(October 5, 2007)

Cannoli Joe's is a new concept restaurant at 4715 Highway 290 W. in Sunset Valley that has avoided the primary trap so many of these ambitious establishments fall into: it hasn't allowed the concept to overwhelm the core values of the restaurant. The idea of Cannoli Joe's is to emulate a busy street in an Italian city. As one winds down the street, one finds various food offerings in front of brightly painted "store fronts." Of course, the street is actually a broad pathway inside the restaurant flanked by food stations that offer everything from freshly cooked spaghetti pomodoro and other pasta dishes, a variety of salads, sautéed Italian sausage with peppers, veal parmesan, grilled vegetables, pizzas and much more. My Italian grandmother used to call this an "abudanza," or abundance. And the kicker is, the food is pretty darned good.

The core values I mentioned earlier are critical to today's busy families and couples: finding the time necessary to eat a quality meal and keeping the price points reasonable enough to be able to indulge themselves. Cannoli's scores big points on the time and price fronts. You can be and out here in less than an hour while not at all feeling rushed. The prices for weekday evenings: $12.99 for adults and half-price for kids are quite reasonable considering the quality of the food. I really enjoy the pasta dishes: and I'm particularly fond of the Rigatoni Bolognese, the Cellantani and the Baked Ziti primavera. The key point is that these stations are staffed by chefs who are cooking smaller amounts of pasta to keep things fresh: no assembly line mentality here. The sauces also sparkle with originality. This also applies to the other hot dishes. I love the Ialian Sausage and Peppers and the Rotisserie Chicken along with the Spicy Mussels Fra Diavolo. Each of these dishes have unique flavors and the Sausage and Peppers are as good as the dish we make at home in our own kitchen! I'm also very partial to the Sauteed Green Beans with Sun Dried Tomatoes and mushrooms and the Fried Calamari with Arrabita sauce.

The salad stations offer very fresh and crisp vegetables. The Bruschetta can hang in there with the best the city has to offer. And the House Salad and the Greek Salads are always quite reliable on the taste front. A fresh fruit salad is a nice touch and on the weekends, firm and tasty Peel n' Eat boiled shrimp are added to the stations. And as usual, there is no limit to the amount that can be consumed.

The pizza stations at Cannoli Joe's offer reasonably tasty pies ranging from Pepperoni to Pizza Italiano. I do prefer a crispier crust however and maybe a little more zing on the taste front. But trust me, there are certainly worse pizzas to be found in the city.

And the dessert stations offer up a wide range of goodies beginning with a seriously good Chocolate Covered Macaroon, Cannolis with sweet ricotta cheese and chocolate shots, Italian Cream Cake, a very serviceable Raspberry Cheesecake, a lovely Warm Apple Crisp and a number of ice creams, including my personal favorite and always difficult to find: peppermint.

It's a big restaurant with a number of themed dining rooms and the staff is attentive. Drinks arrive promptly and the tables are bussed with professionalism. The sheer clog of people winding their way through the "main street" can be a bit daunting, particularly when a five-year-old is wandering in front of you below eye shot. But it's really not that bad. The only other problem I've had is with keeping some of the dishes warm at non-peak dining times. I'm told they are addressing this issue as we speak.

Cannoli Joe's is really all about the core values of time and taste. It's an abbudanza, a feast, a cornucopia of Italian goodies and you can avail yourself of all this food without denting either your budget or time schedule. Of course, if you want to linger with your sweetie and have that second bottle of wine, that is entirely up to you. No one will rush you out.

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