Rubino's Italian American

We recently threw a party there for 27 people for a family event. Our family is Italian-American. Some of the attendees were actually born in Italy and live there part of the year. Others have been involved in the food business for many years. Everyone enjoyed the food. The service was excellent. The calamari appetizer had a crisp, tasty coating. The bistro salad had a tart balsamic vinagrette with spring lettuce and NO iceberg lettuce. I had the seafood fettucini which was loaded with mussels, clams, shrimp and scallops. My only complaint was that the cream-based sauce was a little rich; I would have preferred a little tartness. My friend who manages a wholesale meat distribution company and worked in a well known family owned gourmet grocery store for over thirty years thought the veal was excellent. And, he's very hard to please. Chris, one of the owners, personally served our group. and that service was excellent. This isn't the type of Italian cusine you'll find at some overpriced, trendy spot. It's old-fashioned Italian-American cusine properly prepared. Finally, Iceberg lettuce is making a big comeback. It'll cost you about $10 for a wedge of it with blue cheese at Ruth-Chris'.

I am Italian and I am an experienced Italian cook, and this is the farthest from true Italian food that one can ever get. When we dined here several months ago, I had one of the worst meals of my life. I knew this was not a good restaurant when the house salad was iceberg (!) lettuce, something no respectable Italian would buy let alone eat. I ordered grilled salmon, which was extremely fishy - I could smell it coming before the waitress set it in front of me. When I sent it back, the manager came over to argue with me! He said he'd just gotten the fish in the day before, and I pointed out that it didn't matter when he got the fish, it mattered when the fish was caught and how it was handled. My husband ordered Shrimp Scampi and risotto. The Scampi was merely shrimp in an oily mess of a sauce with little garlic flavor. The "risotto" (which I make myself quite often) was merely short-grain rice with canned peas in it! Real risotto is made with arborio rice and should be a creamy, flavorful dish that has been cooked properly to develop the texture and flavor of the arborio rice. I was appalled by both the food and the attitude of the manager, who clearly thought the customer's opinion was irrelevant. We've never been back. This is not the place to go if you want authentic Italian food and good service.

Love it!!! The absolute BEST Eggplant parmesan I've ever had. Everything was GREAT!