restaurants

Rigoletto

Recently, eight of us took a trip to historic Arthur Avenue in the Belmont section of the Bronx for a holiday meal.  While the neighborhood has always been a mix of cultures, it remains an Italian haven for bread, pasta, meat, cheese, and desserts.  Some refer to Arthur Avenue as the "Little Italy" of the Bronx, but those in the know will tell you that it is much more authentic than Little Italy.

In addition to the shops on Arthur Avenue, there are a few great restaurants including Rigoletto's.  We have been to Rigoletto's a few times in the past year, but have not completed a review either because we drank too much to remember the meal, or we all ordered the veal chop with vinegar peppers and had no basis for a thorough review.  This time, we made a concerted effort to order different items and keep notes.

While slightly dated, Rigoletto's has a pleasant atmosphere that is casual, but slightly more formal than some of the other restaurants on the avenue.  As we sat down, the waiter brought us the usual hunks of parmigianno reggiano cheese and tomato bruscheta--an excellent start, especially with a bottle of wine.

We then shared three pastas:  a linguine filetto di pomodoro (tomatoes, prosciutto and onion), a gnocchi bolognese (a meat sauce),  and a linguine carbonara (cream, bacon, prosciutto, shallots and onion).  As usual, the filetto di pomodoro was great -- simple but delicious;  the gnocchi was light as it should be and the bolognese sauce was a nice accompaniment.  The carbonara received mixed reviews from the eight of us, but I think it comes down to personal preference -- some of us loved the rich and creamy sauce while others felt it was a little heavy.

There was a little duplication on the entrees, but we still had a good variety of dishes.  I insisted on the veal chop with vinegar peppers which is always a favorite; the chop is tender but the flavor of the peppers is what makes the dish for me.  The snapper livornesa (with light tomato sauce, onions, olives and capers) was well received.  The stuffed roast veal  (stuffed with spinach) in a brown mushroom sauce was also very good.  The bracciole (rolled meat with prosciutto, pignoli nuts, garlic and parmigianno cheese) was tasty but a little dry.  The chicken scarpariello (with sausage in a white wine, lemon and garlic sauce) was very tasty and the chicken was moist.  The osso buco was tender and tasty with a brown gravy, but it was not served with true arborio rice which was a little disappointing.  Finally, the veal sorrentino (with a wine sauce) was tender but a little on the sweet side.  While some dishes were better than others, we were very satisfied overall.