standard american italian fare done very well. well it's september and that means back to school. as long as our children have been attending school, tradition has had us travelling to niagara falls, new york from our home in canada in search of great deals. the kids can look great and it doesn't break our bank at the same time. of course the other great aspect of travelling stateside is the food. we opened the urbanspoon app on my blackberry and started spinning. we had our minds set on italian in niagara falls so we locked the city and cuisine type and started spinning. michael's was one of the first to pop up. we liked the idea of 88% and 62 reviews. after spinning a few more times, we decided to try michael's. when we arrived, it is clear that this is ulitmately an italian diner. the sign at the door directed us to seat ourselves, even though the restaurant was fairly busy. our server came over immediately, took a drink order and informed us of numerous specials listed on the whiteboard in the corner. we looked at the menu that had breakfast, italian foods and american foods listed on it. the wine and beer selections were simple and straight to the point. i then wandered over to the special's menu where i sawbeansand greens, fried calamari and stuffed banana peppers. these three items are some of our favourite foods to eat when they are available. when our server returned, we ordered the fried calamari, the banana peppers stuffed with asiago, ricotta and prosciutto as appetizers. we also ordered the small size ravioli with meatballs and gnocchi with meat sauce and another order of meatballs.
the peppers were very good. the ricotta tasted fresh, the asiago added some sharpness and the bits of prosciutto added a nice saltiness. the peppers themselves were slightly spicy and cooked just enough to keep them firm and al dente.
the calamari, was delicious. it was cooked perfectly, not chewy, the coating was crisp and not oily. the inside melted and didn't have any rubbery texture to it. the calamari was served with marinara sauce and honey mustard dip. the marinara was my choice between the two.
with our mains, i hadbeansand greens instead of salad. any time i am in a restaurant that servesbeansand greens, i order it. thesebeansand greens were delicious. served piping hot the way soup should be, the greens had a great fresh flavour with good bitterness, the stock was appropriately salty and thebeanswere mild with a hint of sweetness. i would return for just a bowl of this.
our server was right on top of things. she noticed that our apps and our salad and soup came fairly quickly, so she informed us that she had told the kitchen to slow our meal down so that we can enjoy our meal. this was said to us even as the restaurant continued to get busier and busier at 2:30 in the afternoon. my wife pointed out that at least a half dozen people came in as well for takeout.
our mains arrived. the meat sauce was a very good italian american sauce. it had good acidity with a balanced amount of sweetness and loads of ground meat. it went well with the gnocchi. my meatballs, although misshapen, were moist, and cooked perfectly. they had a little more parsley than i prefer, but still very good. my wife's ravioli was served with marinara sauce, large and stuffed full of creamy cheese. overall, the meal was very good. i am not saying excellent, but very good. we informed our server it was our first time there. she said she hoped it wouldn't be our last time. after a quick glance across the table to see the smile on my wife's face, we were both confident in telling our waitress that we would definitely be back.