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Best Western 5665 Cypress Gardens Blvd.Winter Haven, FL 33884 |
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 Rating
In 1999 when Antonio's opened in Winter Haven, I said the restaurant could give you starburn. Thanks to chef Italo Casini, who came on board at the end of last year, the stars have grown into a constellation. The new constellation has five bright stars. The hotel is owned by Matthias Eckenstein. Restaurant manager is Bryan Rich. You don't find many places like Antonio's these days. If so, there would be a lot of five star restaurants. Settings have six pieces of silver and an assortment of glasses -- each spotless. Tablecloths, menus and the waiters' jackets are color coordinated. Even the young bus boy has an immaculate white napkin over his arm. Three chandeliers light the room while the same young pianist who played in 1999 -- Christopher Daly -- entertains. And, like the restaurant, he has gotten better, too. More than 100 wines are available, from less than $20 to $170, including a range of wines with the Antonio's label. A premium, imported non-alcohol beer is chilled and two good-quality, de-alcoholized wines can be ordered by the glass or bottle. Menu prices are in words. A tableside Caesar salad for two costs Fourteen Dollars and Zero Cents. At the bottom of two pages of the five-page menu you are told that 18 percent is added to the bill for gratuity. Three men tended to our every need. The waiter recited the specials -- lobster with a Dijon cream sauce prepared tableside for $34.95, and roast duck breast with raspberry sauce for $28.95. Soup of the day -- lobster bisque. A dish from each course can be prepared tableside and you could get run over on a busy night, what with a cart for appetizers and entrees, one for Caesar salad and another for desserts. If you play your cards right, you can have your own tableside chef for a whole meal. A cloth napkin kept the heat in four, hot, herby rolls presented in a wire basket with molded butter. Ripe tomato, fresh herbs and extra virgin olive oil topped slices of baguette for bruschetta, a little something for nothing from the kitchen From the five hot appetizers, we chose Gamberoni all' Aglio (shrimp sauteed in olive oil with white wine and lemon juice for $10.50. Maitre d' Franco Basalone set to work tableside on the dish that is as much fun to watch being made as it is to enjoy. You should share the five large shrimp. It's the little touches that make a place truly special. The lemon half for the sauce was wrapped in a napkin so seeds didn't get into the pan. Make sure you get some of the vegetables with each clam in Vongole Amalfi (clams sauteed in olive oil with vegetables and the chef's special sauce for $8.95). You might want to ask for more rolls to get all the sauces. Lobster bisque ($3.95) came just the right temperature to enjoy -- hot, not scalding -- with fresh minced parsley garnishing the soup plate. The bisque lacked the normal bright pink color but not bright flavor. Seven dollars and zero cents is a bargain for a Caesar salad as good as they make before your very eyes at Antonio's. Be warned, the egg yolk in the dressing is raw. The dressing reminded me of burlesque for your mouth -- a lot of teasing flavors without revealing everything. Entrees include an excellent house salad with a sweet, bright, creamy dressing. Three of us shared an order of Fettuccine Alfredo ($15.95), and the small serving was the perfect size for a good taste without spoiling the main course. I have a new standard by which to judge all other Alfredos -- Chef Italo's addition of prosciutto to his creamy cheese sauce brings another dimension to a dish that is too often heavy. Puree raspberries. Add a touch of sugar and freeze it. Then serve in tiny glasses before the entrees for a palate cleanser. The same thing served in a fancy dish as dessert would fetch a handsome price elsewhere Simple can be better, and our son's duck breast proved the point. Seared, then cooked rare and sliced diagonally, raspberry sauce brought out the best in the beast. Steak Diane ($25.50) seemed a likely winner on two counts -- it's filet and the preparation is tableside. Franco started with two fairly thick slices of floured filet. Butter melted with olive oil for frying. He added mushrooms and cooked them a bit. Look away and miss an ingredient or two. Beef pushed to one side, he added a splash of this and a drizzle of that, then tilted the pan to ignite the alcohol. A little cream poured in after the flames died emulsified the liquids into an amazing sauce. Like a well-oiled clock just waiting to strike, as Franco finished the sauce, a server brought a plate with five perfect asparagus spears (good to the last stalk) and a too-small serving of quartered potatoes, oven-browned until just right. The assertive sauce went well with -- not over -- the aged beef. A couple of the veal and chicken dishes are fraternal twins, just the meat is different. Chicken costs a couple of dollars less than veal. Chicken saltimbocca ($17.95) starts with two thin chicken breast fillets covered with paper-thin slices of prosciutto with sage leaves scattered over the ham. Be sure to mix the al dente pasta into the outstanding sauce from the meat that has the flavor of the herb. Vitello all' Antonio's ($21.95) is a holdover from the previous regime, and with good reason. Thin slices of mushrooms and seedless red grapes go into the light brown sauce for two large scallops of veal -- tender but not tasteless -- with brandy and cream for interest and smooth texture. On to desserts, and another visit with Franco, this time as the master of Cherries Jubilee ($12.95 for two). Bananas Foster and Peach Flambe cost the same. Not content to just flame the sweet cherry sauce, a little ground cinnamon produced sparks appropriate for the Fourth and a sugar cube soaked in 151-proof rum flamed atop a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Almonds and amaretto flavored a thin slice of wonderful cheesecake ($5). How do you say "sweet chocolate, coffee, creamy cloud" in Italian? My guess would be "Italo's Tiramisu." A slice costs $5.50. My quest for the perfect cannoli has been going on almost 12 years. Antonio's version comes close, very close but no cigarro. According to the latest health inspection by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, on Sept. 16, 2002, no items of "critical concern" were found. A couple of things the restaurant could do to improve are: Serve another vegetable so diners can share. Larger portions of potato. The meal ends with a rose for m'lady, a flower as perfect as the dining experience. Congratulations all. You work hard, and very well, as a team. Antonio's earns
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