Vito Corleone's
 Canton, Ohio          Date of Visit  04/28/12            No Known Website

YAAAA! Another day of bike shopping and another restaurant. I could get used to this. This time we headed south to Massillon and as the smell of rubber and chrome polish was just fading from our palates we pulled into Vito Corleone’s. The sign out front isn’t easy to see but the name is painted on the red white and green fence. The fence makes finding the entrance sort of tricky, not as bad as Slow’s “notadoor” door but it took us a bit to find our way inside. The interior is dark and pretty kitschy with all the God Father stuff. And empty. Way empty. Uh-Oh.
 

Fuzzy Dice Sized Focaccia
 

We finally find someone working inside and a spot. Again the server did a nice job even though the place was exceptionally slow and she had other things to attend to. She brought us a cube of bread with an oil and vinegar mix and we ordered risotto balls, chicken parmesan and a special of wild mushroom ravioli. Both came with soup or salad so we added a cup of lobster bisque and a salad with the house dressing.

The bread is a thick and dry Focaccia that readily absorbs the vinaigrette and get us on our way. The salad and soup quickly followed. The bisque was functional at best, featuring mostly cream as a flavor and needed an extra punch of shellfish and some note of cognac to cut the richness of the base.

The salad was a nice little mix and their house dressing sounded interesting. It’s a creamy Italian with lemon zest. The salad was fine the dressing made it really tasty with a big nose and punch of lemon that clung to the greens.
 

The risotto balls or arancini were too much for Steph but I enjoyed their serious and forward flavoring.  Arborio rice rolled with fontina, mozzarella, parmesan cheeses and a copious dose of herbs is fried and topped with marinara and a shake of tiny parmesan nuggets. The crispy breaded exterior, the gooey cheeses and serious herbaciousness worked really well with the substance of the rice.

The ravs and chicken followed quickly, it seems they are set up to get people in and out during lunch hours, making it more surprising how empty the place is at about that hour. Sure the soup wasn’t great but everything else at this point had exceeded expectations.

The unique dressing and the fact that even the table cheese shakers contains expensive miniature real parm gravel instead of the dust from the can all makes a difference.

The chicken came with a penne that was a mixed blessing. The pasta was overdone, always a bummer in an Italian restaurant, but it did come covered in their house marinara. The sauce is wonderfully balanced. Strong nightshade foundation with a warm and fresh mix of spices and herbs the sauce also has a light but distinct spicy note that keeps every bite interesting. The breading, which Steph hated on the arancini, we both found stupendous on the chicken. Seasoned well past simple crust, it added a crunch to the well done chicken, cheese and sauce making for one of the more unique and better versions I have had in some time.
 

The ravioli were filled with a menagerie of wild mushrooms in thin pasta pillows. This was even better than the chicken, they should put them on the menu. We were too stuffed for dessert and nothing sounded worth feeling bloated and going into torpor for the rest of the day so we took our doggie bag and headed back to the dealership. I found out later looking for a website that Corleone’s had been voted Stark County’s best casual dining restaurant. I could see that. Well done Italian fare, solid service, plenty of available seats for lunch. It deserves at try at the very least. I'll let you know if the bike works out.