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Licari’s was recommended by a friend (thanks, Kendra) and it was a great find. You can’t see it from the road and there is no signage on Knapp. So look for the Crushed Grape and turn in. The restaurant is attached to the backside of Crushed Grape and is near the Celebration Cinema complex for you movie goers.
The narrow space is small with high tops and booths along the windows, and a few tables and the bar fill in the rest of the area. The outdoor patio looks like a pleasant place to be in nice weather.
The menu is also small but interesting. Five antipasti selections, 5 insalate, 8 pannettis, 6 pasta, and pizza. Opened since April 2012, the restaurant is gathering a well-deserved following.
It has a cool vibe to it and the service was great. Our server took our order on her iPhone and we started with her recommendation, Arancini - crispy rice balls filled with meat sauce and mozzarella. We found them beautifully presented but overly deep fried.
From the very appetizing selections, we chose the Pasta a la Chef: some family secrets tossed with Gemelli pasta and tomato cream sauce, peas, carrots, and ham. Although we hate secrets, it was a very finely prepared al dente pasta dish.
Linguini con salsiccia e ricotta was our second dish, which consisted of fresh house made sausage, creamy ricotta, and fresh tomato sauce over linguini. Again, the pasta was exquisitely prepared and the combination was delicious.
In order to get garlic bread with your dish, you need to pony up $2.00 more for four slices, but it is worth it. Forget the butter/garlic drenched slices of bread you receive elsewhere. This bread will arrive with a much lighter touch of garlic and butter and accompanied by their house-made tomato sauce.
Left-over boxes are earth-friendly, there is just one large screen TV playing, and the pop-soundtrack music playing was not overly obtrusive. They should lose the Bobby Flay picture and Food Network references, however; we don’t care about Bobby Flay.
Licari’s is not a fine dining experience like you will receive at Amore Trattoria Italiana but it can stand on its own based on the food and the casual atmosphere. Read the restaurant background on their website where you can also view the menu. We’ll definitely be back.
http://www.licarispizzakitchen.com/
Searching for a fine Italian restaurant in Grand Rapids is not easy. We came across this name (too long to be a chain), and although we dislike Alpine Avenue as much as we do 28th Street, this place was worth it.
The exterior is unassuming and nothing that would attract attention. Parking is in the rear and the entrance is in the front, with no parking. Walking in, we were charmed by the replica of the La Bocca della Verita, known to us from the movie “Roman Holiday”.
A narrow hallway with nostalgic Italian photos on the walls leads past the bar and its dining area and into the main dining room, where we were seated. A couple of things we didn’t like immediately popped up: crinkly paper laid over tablecloths and seating the next arrivals immediately proximate to us. We soon forgot about the paper and got over the seating choices when we realized that we still had privacy in our high-backed booth, even with people in front and in back of us.
A few booths line the two side walls and nine tables fill out the middle. Abstract artwork is displayed the walls. It’s a subdued, comfortable, classy atmosphere and the service is just as fine.
The large two-sided menu is seasonal and we appropriately experienced the spring edition: appetizers; soups; salads; pizza, with and without tomato sauce; first course pasta; and second course meats. Unfortunately for us, Americans expect huge servings and the restaurant accommodates this predilection.
Unless you are used to bellying up at the Golden Corral Buffet, you cannot eat your way through the coursed menu. Choose between pasta or meat, and among appetizers, soups, or salads. And keep in mind that your server will promptly bring you delicious warm bread, made daily.
We asked for a recommendation for a couple of appetizers and our server suggested the Arancini, and the selection was seconded by someone in the kitchen. They didn’t steer us wrong. Risotto fritters stuffed with fontina cheese were topped with drizzled spinach aioli. We’ve never had as delicious a fritter.
The soups were too interesting to resist and we ordered the Lasagne soup and the Broccoli Parmesan. They were just alright and we should have passed on them and saved room for other courses. The Lasagne soup was enjoyable but nothing particularly special - it did taste like lasagne, however :) The broccoli soup was too salty and was in an uncomfortable place between chunky and pureed.
We both chose our main dishes from the pasta menu. The first was the Rigatoni Della Casa, smoked blue cheese cream sauce and smoked prosciutto tossed with rigatoni. The serving was large but beautifully prepared and presented.
The second selection was crespelle: homemade crepes with baked Italian vegetables, topped with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. If you think crepes are native only to France, this will expand your horizons.
To our surprise, we were brought an on-the-house tiramisu for dessert. If nothing else we’ve said will draw you to this restaurant, this delectable treat should.
Pastas are house-made and the restaurant looks for local sources for ingredients. There is a special lunch menu and an extensive Italian wine list. This is a well-run restaurant serving great food with superb service from knowledgeable servers. The next time you even think about going to a national chain Italian restaurant, head to Amore instead.
They have a somewhat active presence on Facebook and very light activity on Twitter.
www.amoretrattoriaitaliana.com
Post Script: We received a very nice response from the restaurant on our review and also an explanation that the owner/chef was not there the night of our visit and did not make the soups.
