Papa Tony's Italian Restaurant

We decided to try Papa Tony's Italian Restaurant for dinner recently, and it was a good choice, the food and service were very good. Upon arrival we were promptly greeted and seated by the hostess whom, I assume, was "Mrs. Papa Tony." I noticed that she was busy taking care of lots of things during the course of our visit, but first and foremost greeting customers. I also noticed Papa Tony himself in the dining room on one occasion, greeting a few tables with people he seemed to know, though we did not meet him. 

Anyway, Papa Tony has quite a menu, so it took us some time to decide. But eventually Tommy and I decided and ordered. Both of us chose dinners, and each came with the Antipasto Bar and breadsticks. The Antipasto Bar was very nice. Besides the normal lettuce and dressings, there were some nice things like pasta salad with beans, artichoke hearts, etc.; olives; carrots (quite yummy); and a lot of other typical fare. Everything was very fresh and very tasty, as were the warm breadsticks. A nice start to our meal.

For his main dish, Tommy chose the Chicken Parmagiana served over spaghetti. It was very good, a nice and tender, juicy chicken breast was breaded and cooked, then topped with cheese. Finally, it was placed on the bed of spaghetti and doused in the house marinara. The marinara, I'm sure, is home made--it was very good, nice and fresh tasting, not too salty, with a hearty tomato flavor. The whole dish was very good and there was more than enough for one person to eat. You guessed it: doggy bag!

For my main course, I chose something I'd never seen on a menu before, Chicken Scaparelli. This was tender slices of chicken that were sauteed with sliced spicy sausage and pepperoncinis (with a few mushrooms) in a white wine sauce. It was very good. The pepperoncinis lent just a bit of spiciness to the sauce, and the spicy sausage was also a good complement to the velvety white wine sauce and the mild chicken flavor. I liked this dish a lot. It was also served with pasta (I had capellini or angel hair) on the side with the house marinara sauce. Yumm. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish, the flavors were surprising both with the bit of spice and the smoothness of the sauce. A very nice dish. (My only suggestion--and it's a minor point--would be to wipe the plate before serving next time.)

Our service thorughout our meal was very attentive and friendly. The server knew the menu well and was able to answer all our questions as well as make suggestions--and our beverages were kept full, too. All in all, we had a very nice experience here. With so many Italian restaurants around, it is nice to find one that really pays attention to detail. I'd come back again, for sure!