In the most Southern part of Staten Island, tucked away on the corner of Main Street and Amboy Road lies an Italian delight, the Tuscan Sun Italian Ristorante.

Since it’s opening in July of 2008, the Tuscan Sun is maturing nicely. Owner and executive chef Jonathan DiTringo is a stand out on an Island littered with ho-hum cookie cutter Italian restaurants. Ah, but they still have some work to do.

The Tuscan Sun is an intimate restaurant. The dining room and bar have a warm atmosphere with a rustic brick interior and dark wood trim. The walls are adorned with metal sun faces and seasonal decor. Mr. DiTringo must love the music of Andrea Bocelli because on all but one occasion Bocelli’s music or concert dvd was playing on the flat screen tv’s located in the restaurant (not that I have a problem with that, It’s better than playing Led Zeppelin to enhance the mood).

On our last visit, 4 o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, we were greeted and immediately seated by the hostess and Mr.DiTringo. Because the restaurant is popular and the seating is limited expect to wait about a thirty minutes to be seated on a Friday or Saturday evening. I would suggest to call ahead to check the wait time. Once seated, our waitress Renee took our drink order and informed us that chicken fingers and french fries are available for our young children even though it is not listed on the menu.  Renee also told us, “Everything is cooked from scratch.” and they will try to accommodate a child’s or adults most finicky request with any of it menu items.

Two noticeable points was that the staff forgot to bring out the bread basket and we had no place settings until our appetizers were served . This seemed to be a simple oversight.

The Tuscan Sun has daily specials and is open for lunch and dinner. The lunch menu ranges from burgers ($8.95-$9.95), mouth-watering panini’s ($7.95-$8.95), sandwiches ($7.95-$9.95) and 16″brick-oven  pizza’s ($13.95-$17.95). Some lunch home runs (come on it’s the ALCS, go Yankee’s) are the Tuscan Sun pizza which is made with fresh mozzarella, plum tomatoes, prosciutto, artichoke hearts and basil for $14.95 and the soppresatta, fresh smoked mozzarella, fire roasted red peppers and basil mayo panini served with hand cut fries for $8.95.

The dinner menu ranges from unique salads ($6.95-$9.95), standard appetizers ($6.95-$15.95), large portion pasta dishes($10.95-$14.95), succulent entrees ($14.95-$18.95) and common desserts ($4.95-$5.95). Mr. DiTringo talent really shines with the reasonably priced dinner specials ($15.95-$19.95).

On our last Saturday visit we ordered the pear salad, the mini rice balls appetizer, rigatoni Bolognese, veal scallopini Fontina dinner special, chicken fingers for the kids and crepes and chocolate lava cake for dessert.

Top of the rotation.

The pear salad is simply delicious. The large portion will satisfy the hungry soul. The salad ‘s plate presentation was just as appealing as I thought it would be. The salad consist of mesclun greens, crisp fresh pears, sweet figs, goat cheese, cashews and croutons in an balsamic glaze dressing. This salad has multitude of textures and flavors. I would highly recommend this to anyone (especially now when figs are in season). The dressing can be overpowering if poured on too heavy. I would suggest to have it on the side so not to spoil the dish.

Next up was the mini rice balls. The presentation was rather plain and disappointing compared to the pear salad. I found them to be slightly bland and the chunky tomato sauce accompanying them was bit salty. After adding some pepper to the rice balls it helped improve the flavor.

Dinner is served.

Once our entree’s arrived I was amazed at the large portion of rigatoni Bolognese. The presentation was simple and seemed to over power the plate (and my wife’s eyes). The rigatoni was cooked al dente and the sauce was rich and full bodied. You could taste the subtle favors of thyme or rosemary.  This seems to be your traditional Bolognese sauce with carrots and garlic. Celery is usually used in Bolognese sauce but none was present in this dish (this is the way my wife prefers it). This was an excellent dish to be paired with a good red wine.

My entree, the veal scallopini Fontina dinner special, was appealing to my sense of sight, smell and taste. The thin veal was cooked perfectly and tender enough to cut with a fork. The baby spinach topped the dish along with the Fontina cheese and the Madeira sauce. Unfortunately, I could not taste the Fontina cheese. It seemed to get lost with the baby spinach and the Madeira sauce. A slight disappointment. This dish was paired with Acini di pepe or pearl pasta (tiny balls of pasta that is bigger than Pastina) mixed with diced vegetables and a butter (?) sauce. Also there was a side of Julienne vegetables. Both sides were a nice touch and enhance the dish. The kitchen and staff did have a nice cadence to the timing of our food on this visit. The time between courses was not rushed but not too long.

My children’s chicken finger entrees were fine for them. No complaints from the the little bosses and that is fine by me.

Dessert!

One would expect that with all this wonderful and carefully thought out menu you would have a homemade dessert on the menu. Maybe a cheesecake or a Tiramisu. Nope!

I understand that the cost and ease of pre-made desserts is more cost efficient over a homemade one but it would have been a nice touch. Now do not get me wrong. The dessert list is good. The dessert crepes are as close to homemade as they have. The crepes are filled with a mascarpone cheese and nutella topped with their homemade whipped cream and topped with cocoa powered sugar. I probably finished them in all of about thirty seconds. They were very good.

The chocolate lava cake is a chocolate bundt cake with a chocolate cream filling served warm with an “imperial vanilla (?)” ice cream. It’s as good as it sounds. My children devoured this dessert and made one hell of a mess.

Overall the Tuscan Sun is a good restaurant that my family and friends enjoy. During the many visits two things concern me. The wait staff is hit or miss especially on a busy night. They seemed to get overwhelmed very quickly. I wondered if part of the staff are friends or family helping out in a pinch? On my last visit the service was good but I hope it improves. The other point is related. There seems to be a lack of consistency to the food. Sometimes the quality it stellar and other times it’s just okay.  Quality control and consistency is vital in a restaurant and I hope to see that my last visit in now the norm. Usually a new restaurant goes through growing pains and one way that shows up is as a high staff turnover. Mr.DiTringo has a passion for his establishment and expects the same from his staff. To share in one’s dream is to make it a success. I know this popular restaurant will continue to succeed and improve like a fine wine.

The Tuscan sun is located at 7528 Amboy Road and can be reached at 718 227 4900.

If you have visited the Tuscan Sun please let me know your thoughts and experiences.

Thank you for reading.

UPDATE: December 1, 2010

To my dismay the Tuscan Sun is no longer in business. Another causality of our current economy.

I wish the owners and their families the best of luck in the future.

Please email me if you open another establishment…. say on the North shore.

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• Locanda Verde (gothamgal.com)

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations”. – Oscar Wilde, playwright

I received a Truffled Filet Mignon recipe from Jack in West Brighton and it can certainly fit the bill for the above quote. It will soothe the savage beast in anybody. I was very happy to try the dish and see how it would come out. This is a superb dish and it did not disappoint. Like any good recipe it is simple and let’s the natural flavor of the meat shine. The truffled oil, a rich balsamic or port wine glaze makes this dish outstanding. This is an extremely easy dish. So guys and girls make this for your loved one and be prepared to blow their mind. Even if you can’t make toast you can do this. Please make any suggestions as to how to pair this recipe with a wine or a side dish.

Truffled Filet Mignon (Filetto Tartufato)

Serves four

Ingredients

8 oz. field greens or lettuces of your choice

6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

salt & freshly ground pepper

2 oz. parmigiano-reggiano wedge

four 5-6 oz. filet mignon steaks

white truffle oil to drizzle ( see the below recipes for other topping)

Pre heat your grill to 450 degrees. Wash and dry the lettuce. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside. Shave the Parmigiano-Reggiano wedge with a vegetable peeler. Set the shaving to the side. Mix the olive oil and red wine vinegar together, set aside.

Grill the steaks carefully over direct heat. Check with a meat thermometer and remove the steaks once they hit 135 degrees for medium rare. This will take about 3 minutes each side (this varies on the thickness of the steak, trust your thermometer). Remove the steaks from the grill and let them sit for 5-10 minutes.

While the steaks are “resting” toss the salad greens with vinegar and oil mixture. Divide salad among the plates and center a steak on top. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle each steak with white truffle oil. DO NOT SOAK EACH STEAK! Top each steak with the Parmigiano-Reggiano slivers and serve immediately.

This dish can replace the white truffle oil with either a balsamic or port wine glaze. Below is a link to Cooking.com that has two very easy and delicious recipes.

http://www.cooking.com/Recipes-and-More/recipes/Balsamic-Glaze-or-Port-Wine-Glaze-recipe-4447.aspx

I told you it was easy. Your guests will think you are a gourmet chef!  Please comment and let me know how you do.

Thank you Jack for this simple and elegant dish.

Thanks for reading.

NOTE TO SINGLE PEOPLE

Make this dish for a date and you can walk away as a cooking genius. Set the right atmosphere, dim lights, nice table setting (that means no paper plates and definitely no sporks), candles (if your luck is like mine keep a fire extinguisher near by) and Sinatra as background music and you will get lucky. Good luck!

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• Forbes Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (2007) (tomandmelodywine.com)

Why are we here, because we’re here! – Neil Peart

Today was an unusual day at the office. It was the last day for a well liked and respected colleague. After many years of working with this person it is hard to believe she is no longer going to be a part of our team. Come to think of it, I don’t know if I was ever considered part of that team but I digress.

By the way, I think she was going to work in Bayonne. Why Bayonne? Don’t ask, it’s a long story.

What does this all have to do with food and wine?

In the early evening a small group of us met at a local restaurant to drink, joke, reminisce and eat. I paused for a moment and observed what was going on.

The nervous laughter and jokes that permeated the office during the day where gone. The brave faces we wore were down. Everyone one was relaxed and genuinely happy. I don’t think anyone has been this relaxed in several months. Our friendships shone. It felt GREAT!

Our small celebration is just another small example of what is important. Our celebrations are who we are as a culture. What we celebrate, cook and drink is our identity. It binds us a people. It makes this global village we live in much smaller.

Food and drink is the foundation in which we celebrate on. We universally bond and foster friendships around food and drink. Hence the popularity of bars and pubs, duh! I don’t want to sound naive or preachy but please celebrate and celebrate often with family and friends. All to often we forget what is important. The holidays will be here soon. So remember why you get together to celebrate.

Please let me know if you have any recipes or humorous stories you would like to share from any of your family celebrations.

And to my friend… you will be missed, good luck!

The point of the journey is not to arrive. Anything can happen!