They're Always Named "Tony"

Or Vinny.
Whatever the name, Italian food is loved by most, attempted by many, perfected by few. Tony's is THE place you go if you want to impress or look impressive or perhaps be in over your head with the price.

It was my duh-duh-duh 30th birthday and my dear husband wanted to surprise me with a "special dinner" that didn't include pizza or burgers. He went all out with Tony's and it really hit the mark.

Our dinner took almost 2 1/2 hours, the way most Mediterranean countrymen eat and the time alotted for most Americans to watch TV nightly. I had the pate as an appetizer, which included chicken and duck fat (i.e., foie gras), and I would say we "split" this except I kept 90% of it for myself. For my entre I had the veal trio, which included a new tuber for me: sunchokes. I just wikipedia'd this and apparently its a type of Sunflower. Interesting. The real star of the night, however, was Tim's grouper. It was the special and at a highly-rated restaurant, this is flown in daily. This fish was fresher than what we had in St. Lucia. Outstanding. To top off the 80 grams of fat I had already consumed (fugetta bout it!) I ordered the canolli for dessert complete with two kinds of cheese and what tasted like vanilla bean.

The service here should be mentioned. There were three or four staff in the dining room whose main job is to just pop up when you need them. None of our dishes arrived before our previous course was complete, but as soon as our plates were whisked away, another suit placed the next offering in front of us. Tony's also does this interesting tableside post-prep plating which involves re-warming your food over a chafer and then presenting the dish onto a new plate at your side, served with a sugar tong.

I would love to go back soon. Considering the price, I'm counting down to my 40th birthday.

http://www.saucecafe.com/tonys/