Greg Levan
Google
It's been a while since I've been back to Tartini's, but I always remember how good the food was here. Since I wanted to support local during the Bite30 event (ending this weekend), I stopped in around 8:30pm Friday night. I decided to sit at the bar, and I was served by Stephen. As we were introducing ourselves, I told him it's been a while since I've been here, and he told me it was his first night. For a first night, he did a bang-up job and added to my enjoyment of the evening. Mason also assisted him on his first night and he was also very diligent in making sure everything was to my liking. Together, they worked like a finely tuned machine. In fact, even the gentlemen who brought the food out throughout the night were engaging and always smiling. Very cool establishment.
Now for the food and drinks. I ordered the inhouse white Sangria and it was very tasty. Plenty of fruit and quite strong. (Tartini does not have a full bar, but they have wine-based cocktails, such as margaritas, pina coladas and mojitos as well as beer and wine.) My choices from the Bite 30 menu included the Italian Bruschetta (crispy bread, tomatoes, basil and olive oil) as a starter. The presentation was amazing. It was very good, but a little messy. The crispy bread cracked when you took a bite, and the cubed tomatoes spilled over back onto the plate and the bar after my first bite. Just a word to the wise. For the main course, I chose the Gnocchi Al Forno Bolognese (fresh gnocchi, ground beef in red wine, tomatoes and fresh herbs). Again, the presentation was impressive, it was served with the steam rising from the dish, and the taste sensational! Bolognese is my favorite Italian dish, and this place knows how to make it just right! Absolutely perfect! I ended the meal with the heaven-sent Delicate Lemon Cake (highly recommend-served with mascarpone cream and limoncello curd!). Again, presentation perfecto and it was light as air. Stephen described it perfectly when he asked me what I thought of it. He said it is his favorite as it refreshes and cleanses your palate after a delicious Italian meal.
The only other issue I had was with parking as the lot is quite small. I had to drive around and come back, and I was lucky to find a family leaving the second time around. So, note this, especially if you are here on a weekend night. Getting out was a challenge also. Three young adults decided to park their Tesla Cybertruck at the front entrance, blocking the exit to Hansel Avenue. Although two of the individuals saw me waiting to get out, they just kept walking and made no effort to park in any of the open spaces at 10pm. I had to back up and go out the side street. Overall, I really like this Italian restaurant in my Edgewood neighborhood and happy to see it has a great clientele base. The food definitely deserves all the attention it gets!
