savona's trattoria

fantastic! i had the pan seared scallop with bucatini in lobster creamsaucespecial... it's possibly the tastiest pasta dish i've ever had!

not so hot italian food. after finally scoring what seems to be a coveted window table on a recent monday evening - (in the past just walking in we were told the empty row of tables were reserved, upon calling another eve we were told those tables cannot be reserved - but the young lady apologized and said "they tell me to say that"...whatever) we were served decent wine properly chilled. the good times stopped there. the oily overly garlicy bread left a nasty taste long into the night, the eggplant parm (2 slices) was covered with stringy tough cheese and raw- again garlicy- redsaucemade without love or the long cooking required. a sad limp room temp salad (probably left over from the weekend) couldn't be energized by any kind of dressing and a handful of watery tasting penne rounded out the sad plate. no thanks.

garlic!. that's the first thing you smell when you walk in the door. they use lots of fresh garlic in their dishes. the pasta and sauces are also fresh, reminds me of going to grandma's for dinner on sunday. she made her own noodles, her own sauce, and grandpa would pour you a glass of chianti from the gallon jug he got from the neighborhood italian grocery.

then we would sit around the kitchen table and tell stories while grandma boiled the pasta and made the rolls,. thesaucesimmering away on the stove top, filling the room with a wonderful smell.

the food here is just as fresh, just as savory, but the wine is a lot better and the service was just right. attentive but not intrusive.

even if you are not hungry, just go for the smell!

multo beni.

nica rice balls. being brought up on mulberry st. in the city i longed for a good rice ball and have found it here at savonas. i did have to tell them to add a ot of ricotta chesse and mozarella andsauceand bake it like that but all in all it was great. the bolognesesauceis great also.