Amassing more than 20 years experience in the restaurant industry as a partner in My Place Restaurant on Queen Street and as owner of DiPalma’s New York Pizza in Southbury, John Tambascio had a different vision for Tambascio’s. “I wanted to create a place were my customers can experience old-fashioned Sicilian dishes and Italian specialties exactly as made back home for generations.”

Since taking over the 75-seat restaurant in the summer of 2007, Mr Tambascio and his head chef, Miah Bahar, have gradually introduced new offerings, opening up the cuisine to a menu that reflects the feel of trattorias across Italy.

The menu features an extensive selection of tradition-based contemporary Italian classics along with inventive contemporary appetizers, salads, fresh pastas, grilled fresh fish, fowl and meats, and unforgettable desserts. All breads are baked on premises every day to accompany the meals.

“Our Bolognese sauce is very traditional, for example,” said Mr Tambascio, “and the baked eggplant Fiorentina is very much what you would get in Italy.” The sauces are lighter and cleaner than many Americanized Italian eateries offer, allowing the flavor of the high-quality meats, fish, or pastas used at Tambascio’s Italian Grill to shine through, he stressed.

Other menu items popular with Tambascio’s clientele are the bruschetta, clams casino, pork osso bucco, and the 16-ounce porterhouse steak.

Mr Tambascio is actively involved in determining the menu and is excited to present new dishes in 2011 that feature ingredients from local farms in and around the Newtown area.

Tambascio’s is a family-friendly environment with an affordable menu that pleases all tastes and appetites. Appetizers range in price from $6.99 for hand breaded fried mozzarella to $11.99 for an order of Portuguese-style clams. A small garden salad is available for $4.99, or make a meal of a large Mediterranean salad of feta cheese, kalamata olives, romaine, tomatoes, onions, and roasted peppers for $8.79.

Dinner entrees are priced between $12.99 and $24.99, and encompass items such as pasta with homemade meatballs, chicken parmigiana, tortellini Certosa with veal sausage, broccoli rabe and roasted garlic, and fruitti di mare. Weekly dinner specials are offered using the freshest of ingredients and innovative techniques.

“Additionally, seasonal changes to the menu mean that palates will not quickly tire of the same fare,” said Mr Tambascio.

Pizza lovers will not be disappointed with the New York-style pizza made at Tambascio’s Italian Grill. Hand-tossed and baked directly on top of a stone and featuring Italian cheeses, this pizza will be enjoyed by those who love a pie with an al dente crust. Delicious stromboli, a meat-and-cheese-stuffed bread, is also available.

Hot or cold grinders are available for a lighter meal, but each is prepared with the same care and attention to detail bestowed upon the full entrées.

Included in the dessert menu are several made on premises. These specialties change from week to week and may include a chocolate mousse cake, carrot cake, or crème brulee. Gelato from Buck’s Ice Cream in Milford is featured at the restaurant, as well as chocolate orange ice cream from the Newtown Creamery.

From a $20 bottle of Nera d’Avola to an $80 bottle of Brunello, the wine list at the restaurant offers something for all tastes. The house red wine is from Italy, and wines not carried locally are featured. A weekend special wine by the glass is available and wine connoisseurs will be pleasantly surprised, Mr Tambascio believes, at some of the wines found on the list or carried as specials.

For those preferring to dine at home, the entire menu is available for takeout. In addition, Tambascio’s offers their “Why Cook” monthly promotions where classic pasta and chicken dinners are available for $12.99. The facility is also available for private functions and a separate catering menu offers classic favorites for all occasion celebrations.

 “I truly want people to be happy and enjoy their meal,” Mr Tambascio said.

Tambascio’s Italian Grill, 1 Dodgingtown Road, Newtown, serves meals from 4 to 10 pm, seven days of the week. Takeout for all menu items is from 11 am to 10 pm, seven days a week. For takeout or party planning, call 203 426-2715. For more information, visit www.tambascios.com

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