[Scroll to the end for the update – pictures of the food we ate at the opening.]
I’ve been driving slowly by this restaurant for several months, waiting to see when it was open. This morning, on my way to the Royal Film Festival, I drove carelessly by and only barely caught a glimpse of a new sign in the window. The street is one way, so I made a trip around the block to get a better look.
“We will be opening Saturday March 17th @ 4 p.m.,” read the handwritten sign.
As I made another round, I drove slowly toward the storefront, and there were two men standing below the big sign that says “Italy in Town”, one man with the key in the door. Shy person that I am [not], I yelled out from my car window while stopped in the middle of the street, “Are y’all finally opening?!”
And now you know the answer to that question. I parked my car and walked to meet these two gentlemen and ask a few more questions. Their names are Stefan and Chico. They are the co-owners. It was taking so long to open the doors to the public because the property previously did not have some needed equipment for cooking on the premises. Some very expensive equipment. So they renovated as they could, and here they finally are, opening several months later.
If you have been creeping by in the same way I have, then you know that there has been a yellow paper in the window from the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), stating that they had applied for a license to serve beer and wine. They already have that permit intact and will be serving this evening. If you know the history of alcohol in Saline County, then it might occur to you that this is the first time in about 80 years since a restaurant has served alcohol in downtown Benton. That’s big.
Not only that, but this particular restaurant will be open for supper. I’ve included a picture of the front of the building as well as a picture of the owners and a menu for your convenience.
They will be open 4 – 8 or later on Monday through Sunday and they are playing with the idea of buffet Lunch on Sundays. Find them at 120 N. Market Street, Benton, Arkansas. Welcome to Benton, Italy in Town.
[Eight hours later…]
We had to give it a try on their first night open, so here are the wonderful dishes we were served.
We were served fresh sliced bread and bruschetta right away. If you don’t know what bruschetta is, it’s similar to a pico de gallo but with Italian seasonings and was delicious on this bread. The bread alone got my attention, because they put it on the grill, which gave it a slight smoky taste. This was an excellent beginning.
If there’s calamari on the menu, then my dad needs to order the calamari. I do not like calamari, which is battered and fried squid, folks, but I tried it and it wasn’t terrible. The marinara had wine in it which gave it a full, tangy taste.
I told you they are already serving beer and wine. You should note that includes Peroni, an Italian beer.
Mom got the lasagna and I had a forkful of it. To my delight, it seemed to have that same marinara sauce with wine. Such a beautiful, buttery flavor. We each sampled from each other’s plates, and there were no leftovers from this dish.
I ordered the tortellini alla panna, which has beef in the tortellini. I did not realize that the sauce wouldn’t be alfredo – and I did not mind one bit. It was still creamy but it actually had the meat juices in the sauce, like gravy. I ate the first tortellini and then just leaned back in a dreamy state. We did share from this dish also, but I will admit that I was stingy with it. Although I could have finished my meal, I intentionally saved some for later, so that I could relive the experience at home.
Dad ordered the cannelloni. He was stingy too, with his entree, however, I did get one delicious bite. There was Italian sausage inside. I was expecting beef, but this made it perfect and different from the lasagna. Note that cannelloni is a pasta entree and cannoli, on the other hand, is a fried pastry filled with cream, usually made with ricotta cheese.
Oh no, we’re not done eating. Dessert was not on the menu (yet) but it was available. In the future they will have cheesecake, but on this Saturday night, they had creme brulee and tiramisu. We chose the tiramisu, and Mom explained to Dad somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 times the name of the desert and how to spell it. Then I got to explain two or three times what was in there. It’s like lasagna, but it’s a cake and it has whipped cream, ladyfingers and has a coffee taste to it. We each took a couple of bites of this sweet treat and then I brought the rest of it home so that the remainder of my tortellini would not be lonely.