515166 Fri May 02 08:21:23 -0700 2008 9 19 Outer Boroughs 0 3649793 Was curious if anyone had been. I went for brunch this weekend (understandably not the best meal to judge a restaurant by). But I left feeling sad that another lame restaurant opened up in my 'hood. Orange juice out of the carton: SUPER LAME. So gross, who drinks that?! Small, not warm pastry sticks served before food came. Plated with low-end food-service style jelly boxes. Didn't hit the spot. Coffee was like diner coffee. Entrees: Artichoke fritata was good enough, but not at all special. Served with tasteless potatoes. Panetone french bread was good enough, but served with small pieces of apple and melon (lamest fruit salad ever, c'mon now.) The syrup was starchy corn-syrup costco style crap. I would consider Aperitivo a medium-grade diner disguised as a tin-ceiling bistro. Oh well... Fri May 02 08:21:24 -0700 2008 105023 tstar 1 3650070 Aperitivo is owned by the same folks that brought you Sotto Voce, the moderately successful pasta joint that puts a variety of bland sauces on pasta and charges you $15. I would agree that brunch is no way to judge a new restaurant, so let's wait for some dinner customers to chime in. BTW, Aperitivo has yet to receive its liquor license, so you can bring your own, something that I consider a big plus. Why pay a restaurant three times the price of a bottle of cheap plonk when you can bring a nice Brunello with you. Hey, even if the food's bad, you can wash it down with excellent wine. Fri May 02 09:23:49 -0700 2008 3649793 12795 famdoc 2 3652189 We went there a few days back out of sheer laziness. They were giving out free wine in the absence of a liquor license. It was a quiet night (a Wednesday), and they had a bunch of over-attentive, and not that co-ordinated, waitstaff. But attentive is good. They had a couple of dishes on the menu that seemed to be, um, inspired by Al di La, specifically the spinach and ricotta gnocchi and the prosciutto-wrapped scaloppini. But I might be being unfair, though, since those are hardly unheard-of staples. So, I had the bresaola, goat cheese and arugula salad, and very good it was too. Not too big, and the dressing was not too overbearing, very well-balanced. Then I had a solid lasagna, which was not as good as the pasta from Spirito (which I lament, even if no-one else does), but pretty tasty. My lady had arugula, artichoke and parmesan salad to start, followed by a canneloni stuffed with beef and chicken and in a slightly creamy sauce. Also somewhat lacking. It's cheap, quick, and the staff are friendly, and the portions are manageable. But the entrees and the staff need a little work. Fri May 02 20:21:40 -0700 2008 3650070 189097 Gringcorp 3 3652546 Cheap? That's refreshing. How cheap? As always, judgments about new restaurants should be tempered during their infancy. So, you're review is fair and informative. Thanks. Sat May 03 04:56:52 -0700 2008 3652189 12795 famdoc 4 3653082 The salads were maybe $8 and the pasta entrees were $12. So not an absolute steal, maybe slightly inside Aunt Suzie's prices and about equivalent quality, but I like Aperitivo's menu more. It's a pretty competitive block for low-end Italian - Aunt Suzie's and La Villa are pretty close - but matching their prices with a menu that's closer in inspiration to Al Di La might just work. Sat May 03 10:02:14 -0700 2008 3652546 189097 Gringcorp 1 3659327 My wife and I were here on Friday night and yes they were offering the free wine or champagne by the glass. I passed on what I believe sub par vino. My wife had the Octpus stew while I had the sauteed artichokes. The stew was had a tomato flavor and it was a basic stew. The bread crostini was stale and left a sour taste in our mouths.... The artichokes were great with lots of sauteed garlic to go with. For the main course, I had the Tortellini with peas and proscutto while my wife had the linguini alla genovese (pesto sauce). She thought that there was an overload of garlic in her dish. The tortellini was very nicely cooked, el dente, and there was a nice salty taste with the proscutto, A downside was the sauteed spinach, which did not have the ends cut off and thus they were brown to the sight. The service was attentive and polite. Two apps, two pastas, and a side were $42.00 without tip... Mon May 05 16:17:41 -0700 2008 3649793 132464 slopeguy 2 3725231 slopeguy, they are byob, i'm surprised you didn't pick up on that! d'oh! Tue May 27 16:47:29 -0700 2008 3659327 122578 TBird 3 3754711 Confirmed that BYO ends this Sunday. Liquor license has come through and they are just waiting for delivery of wine and booze. Last chance! Thu Jun 05 20:44:09 -0700 2008 3725231 12795 famdoc 4 3827269 Save your money. BYOB is fun (and the only reason to go) -- every dish here disappointed in a recent visit. Potato croquettes were limp and flavorless, linguine with chicken livers (fegatini) was a gluey mess, and chicken milanese badly needed seasoning....service was attentive, and the restaurant itself is a lovely space..but otherwise I completely agree with tstar's 'diner' comment. Mon Jun 30 13:26:32 -0700 2008 3754711 193943 aymbereye 1 3968687 i can speak for the one dish i had there during lunch, ordered off of their dinner menu: "Violette Di Parma," house made beet gnocchi with cream, goat cheese, shallots and arugula The dish was actually excellent. Creamy, flavorful, colorful. $10.95 Tue Aug 19 07:24:01 -0700 2008 3649793 14665 prcentauri