Tomaso's (Second Visit)
Akron, Ohio    Date of Visit:  07/17/15      http://www.tomasositalianvilla.com
 Click Here for Original Visit

This is one of the first places visited once we had exhausted our regulars. Today we are back in the midst of dinner instead of the middle of the afternoon. There are other people here, actually a bunch of people here. I’m imagining the cook is cooking, when it might have been the bus boy on our first visit.
 

Creamy Sweet & Sour Is Pretty Good
 

We ordered a wee pizza and a couple of dinners, Cavatelli and Chicken Parm.

 Salads are crispy and their house creamy sweet and sour is nice. The pale yellow garlic bread is crispy and garlicky in a buttery sort of way. The pastas are actually well cooked on this trip, and while there is a bit of water swirling beneath, it’s a far cry from the literal pond from our first outing. The chicken breast has maybe a little too thick coating, which is brown and crunchy enough. Meatballs are light and meaty. You get a little paper cup of sherbet at the end.

All fine.

There was one thing I loved and one I just didn’t care for at all. One might lead us back here without hesitation and one that would ensure that didn’t happen.
 

Average Garlic Bread
 

Chicken Was Bready But Not Bad
 

And Both Pastas Were Much Better This Trip
 

A Wee Treat Ends All dinner Orders
 

The downside. I really don’t like their sauce. At all. It’s smooth, a ruddy red but there is just something about it that doesn’t work for me. Whether spice blend or scorching at the bottom of the pot there is a pinch at the back of my jaw and a singed flavor I find off putting. Ladle it on whatever, I’ll pass.
 

But No Matter What You Put It On...
 

The Sauce Is Hard To Get Past
 

Then there was the pizza. Their Bianco. Thin crust baked just short of cracker crispy. Topped with olive oil, Provolone, Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses. Gooey, stringy, salty cheeses. They also do take and bakes or half bakes which we may very well avail ourselves of….cause this thing was constructed of the simple tastiness that makes for good Italian. This excursion was much better than five years prior but the fact 90% of the menu is covered with that sauce will keep them out of the regular rotation.
 

Ummmmmm. Hello?
 

And There It Is
 

Having had so many solid to superior meals in the Barberton area since we started this whole shindig almost a year ago we thought we would try an Italian themed place that has apparently been around for decades. We slowly walked up to the weathered wood building and found a menu outside the front door. Looks promising, all standard American takes on Italian fare, and in we went. This place is just crazy inside. Just the look of the round room just inside the front door was enough to let you know you might be trippin the light fantastic…just check out the picture. Walking into the dining room you see flowers stuffed into huge wine bottles, grape vines braided with Christmas lights dangle from the ceiling, there is a pizza clock on the wall and centrally painted the opposite wall is a quote from the Godfather…”Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” Wacky.

Steph ordered the cavatelli with plain sauce. The sauce was identical to the cup served alongside the bread and would have worked well with the noodles. The noodles were the problem here…tragically underdone. Almost dry in the middle with a stunningly strong raw pasta flavor the cavatelli were a serious disappointment. The meatballs were suspiciously soft and spongy but tasted much better than the texture would have indicated.
 

Way Warm Chocolaty Cookies