Greg K.
Yelp
My father in law knew something as an out-of-towner that we always took for granted: Syracuse was the Land of Plenty when it came to Italian restaurants. It felt like every time he came to visit, we would inevitably take him to yet another red checkered table cloth joint. But time and tide, and pandemics, and family succession planning, bring changes. The gone but not forgotten:
-Aunt Josies
-Critella's
-Grimaldi's
-Luigi's
-Casa de Copani
-Mother's (Liverpool)
It's enough to make you cry in your chianti. But all is not lost, friends. Santangelo's is the real deal, delivering the goods since 1986. I finally got there this past week, though my wife has been several times (without me, but I'm not jealous. Well, maybe a bit.).
Everything here screams "old school" in the best way possible. The almost labyrinthine set of dining rooms, the friendly, competent, funny and never intrusive wait staff. The kitschy Christmas decor still on display in early January. But most of all? The food.
We started with a special app of fried goat cheese, a nice little ball with pesto inside, with a fabulous splash of house spicy tomato sauce. Totally swoon worth on it's own, but then...
The seafood chowder: OMG this is indeed Valhalla. A creamy base, probably based on house made seafood stock, so much depth, and full to the brim with goodness. Our server quipped that she made sure there were "nice, big pieces in there". Seriously, one lobstah bite overflowed my soup spoon.
For my main, the veal marsala was simply superb. Super tender veal cutlet, perfect sauce, more than enough mushrooms. My family members both went with chicken parm, and unquestionably, these were fresh chicken cutlets, one with house made pasta.
The dining room was packed, understandably so, but there's enough carpeting and soft materials that it never felt loud, not even with a birthday of 10 seated close to us. A welcoming, warm place that keeps the Syracuse tradition of great Italian food alive.