Spasso Italian Grill

This is part three of my four part restaurant week/birthday celebration. Delicious.

Italian food is not my jam. I'm almost never going to pick out an Italian spot. That's why it was great when Quinn and I went out last week, and she insisted upon this spot. I would have never picked it on my own.

I have to get the atmosphere out of the way. This place is big and open, with booths and tables. The layout is weird. It feels a bit corporate. There were large groups of Italian families inside. Loud children were right next to us, too. It definitely doesn't feel like a nicer restaurant. This distracted from the meal a bit. Our server was clearly Italian. I like it when my server is an expert in the food being served. We had good service throughout the meal.

Spasso had an awesome special going for restaurant week. $35 brought four courses to the table. Quinn and I ate so much food, I honestly don't think my appetite came back for 24 hours. To start off, I went with the fried calamari. I love this dish, and this was an average rendition. I wasn't impressed, but it wasn't bad either. Quinn went with a fried crab cake. It was a large crab cake that was seasoned interestingly. I can't put my finger on what it was, but it was a nice experiment with a dish that can easily be bland.

Our next course was the house pasta dish. It was offered as part of the special, and they picked the pasta and sauce. We were served penne with a simple red sauce. It was nice, but in reality, I probably didn't need it before the main course.

For my main, I ordered gnocchi with asiago and asparagus. Quinn went with spinach ravioli stuff with four different cheeses. The presentation on both of our dishes was good, and my portions were great too. I though that Quinn's was a bit small, with five large ravioli's making up the whole dish. The gnocchi was great; perfectly cooked. The white wine sauce was well balanced. The asiago and asparagus additions completed the dish well.

For dessert, Quinn took the chocolate mousse cake. It was awesome. It was so rich, that we didn't finish it between the two of us. It was a great piece of cake. When our server told us that profiterole was available, I had to jump at the chance (because of "Look Around You." If you

haven't seen this video, you really need to take 2 minutes and check it out). Unfortunately, my dessert was simply a dollop of ice cream between two hard, bland biscuits.

Bottom Line: Spasso's tag line is "comfort food from Italy," and I think they success in this department. I may not ht up this spot again, but especially considering their restaurant week offering, I think this is a nice spot. If you want simple, good Italian food, this is a viable option.

Essentials:

34 S Front St (Front and Chestnut)

215) 592-7661

Avg Ent: 15-22

Cash only: No

Reservations: Yes

BYOB: No