Spadaro's wine list & update

[roxlet]

I have read that Spadaro now has a liquor license and I am wondering if anyone has been there recently and ordered from it. We are going in a couple of week, and I am curious as to whether anyone has been there recently. I was last there in June, and it was great. Hope it's holding up.

[addictedtolunch]

Finally got there (with a discount) and the funny thing is I agree with all the posters here who love it as well as those who don't. Expensive, needs a menu (in this day and age any computer can generate a daily one without trouble) and a costly entree could use an accompaniment to justify the expense. That said, and thinking back to meals on the Med. coast and in Italy, they are preparing things the way it is done "over there" (although I don't remember hearing Volare' on the loudspeaker in Florence). And everything tasted good and fresh. I'll be back, but the lack of notice as to what the check will be is intimidating and affects the experience, particularly at a time when virtually everyone I know is re-focusing on their personal finances.

[laylag]

I completely agree and I am one of those who love it. In fact, we've stopped ordering entrees and stick to appetizers and pastas. The meat and seafood entrees - while always very good, fresh, simple and perfectly cooked are just too pricey at around $34 bucks each without, as you note, any accompaniment.

Would love more information on this discount you had though. Do tell...

[addictedtolunch]

Almost afraid to post it-they're still listed on restaurant.com. But you can only use it Mon-Thurs.

[roxlet]

We were at Spadaro tonight for dinner and I was very happy to see that the front of the house was in much better control than it had been in the past. We had a wonderful sampling of primi piatti followed by two wonderful pastas. Everything was delicious, and the experience wasmuch calmer and more relaxing than it had been in the past. A wonderful evening out and a delicious meal!

[dolores]

That's good to hear, roxlet. Thanks for the update.

[intrepid]

i always find it interesting, that quite often its the same people with the same gripes/issues, makes you wonder what expectations are of a restaurant, especially one like spadaro, which is owned/run by italians, not of american/italian heritage. i find that people that travel abroad more, have a better understanding of people and their restaurants...you dolores?? thx

[dolores]

Can you clarify, intrepid, your post was unclear.

I'm just so very happy that Spadaro is doing well, they deserve to do well.

[intrepid]

in short, a lot of people dont know what theyre talking about..lololol

[dolores]

That's true. I'm happy that the fans of Spadaros do, though.

[gutreactions]

I have been watching the posts about this restaurant for several months and I must say they run from Leff's mediocre take on it to the obsessive...the Nov. issue of Westchester Magazine gives it a fair-good rating. Not so great, via Julia Sexton...It is truly a controversial eatery. Either you like the way they do things or you don't, but I don't hear people bitching about the no menu policy at Dominick's on Arthur Ave....What's up?

[kaaaassss]

Dominick's menu is not as complicated and does not have many choices on it each night.. Spadaro's menu is extensive and you can never remember half of what the waitress tells you.

[dolores]

>>you can never remember half

I never had that problem.

Mediocre? Not in a million years.

gutreactions, I find it curious as well. There are restaurants in Westchester that have wide open spaces and food that is as awful as can be. Or restaurants with printed menus that go on and on and the food is truly mediocre.

Spadaro's has a good range of appetizers and pastas and entrees (the entrees especially are not lenghty) that are the same each time. There are perhaps two or three specials.

The restaurant is in close quarters, but I imagine that was what they could afford at the time.

Given the food and the service, I'm happy to take the effort to pay attention to the menu (it's no more than all the mediocre 'specials' at other restaurants).

As long as they pack them in and I can get to revel in Spadaro's from time to time, I'm happy. It looks like all the people I've seen in the place when I've been there are happy too.

[Marge]

I didn't think the food at Spadaro's was mediocre in general, perhaps a step up from mediocre (I agree with fair-good). Some things were delicious, some fair (mediocre roasted peppers), some horrible (poorly cooked asparagus, "off" shellfish reported by others, they neglected to serve us the shellfish included with the antipasti...). Unacceptable to me was the sloppy service (frenzied "throwing down" of small plates onto our table), and, as previously mentioned, failure to serve everything that we paid for. And paid we did. I was shocked when the bill came. A SMALL grilled fish was $35 with no accompaniaments...the total bill for an antipasto for 2, the small grilled fish, a pasta with ragu and a salad (no drinks, no coffee, no dessert) was over $100. For comparable prices, we could (and do) eat at the likes of Babbo, Convivio and any number of amazing Italian restaurants in the big city (granted, parking is not free...). As far as Dominicks, I have been going there for many years--no comparison foodwise, D's is Bronx red sauce Italian... but I have never felt ripped off there, I have never been served bad seafood (in fact, they will not serve seafood on Sunday and Monday when the fish market is closed), and I ALWAYS take home enough leftovers for another meal.

[roxlet]

"...some horrible (poorly cooked asparagus..."
Actually, I LOVE the way they cook the asparagus, which is consistent with the way asparagus and other vegetables are cooked in Italy and in the Italian home. I find "al dente" vegetables inedible, and I feel that well-cooked vegetables bring out a melting tenderness that I love.

[intrepid]

roxlet, you are 100 % correct on how itlaian cook veggies

[Marge]

I guess Mario Batali, Andrew Carmellini, Lydia Bastianich and any number of "real" Italian chefs at whose restaurants I've eaten asparagus didn't get that memo...asparagus can be done well without tasting like it came outof a Green Giant can.

[intrepid]

i agree, it shouldnt taste canned, I got that memo..lolololo

[dolores]

Marge, it sounds like you're describing another restaurant that I used to frequent.

Your description doesn't sound like Spadaro's at all.

[Marge]

Sadly that's how it was for me (I reviewed here on Chowhound in April after we dined there). I SO wanted to love this restaurant as much as you do, but unfortunately there were too many inconsistencies at the price to merit a return trip for me.

[dolores]

I don't blame you.

[kaaaassss]

Dolores, you have to agree that the service is frezied at times especially on the weekends. I have not been there in a while and hopefully they have hired someone else to help with the waiter service. I have had dishes thrown on the table as Rosa rushes from one table to the other.

[dolores]

I do agree service is hurried, kaaaasss. No, I've never had dishes 'thrown' on the table. However, I have had similar to worse, faaaar worse, service at other restaurants.

I am sorry others are not as happy with Spadaro's as I am. I love the place.

[kaaaassss]

We all have our favorite spots and many people like Spadaros as you do. I have had good experiences and so so ones there and the so so ones outweighed the good ones for me. I'll give it some time and go back in the future. Unfortunately Westchester has so many restaurants that are mediocore.

[roxlet]

Ah, but when they were "thrown" (and I am not agreeing that they were!), they were "thrown" with great charm and élan! I agree with dolores that I have frequently paid far more money for far worse service. I love the ladies there, and it can get hectic, but for me, the authenticity of the food outstrips any minor inconvenience that I might have ever had.

[dolores]

I've been there since they started serving wine and had a Sicilan white by the glass that was very good.

The food was as delicious as ever and the service was impeccable.

[roxlet]

I'm happy to hear that, dolores. I know you, as I, have always been a big fan. Did they still have difficulties with the front of the house when you were last there?

[dolores]

There was just one couple who didn't have a reservation and had to wait quite a long time to be seated. But they were, and did eat late.

And this was on a weekda, which I was happy to see.

[Marge]

The service was IMPECCABLE????!!!!!!!!!!!!???????? Did you have the antipasto? If so, was the service less than frenzied and was fresh shellfish included? How much $$$$ was your glass of wine, and how generous was the pour? Sorry to be cynical, but just returned home from dinner at Morgan's, where delicious impeccably fresh fish was served at a reasonable pace by a professional server, good wine was, again, professionally served, at, again, a reasonable price, and the meal was had at a comfortable table in a lovely setting....really wanted to love Spadaro's based on your raves, but for over $100 (pre-liquor license, ergo BYOB), we were SOOOOOO disappointed. If it has improved, please do elaborate, thanks!

[dolores]

The wine was $10. and it was a very generous pour. Beat the microscopic pour at Equus and the extra charge for no ice at High Street Roadhouse.

Yes, we had the antipasti, and it was all outstanding, mussels included.

$100. a what? A person? Not sure what you had, but my bill was in the $50. a person range, as it always is. Based on 'reasonable' rates given on this board, it was a 'reasonable' meal.

And yes, service was impeccable.

[PlasticMoonRain]

As much as the atmosphere and mom and pop aspect of Spadaro is appealing, the prices are crazy for what it is. With no menu, I feel like I'm going to the dentist -- I have no idea how much I'm going to pay until the work is done.

I went with my wife and 9 year old daughter and it cost $112. When we asked about what my daughter could have, they suggested spaghetti and meat sauce (remember -- no menu). When we got the check, her dish was $16! That was the most overpriced kid's dish I'd ever encountered as a parent.

[dolores]

That's a lot? I just had dinner at Meritage and it was $124. for two, before tip.

$112. for three is 'reasonable' in Westchester. $16. for pasta? That's the going rate.

[kaaaassss]

I like Spadaros but it is what it is. Tables are on top of each other and food is kind of slapped down on the table when they are busy (which is always)...They should have a menu even a daily paper one so people can see the prices of what they are ordering....

[dolores]

You have a point about a printed menu.

Happily, their food is outstanding and they're full every night so there's no danger of them closing.

[kaaaassss]

luckily the food and the "family ownership" atmosphere is a big plus but the small space and no waiting area is a big turnoff to a lot of potential return customers....They will be around for a long time.

[PlasticMoonRain]

$16 for a 9-year-old kid's pasta dish is absurd. When they said they'd make her pasta and meat sauce, you'd expect a kid's version, not $16. That strikes me as very insensitive on their part.

I think two adults eating pasta (with only a glass of wine each) and paying $124 is really high for what that place is. Meritage, where the tables are only slightly further away than Spadaro, presents itself as an upscale Italian restaurant. Spadaro's is a tiny, informal Italian restaurant, on par informality-wise with Francesca's in White Plains, except there's no menus and you don't know what you'll pay until you get the bill.

There just seems to be a rash of overpriced Italian places in Southern Westchester (Antipasti comes to mind). At least Antipasti is very slick with lots of table room. Spadaro's is like eating in a New York City subway car.

[dolores]

Spadaro, on a par with FranCESco's??? Like eating in a subway car???

Sure, okay. If you say so.

[Shawn]

I get the subway car analogy since the tables are pushed close together and you're practically rubbing against the people next to you. Though I went to pick up some chicken last night at Chickens Gone Wild (in the same strip mall as Spadaro) at about 7:30 pm. And I noticed that Spadaro was half empty. It looked like a much more civilized dining experience than the time I tried to eat there with a reservation and they ignored me for an hour before I left. The no menu thing turns me off though. I do like to know what things cost.

[kaaaassss]

Like any restaurant as long as people keep coming and putting up with the things they don't like, there is no reason for the restaurant to change anything. When the crowds thin out, then changes will probably be made.