Thursday, February 01, 2007
Nico's -- finally authentic Italian
Larry Bly
Larry Bly has plenty on his plate these days. He's got two TV shows on Cox Cable Roanoke. Click ahead for details and showtimes.
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The other day a friend of mine observed an oil spot on the front of my shirt. I told him that that wasn't the worst of it. I had four other shirts with the same oil spot on the front and I knew where every single one came from: by eating repeatedly at Nico's.
You see, Nico's serves a small plate of olive oil with garlic for dipping their delicious, crunchy bread. I must have eaten two loaves just by myself. And I accidentally got a drip each time. I wear them like a badge of honor. Plus I'm too cheap to have them cleaned ... I mean, they're still stiff around the cuffs!
Nico's has been open since the beginning of the year, and though lunches could use some customers (I'm almost alone some days -- pity, too, as they have reasonably priced specials) dinners are really catching on.
My only fear is that both meals will be standing room only once Roanokers have tasted the true Italian cooking from this kitchen.
Yes, Nico's is still in its shakedown period, but thanks to the owners' extensive restaurant experience -- they own the highly successful Sal's in Radford -- they're not making many mistakes. Mostly it's just been adjusting the lunch menu.
Lunch classics include items like six distinct salads. Entrees include homemade (and I do mean homemade) rigatoni, penne asiago, linguini con fruitti di mare, chicken milanese, veal la bella, stuffed shells florentina, chicken marsala and lasagna.
Hint: If you order the same soup or entree two days in a row and it's slightly different (but always delicious), it's a good sign that the chef has slightly changed it from one day to the next -- and that's a good thing.
Give me a fresh variation and I'll never complain. All of these entrees are hearty servings (you'll take some home for dinner, no doubt) and run around $10. But not to worry: there are salads, subs and sandwiches, calzones and pizzas for less.
I've had three dinners at Nico's, each better than the previous, if that's possible. The cooks infuse every dish with the flavors of Italy. They're heavy-handed with the garlic, which I love. If you do not wish so much garlic, simply tell them. The kitchen's very accommodating.
Enjoy the fresh herbs and spices, sauces and cheeses. I've been to the kitchen for a look-see and there are caldrons of sauces cooking away on the huge stoves.
Antipasti at night starts the meal with any number of freshly-prepared specialties: Broccoli sautéed in olive and garlic, bruschetta, calamari fried, grilled eggplant with balsamic glaze, shrimp scampi, hot antipasto, cold antipasto, fettuccine marcella, mussels and clams. And my new favorite appetizer: Pizzete Enzo, which is grilled asparagus, sweet red onions, fresh tomatoes (they use the whole cherry ones, cut in half), capers, garlic and herbs, then topped with goat cheese and a drizzle of olive oil on a thin crust pizzete. For me, it could be the whole meal.
Joe, who owns the place, tells me that, "We're not real big on butter around here, but olive oil and garlic ... oh yeah."
Dinner entrees are sizable and scrumptious. I've had the linguini con vongole, the spaghetti puttanesca (it's called the "whore's meal" in Italy -- a simple marinara sauce with olives, capers, plum tomatoes and a hint of anchovies tossed in spaghetti). This item is so simple that you can mess it up by making it too fancy. Nico's sticks to the basics and it's worth it.
There are vodka sauces for rigatoni (homemade again), penne sofia with mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, fresh catch of the day (the seafood items at my table for eight the other night drew rave reviews without exception), chicken and rabbit dishes, pork, and rib eye steak dishes.
There are also nightly announced specials, all to make your selection that much more enjoyably difficult.
Desserts vary from day to day and are homemade in Roanoke, though I'm not telling their secrets.
For now, there is limited bar service: beer and wine. But full bar service is on its way after the required waiting period.
Nico's took the former Italiano's (which was Brazilian/Italian, very different than this menu) and they've put new wood paneling on the walls, a divider between the bar and main dining room, reduced the size of the bar to accommodate more tables, and they've opened the kitchen up with a window partition for those who like to peek into the back of the house. Not a pretty picture ... but who said that beautiful dishes have to come from a beautiful kitchen?
That downtown block of Campbell across from Twist & Turns in the old Shenandoah Hotel building has been difficult for building the lunch crowd. They tend to stick in the immediate Market Square and the Market Building. But be assured it's worth the extra few steps to try something new.
I just remembered: my laundry is just a block up the street. All the more reason to not worry about those oily stains I'm acquiring.
Nico's Ristorante é Cafe
125 Campbell Ave.
Roanoke, Va. 24011
540-342-4444
Tuesday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday-Saturday: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sunday-Monday: Closed
