware to my table, reminded me that refills were free and asked if I wanted any more dressing as I worked my way through the salad.

If the owners are in fact aiming to make this more of a restaurant than a casual eatery, they have a little ways to go. The temperature inside was warm, and while the tables were clean, the dark tile floor needed a sweeping.

We can't speak for the adjacent dining room or the dozens of dinners on the menu (chicken Sorrentino, veal saltimbocca, shrimp vodka, etc.), but for a salad and a sandwich, this place is a winner. And from the looks of the other customers in the store, local fathers and kids seemed to agree.