Italian chain restaurants try desperately to re-create the atmosphere that Iaria's has naturally. You sense it from their sign on the corner of the building and the neon "dining room" sign by the door. You just can't artificially manufacture the feel of a family run joint that has been there since 1933. We spontaneously dropped in for dinner early on Saturday night. Mr. WYA! was in the mood for a simple classic so he chose the spaghetti and meatballs. Mrs. WYA! felt like something light so she made a meal out of the Crostini with Caponata appetizer and a bowl of minestrone soup.
A basket of crusty bread was served first. We poured some olive oil and sprinkled some Parmesan on our bread plates and let the bread soak in the goodness. Our minestrone came and, even on a hot day, it just hit the spot. It is Iaria's own homemade recipe and the delicious broth was just chock full of vegetables and pasta. Mr. WYA!'s dinner also came with a salad and he chose their homemade Roquefort dressing which was chunky, delicious, and worth the extra cost.
The Capellini with Meatballs came in a huge bowl (plenty to take home for later). Their homemade marinara has this distinctive, almost sweet flavor, which is unlike any red sauce we have had.
Mrs. WYA! chose to have the Crostini with Camponata served hot although you can also have it served cold. It was a huge platter of toasted Italian crostini bread with a divine camponata (diced eggplant, celery, capers, tomatoes, and olives) to load on the slices. We are eggplant lovers so, matched with our other big favorites, olives and capers, our high expectations for this dish were met.
Iaria's deserves your patronage. After being in business 75 years, we wouldn't want it to close on our watch.
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