Olazzo - Restaurant Review

The Taste of Bethesda was held on a rainy Saturday a week ago. Dozens of restaurants set up booths and offered tasting of their specialties. The Mrs. and I checked out the event. It was very well attended, and the aroma of food ranging from barbecue to Indian spices wafted through the air. Alas, we had a late breakfast and weren't hungry. One particular booth stood out. Olazzo, an Italian restaurant, offered tasty looking canollis. Judging by the long line of people waiting to buy the canollis and the very pleased expressions from tasters, you could tell the dessert was worth trying.

I took the Mrs. out to Olazzo's for dinner on Friday. We were concerned that we might end up with the same experience we got at the Red Tomato - overpriced and unfulfilling dishes. Fortunately, the restaurant proved to be reasonably priced and worthwhile.

The bread is served fresh and warm. (Unlike Red Tomato, where the bread was stale and crusty.) Light olive oil and balsamic vinegar were poured. We ordered the calimari appetizer to start with, which came out in a gigantic Martini glass. The calimari was lightly breaded, fried and still warm, served with marinara sauce.

Next came house salads. This was the only minor disappointment of the night. The salad was drenched in dressing and cheese. The restaurant should offer the dressing on the side instead.

Finally, the entrees were served. The Mrs. got the Chicken Parmesan. I ordered the Lasagne Bolognese. We were each served with hefty portions on big plates. The food was hot and tangy, and hit the spot. There was nothing fancy about the food. No fusion dishes or unique twists on old recipes. The entrees were all just plain, simple, good Italian-style eating. And worth every penny.

Neither of us could finish our entrees. So we had them wrapped up to go, and ordered a canolli to go as well. All of the food made the perfect late-night snack.

I highly recommend Olazzo to anyone interested in a good, homestyle Italian meal!