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Cantina Cafe Ristorante74 Court Street Middletown 06457-3333 860-704-0000 By Steve & Lisa Alcazari The Hartford Advocate January 6, 2006 Dining at the Cantina in Middletown is so much like being invited over to a close relative's house that it seems ungracious to criticize. You don't quibble when you're a family guest, do you? But then again, you don't have to fork over a lump of cash when you get asked over for dinner at Uncle Joe's either. Lisa and I had been to the Cantina years ago, and we had fond memories of the homey restaurant housed in the basement of the Sons of Italy lodge in Middletown. There's a great sense of being in on a well kept secret when you're at the Cantina; without much in the way of street signage or advertising, chances are good that word of mouth brought you (and everyone else) there. The room creates something of a bunker effect though, despite the little painted grape clusters stenciled on the white cinder block walls, enlarged old world family portraits looking out over the booths, and bunches of garlic hanging from ceiling. Though there were some nice bottles of Italian wine, a few more by-the-glass offerings would have been nice (in the red department there were only a house Chianti and a house Merlot). A mention of the "New York style" fried calamari appetizer on the menu got us curious. Our waitress said that the calamari was fried and then marinated in marinara sauce. Hmmmm. Sounded unusual. And it was. As you might expect, the potentially crusty fried exterior was rendered somewhat soggy after being tossed in tomato sauce. Lisa and I had commented on what we thought was the smell of Chinese food when we walked up to the restaurant. Now we knew why. The New York style calamari was like an Italian sweet and sour squid. Sweet tomato sauce provided a background for the big (maybe too big) sections of tender (maybe too tender) squid. But a little chewiness is nice sometimes; as Lisa put it: You want at least to know that you're eating it. There were other standard appetizers (stuffed mushrooms and fried mozzarella) and less standard ones like broccoli rabe and sausage. A shrimp starter was buttressed by sturdy pieces of pancetta. Hunks of fresh tomatoes, three fat whole cloves of garlic, a few capers floated in the salty pancetta-infused broth, which was excellent for soaking up with the dinner rolls. We didn't notice any mention of salads on the menu, but our waitress brought a few to our table. Some people might grumble about not being offered a choice of dressing (and I expect we would have been given some blue cheese if we'd asked), but frankly I like it when a chef decides to take some of the decision-making out of the hands of the diners. It makes you feel like there's confidence in the kitchen. In this case, the dressing was an assertive, pleasantly tangy and slightly fruity balsamic vinaigrette with ample cracked black pepper. We weren't prepared for the grand entrance that would be made by our entrees. Lisa's order of gemelli (corkscrew pasta) arrived at our table in what you'd have to call a huge purple casserole dish. And the thing was practically full. I'm usually pretty cautious about levelling charges of questionable taste, but I think it's safe to say that the portion on this particular dish qualified as obscene. The food, however, was more restrained, with a hint of garlic, a creamy ricotta sauce, some tender spinach and a dollop of marinara sauce on top. My chicken rollatini was loaf-like in its proportions. A large chicken breast was stuffed with a thin layers of spinach, cheese and pancetta, served in a buttery wine sauce with sliced mushrooms. Dessert simply wasn't physically possible. Though we did have room for a cup of coffee (weak). Like everyone else, we walked out with several backs of to-go containers. It was like we had gone on a shopping trip to the mall. Hours: Lunch Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dinner Mon.-Thu., 4:45 p.m.-9 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 4:45 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Sun. 4 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Map | Printer-Friendly Page | Email to a Friend
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