Mark’s Score 8.9
Joe’s La Roma is another one of those restaurants I have been planning to visit but I just never seemed to get there. Part of the reason that is so is that they are only open four nights a week and they do not serve lunch. They are also at the extreme southern end of the Rte. 13 business corridor and there are just many more conveniently located restaurants. La Roma is out of sight, out of mind. But a couple of weeks ago I was in the mood for Italian, so I finally made it to La Roma. I am glad I went.
La Roma’s was opened as a pizza parlor in 1978 by Vinnie Bellia. As the years progressed Vinny added more family recipes to the menu. Vinnie retired in 2015 and the restaurant was closed for a few years. After a couple of years, Vinnie’s son Joe teamed up with Chris Van Sant to reopen La Roma. The new team updated the décor and sought to reprise Vinnie’s original strategy of providing authentic Italian cuisine.
Their menu is extensive, too many choices, really. On top of that, the night I was there they had four additional specials. I like to rate Italian restaurants on their ability to cook pasta properly. So, I decided to order the pasta special which was a linguini with baby tomatoes, olives, and peppers, sprinkled with a fresh thyme garnish. I also ordered their house salad with their house made pesto sauce and the eggplant bruschetta. To accompany my meal, I ordered their wine flight of five 2 oz glasses of my choice. I decided to go with the whites, starting with an Abruzzi pinot grigio and ending with a light and sweet Moscato.
I hadn’t been to La Roma since Vinnie managed it. I remember the old décor as being heavy and dark. I like Joe’s new lighter decor. Being alone I sat at the bar, which was the perfect choice. I went the weekend of the baseball tournament and the bar was full of tourists, and everyone was in a festive mood. The bar is tiny but cozy. The bartender was friendly and helped me choose my meal. It was the bartender who suggested the salad with the house pesto. He was right, the pesto made the dish memorable. I ordered the bruschetta because of the addition of eggplant. The eggplant was cooked perfectly and the fresh basil leaves and tomatoes provided a lovey texture and taste combination. I ordered the pasta dish on the bartender’s recommendation. The pasta was cooked perfectly. The sauce was not a typical red sauce. It was light and the combination of the sweet peppers, salty olives, and tart tomatoes made it a mouth bomb.
Joe has created an authentic Italian restaurant that would be at home in Rome itself. I will make an effort to go more frequently. I just wish they were open more nights or perhaps opened for lunch.
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