Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Authentic East Coast Italian Food

Aiello's opened up in Central Phoenix at the tail end of 2007 promising to bring some traditional east coast Italian food to the Phoenix area. In my opinion Phoenix is definitely lacking when it comes to good traditional southern Italian food; so I was eager to give this place a try.
My husband and I met some "east coast" friends for dinner this past weekend at Aiello's. We tend to be a tough crowd when it comes to Italian food but we all agreed that Aiello's was pretty darn authentic.
We started off our dinner with the antipasti platter for two ($16) (plenty big for the 4 of us). Included in this appetizer was a variety of Italian meats, olives, caprese, roasted peppers and grilled vegetables. We also got an order of the eggplant rolatini ($8) and were not disappointed. It was so good; it reminded me of the one my mom use to make. (For some reason my mom claims not to know how to cook anymore. But we'll save that story for another blog)
For our main courses we ordered the fusilli with chicken and roasted peppers ($15), lobster ravioli ($24), linguini fradiavolo ($22) and rigatoni alla Bolognese ($15). The Bolognese was my favorite with the lobster ravioli as a close second. The Bolognese sauce was a perfect combination of vegetables and meat with a lingering hint of porcini mushrooms. YUM! Of the 4 entrees the fradiavolo was the only disappointment. It was not the traditional blend of tomato and seafood sauce like I'm used to. Rather it tasted more like a basic tomato sauce with seafood on top. Not really bad just not what I think of as a fradiavolo.
We split a rum baba ($8) and a cannoli ($7) for dessert. If you've never had a rum baba then I would recommend running over to Aiello's right now and giving their's a try. A rum baba is basically a yeast type cake drenched in rum with a pastry cream filling. How can you go wrong with anything soaked in rum? The cannoli should not feel slighted. It was equally as good but much easier to find here in Phoenix.
For me Aiello's was able to bring back some fond food memories of growing up in a southern Italian family. Looking forward to my next visit.
5202 N. Central Ave
Phoenix Az 85012
602-277-8700

4 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for the review! I've been wanting to try Aiello's for a while now, and I think this weekend would be the perfect time. The lobster ravioli sounds wonderful.

    Thanks again!

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  2. I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed Aiello's. I consider you the expert on this type of food, and your endorsement validates my own favorable opinion. I look forward to many more meals at Aiello's.

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  3. I returned to Aiello's and tried the cavatelli and the home made meatballs. Both were delicious. The sauce and meat were very similar to what I make at home.

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  4. I will be trying it tomm night.. I will report back. Thanks for helping me make my decision.

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