Mid-Week Treat: Alfano’s Restaurant in Clearwater, Florida

When you haven’t seen an old friend in a long time, you just want a quiet place to eat dinner together and catch up. The last thing you are interested in is sixteen televisions all tuned to different sporting events. Well, that’s the second-to-last thing you want. The least appealing atmosphere is trying to have dinner while young ladies putting themselves through college do so while hoisting their breasts over the tops of their tank tops, tape their bottoms into their brightly colored short-shorts and try to upsell you on poor quality chicken wings. However, that’s another article for another publication somewhere.

My husband and I were meeting an old friend of his from college. We wanted a grown-up dinner. Italian food during our annual meetups has become a tradition. I researched (as always) and found Alfano’s Restaurant in Clearwater, Florida.

Alfano’s isn’t that far (geographically) from our beautiful home base of The Karol Hotel. (Read about why we love The Karol here). However, at dinner time on a weekday, it was a 25-minute drive. Fortunately, I planned ahead and made a reservation hoping to cut down on any wait time that I might find when I arrived. Our friend pulled into the parking lot at the same time as me and we headed inside to find this. . .

Ambiance

Wow! Talk about Old World ambiance! Founded in 1984, Alfano’s has, apparently, become a part of the fabric of the community. I realize that the Alfano’s “look” isn’t for everyone, but it is a nice change of pace from what’s out there in the restaurant sphere today. Dark woods, elaborate carvings, gilt mirrors, chairs that pretend to be from the court of Louis XIV, and international flags will make you feel like a grown-up. We were seated at a table with white linen tablecloths and attended to by a waiter in a tie. Oh my! Ladies and gentlemen who consider serving their profession, and specialize in all that comes with it, are typically only found in the most upscale (i.e., expensive) restaurants in America. However, in other cultures, a job as a restaurant server isn’t just a way to pay your college tuition. It is a career that one takes great pride in. Alfano’s is a reasonably priced (mid-range) restaurant, so it was quite a pleasant shock to find a formally dressed server who stood at attention in the corner of the room all night, waiting for his guests to need something.

Dress

Despite the upscale atmosphere, all three of us were appropriately dressed in nice pants. The ladies wore blouses and the gentleman wore a collared polo shirt. We fit right in the with the other clientele without having to get all dressed up.

Food My husband ordered Chicken Piccata ($21.00). I ordered Chicken Tetrazzini ($20.75). Our friend ordered Lasagna ($20.75). All three meals were good, but not especially memorable. Our friend’s lasagna was the most appetizing item of the three (sorry, forgot to take a picture). My husband’s carrots were softer than he prefers, but then he will only eat vegetables that are crispy. Period.

For me, I was really looking forward to the tetrazzini. The most classic versions are made with a touch of sherry in the sauce for a unique flavor and once all the ingredients are mixed, it is baked. This can turn the top noodles into a crunchy crust. If you want to get really wild and crazy, you could swap out the sherry in the sauce for white wine. Both Food Network and The Pioneer Woman have recipes for baked tetrazzini with white wine. I would remain homesick for the real thing, though, because this version was simply pasta alfredo with crumbled bacon on top. It was someone’s twist on tetrazzini, not the classic I longed for. In my humble opinion, there was too much sauce as well. My noodles were swimming. I’m not trying to vacation drop here (which is akin to name dropping), but having been to Italy twice, that’s not how they serve pasta.

Dessert

Our elegant gentleman server reminded us that Alfano’s makes their desserts in-house. So, in the name of research, we all ordered something. We chose: a caramel sundae ($6.50), a tartuffo ($7.50), and a piece of chocolate raspberry cake ($8.50). I think the greatest success of the three was the cake. This was rich and creamy. It’s hard to goof up an ice cream sundae, so this was yummy enough to satisfy. My experiment (the tartuffo) is described on the menu as, “raspberry gelato in a chocolate shell, garnished with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, & a cherry.”

If I had been expecting an ice cream dessert, then I would have been quite happy. Chocolate = yum. Whipped cream = yum. You get the idea. However, regular readers know how I either see red or get sad when a restaurant calls something “gelato” and then serve their patrons ice cream. For a complete tutorial of why this is a cardinal sin, please read here. My tartuffo was good and it erased my craving for something sweet, BUT it was not the amazing homemade gelato creation that I was expecting.

In the end, the two best things about our evening at Alfano’s Restaurant in Clearwater, were the peaceful ambiance that was conducive to talking and all the talking. Our reunions with this friend of nearly 30 years are always a joy, regardless of what’s for dinner. We spent an evening supporting local entrepreneurs rather than a corporate chain, and we laughed and hugged a lot. Friendship was the most important item on our menu that night.  

P.S. Thanks for listening to me wax poetic about noodles and sauce. Have you ever had a craving for a certain food & when you finally got it, it just didn’t taste like you expected? Please tell me your story in the comments, so I don’t feel like a weirdo.

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