Great Food, Great Service The Mantra At

My Place Restaurant

Serving great food, with great service at reasonable prices has been the mantra at Newtown’s My Place Restaurant for more than 25 years.

Opened as a luncheonette by Louise Tambascio in 1979, in one of a string of storefronts that later became Big Y, it was a popular place for breakfast and lunch. In 1989 her sons John and Mark took an adjacent store to start a New York-style pizzeria in combination with provincial Italian cuisine dinners. Three years later, the wall between the two establishments came down and My Place began serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week.

When the Big Y came to town, the Tambascios relocated their operations in 1998 to the extensively renovated building fronting Queen Street that had long served as Newtown’s post office before the post office moved to Commerce Road. The building’s past life is reflected on My Place’s take-out pizza boxes, with an envelope and stamp marking every box. But don’t save the boxes just because they are clever — 12 pizza box coupons saved are good for one free large pizza.

One of the biggest advantages of operating an independent restaurant is the ability to know the customers and respond to changing demand, say the restaurateurs, and this is what they strive to do, year after year.

The My Place décor is inviting, from the moment customers open the foyer doors. Local artist Claudia Coopersmith painted “bricks” on portions of the wall in the takeout area and trailing vines. Spicy pumpkin-colored walls with heather peach create an atmosphere as warm as the welcome extended by the Tambascio family. The homey feel continues with another Coopersmith mural on the wall of the private side room.

Just off of the take-out area and next to the spacious dining room is a small, but well-received bar. Not only does My Place offer full bar service, and any wine that is in a bottle can be ordered by the glass, but the restaurant is renowned for its extraordinary selection of beers from around the world. Mark Tambascio is a brewer and a national beer judge. With his expertise and connections, My Place regularly offers brews found only in select bars, and traveling beer aficionados from across the country regularly stop in, having learned of My Place on the Internet. Six rotating choices are always on tap. Next to the taps, a traditional English beer engine for cask-conditioned ales is mounted. The cask ales are served at specific times during the year. My Place is one of only three bars in the state offering traditional cask ales.

Regular beer tastings led by Mr Tambascio take place in the private room at the restaurant, as well. Interested parties can register online for the tastings by going to MyPlacePizza.com, and then selecting “Mark’s Taproom.”

In recognition of changing lifestyles and the growing adult communities in Newtown, My Place offers a Sunday through Thursday pre fixe menu from 4 to 6 pm. The menu, which changes weekly, includes prime rib, chicken, and seafood entrees for $11.99, including a choice of soup or salad.

Look for daily and weekly specials for breakfast and lunch at My Place, too. Start the day with eggs Benedict or Belgium waffles, just two of many delicious breakfast specials.

The dinner menu lists several starters such as the popular Buffalo Soldier wings, a zesty wings offering tossed in Caribbean spices. Not Just Potato Skins and coconut shrimp exemplify the many other appetizers available.

Entrees are served with bread and a choice of salad or soup on the dinner menu, which is heavily Italian and offers selections such as pasta Margarita, and chicken and steak specials. The restaurant also features whole wheat pasta. Popular items are the roasted vegetable ravioli, topped with oven-roasted tomatoes in a garlic basil wine sauce; and the roasted apple and goat cheese salad, available in two sizes. “We strive to stay on top of current food trends,” said Mr Tambascio. The menu also reflects the growing trend toward healthier eating, he said.

Although the red brick building with green awnings fronts on Queen Street, the handicapped accessible entrance is off the parking lot between the restaurant and Bank of America. This brings customers into the takeout area, a very busy place on weekend nights. All of the dishes on the menu are available as takeout, with about 300 thin-crust pizzas processed on a typical Friday night, and some 150 to 200 on Saturdays. My Place uses a computer system to keep track of all orders, which enables the employees to give accurate wait times to anyone calling in for pickup or delivery. My Place delivers daily to all of Newtown between the hours of noon and 2 pm, and 4 and 9 pm.

The dining room accommodates 115, which includes the private party area where up to 40 guests may gather. My Place also provides full-service, on-site catering for parties up to 250. My Place considers itself to be family friendly, and provides toys and coloring material for children while they wait. Look for extensive renovations to the bar and dining room in the upcoming year, as well as the addition of an outdoor patio in the spring.

In a nod to parents’ concerns about what children eat, rather than “everything on the children’s menu coming with fries,” Mr Tambascio notes that children now have a choice of a tossed salad, fruit cup, or applesauce with their entrees.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and catering menus, and other information about My Place can be found at its website, www.MyPlacePizza.com.

My Place Restaurant, 8 Queen Street, open from 5:30 am to 10 pm Monday–Saturday, 6 am to 9 pm on Sunday; 270-7061. All major credit cards accepted. Pizza tours for small groups are available by appointment. Call 270-7061 to schedule.