Friday 26 April 2013

Eataliano Panini & Pasta Ristorante

255 King Street North
Waterloo, Ontario

519-208-9000



In her opinion:
I love Italian sandwiches...I remember there was a time when you could only get them in Toronto but not anymore...I'm super excited! I know I have said many times that Italian cuisine is not my favourite but I'm a sucker for veal sandwiches, good meatballs and lasagna. Eataliano is not a place to get fancy Italian food...if you want fancy Italian go to Eatalia in Burlington but rather this is just good, simple Italian food at its finest! And that's just what I like.

We decided to visit for dinner. We arrived to an empty restaurant and were warmly greeted by the assistant manager who was overseeing the entire restaurant. We ordered our sandwiches...a veal sandwich with provolone and hot peppers and a meatball...which we were told that they had run out of meatballs...so we got the chicken sandwich with mushrooms and provolone (he was nice enough to charge me the meatball sandwich price since they were out).



Both sandwiches were huge. The chicken had a crunchy breading exterior. While the chicken itself was moist and delicious. The provolone added the right amount of strong flavour and the mushrooms were the perfect partner for the cheese. Overall, a delicious sandwich.



I shared half of the veal sandwich. It too was really delicious as well. The veal was perfectly cooked and the breading kept its crunchiness as well. I had to remove some of the hot peppers as it was a little too much warmth for me...but the provolone, tomato sauce and a few hot peppers made this a kick ass sandwich.

I hope that Eataliano has much success...this is a great place to eat simple Italian favourites. I need to return and try their pastas as well.  Definitely give this place a try. 

In his opinion:
Sometimes things are not exactly as they appear! At first glance, Eataliano looks very much like some cheesy Italian fast food franchise (maybe a step up from a mall food court type of restaurants) but I assure you that those are only appearances! Behind the odd larger than life pictures of the old Italian Man on the wall and beyond the "East Side Marios-ish" decor lays what truly separates this place from others. THE FOOD...



As the latest off-spring of the people that brought us the "The Grill Burger Kitchen', Eataliano serves good Italian paninis and pasta, served fast. There are absolutely no previously frozen items in this restaurant, everything is fresh, from the cuts of meat, to the toppings for the sandwiches. All is fresh and carefully chosen. This is already a huge step up from most sandwich places that I have encountered and deserves a good mention.

I had the pleasure this day of trying out 2 sandwiches, the "Veal Sandwich" and the "Chicken Sandwich". First thing worthy of mentioning is the size of the sandwiches which are very large. I mean, its highly impossible to take a bite holding on with both hands large. The meat in the sandwiches is also generous.

The veal sandwich ended up being my favourite. I topped it with hot peppers and provolone cheese and those toppings worked quite well with the sauce. The veal cutlet had a surprisingly crunchier than usual coating which I enjoyed very much.


The chicken sandwich was equally large, shared the same sauce as the veal and it was very tasty. The chicken portion was again very generous, a bonus for the meatatarians in search of their fix. In my opinion, it didn't display the flavour impact of the veal but still a good sandwich nevertheless.

The Good: Fresh, tasty Italian food done well and served in a fast food manner. Huge sandwiches and very friendly staff (Assistant Manager).
The Bad: Limited menu to choose from and they had run out of meatballs early in the afternoon.
The Verdict: The restaurant and the food pleasantly surprised me as I was expecting a "California Sandwiches" clone. I did not have a chance to try their pastas or meatballs but plan to go back and try them. Overall, seems like a good option for a quick fix of Eataliano food, especially when time is limited.

I give it 3 out of 5 Olives as rating



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