Newly opened Italian eatery serves delightful dishes

Fortunately, a newly opened eatery has begun serving a wide range of Italian delicacies.

Venezia, located at 201 S. Sooner Road, set up shop last month. The restaurant has seating for more than 100, tables and booths, along with a bar as a centerpiece. The cleanly decorated and well-lit room can accommodate parties of many sizes, including the group of six with whom I recently ate, even during a busy lunch rush.

The eclectic group included diners who live low-carbohydrate lifestyles, as well as those with hearty appetites. We all came away impressed.

The menu offers a wide range of Italian items, from homemade pastas to seafood to pizzas to meal-sized salads. We ordered from all over the menu. I chose a spinach calzone, which literally provided three meals. The $6.50 lunch special came with a side salad and bread for the table. Other orders included a Greek salad with chicken, a chef salad with chicken, chicken piccata and spaghetti with marinara sauce.

SWEET AND SAVORY

The side salads came out first. I opted for the house dressing, which was a tomatoey Italian dressing. It was uniquely sweet and savory with a blend of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes and herbs. The dressing was so good, I positioned my homemade roll on the salad plate to accidentally soak up some of the dressing. The hard-to-describe rolls were both garlicky and buttery, but also light, airy and a touch sweet. These tasted like what a yeast roll and garlic bread would produce if mating. Whereas most Italian eateries serve sliced garlic bread, this roll was an unusual and unique delight.

The dough for the calzone was both airy and also a touch sweet, which kept it from tasting too doughy. The cheeses — mainly ricotta and mozzarella — were balanced nicely with what had to be fresh spinach leaves. The bonus was the marinara dipping sauce. Oh, my. The tomato-based sauce was sweetened with what could have been a little red vino or sweet basil, but balanced out with some pungent flavors, including garlic and oregano. I found myself ingesting some sauce with a little calzone on the side.

Although I highly recommend any entree with the marinara sauce, the menu includes many other sauces: cream, white wine, Marsala and lemon butter. There are chicken, veal, beef, seafood and eggplant dishes.

My dining partners were equally impressed with the new eatery. The lunch menu prices were reasonable — ranging from $6.50 to $7.50 with enormous portions — and the serving staff efficient.

word@eastword.net