Out to Lunch: La Piccola Angelina

Yes, I ate Italian food two weeks in a row. In Port Washington, where there seems to be an Italian restaurant on every corner, that is quite easy to do. Luckily, I love Italian food, and there is so much variety that you could easily eat it week after week and never have the same thing twice.

La Piccola Angelina Pizzeria & Restaurant, located on Manorhaven Boulevard, has a bit of a split personality. Pull into its parking lot and you are faced with two doors, about two feet apart. Interestingly, although both lead to the same entryway, there are in fact two sides to La Piccola Angelina.

Turn right, and you enter a downscale pizza joint, complete with video games and a few tables. Here you can pick up a pie to go, or sit down for a slice. But turn left when you walk in, and you wind up in a bright and cheery room, decorated with lively murals and a large screen TV in the corner. The room has a bar, numerous windows, and over 15 wooden tables that can seat patrons who come two by two, or who come with the entire family in tow. Angelina's doesn't have a special lunch menu, nor did they have lunch specials posted on a board as we walked in. So be aware that prices (and portion sizes) will be the same regardless of when you visit.

The menu is bountiful, with plenty of appetizers, soups, salads, pastas and main courses for any taste. There are vegetarian and seafood options for those who want them. Good lunch choices would include the heros (14 in all, ranging from $6 to $10), grilled panini (four choices, $6 each), personal pizzas and calzones.

Hungry yet? Well there is more.

Consider one of the over 30 choices of pasta, including several different pastas "al forno" (which means "from the oven" — ie: lasagna). Not in the mood for pasta or pizza? Try one of the many chicken, veal or eggplant dishes, which range in price from $12 to $18.

We sampled several dishes on our recent visit. One has been a long time favorite of my family — the Contadina — chunks of white meat chicken, sausage and garlic roasted potato chunks cooked with mushrooms in a deep brown, rosemary-infused wine sauce. This dish is absolutely stellar. My dining companion described it as "an excellent dish with a lot of flavor and an authentic brown sauce." (This particular dining companion is very particular about his brown sauces — if he likes it, you will too.)

I tried for the first time the Chicken Francese — two large pieces of chicken breast, pounded thin and dipped in a light egg-wash batter, then sautéed and served with a lemon wine sauce. The chicken was very tender. I could cut it with just my fork. The lemon wine sauce was perfect with just the right balance of lemon and wine, finished with a hint of butter.

Portions are large enough to take half home and still feel full, although I confess that the Chicken Francese was so good that I polished off the whole dish then and there.

Main courses are served with a choice of pasta or salad. The salad is your (excuse the pun) garden-variety — an Iceberg lettuce mix, with some cucumber, tomato, onion and an olive or two. The house Italian dressing is quite good as well.

We also tried the "Angelina's Special Salad" from the salad section of the menu. It was described as "Iceberg lettuce, vine ripe tomatoes, cucumber, olives, carrots, Bermuda onions, broccoli, marinated mushrooms and shredded mozzarella."  In reality, it was a larger version of the side salad, with a few mushrooms (we don't think they were actually marinated) and a couple of pieces of barely cooked broccoli, hidden by an enormous mound of large shreds of mozzarella. It was average, but not as "special" as Angelina's claimed. Stick with either a side salad, or try instead the Tri Color or Arugula Salads.

The restaurant was almost empty when we were there (but we were there at an off hour — about 2 p.m. — on a weekday). Still, it's a nice quiet place for lunch and perfectly suitable for a more casual business lunch. The waiter was attentive and pleasant. An added plus — the restaurant has a parking lot, so it's easy to get in and out. And remember, the menu is the same for lunch or dinner.

Lunch for two, including tax and tip should run you between $45-50; less if you stick with pizza, heros, or calzones. But take my advice and modestly splurge on the Contadina or Chicken Francese.