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For just over two years, Michael Farsace has been the owner and chef at Mi Scuzi Ristorante Italiano.  Although the restaurant has changed owners since the last time I was there, the authentic and intimate atmosphere brought on by music and lighting remains the same.  Amanda and I got there shortly after six on Tuesday night.  We got seated and started looking through the menu.  I asked our server, Scott, for some pasta recommendations and he told us a few dishes that he liked as well as what was most popular.  We both decided on dinner and waited for our food.

Our meal started with the same delicious garlic knots as last time.  Two fluffy bread knots are topped with garlic butter and thick shavings of Parmesan cheese.  I could easily make a meal of these with some soup and a salad.  I ordered a side salad with my entree. Most of the menu is à la carte, so the salad was a few dollars extra.  The salad was mixed greens tossed in a house vinaigrette with a side of kalamata olives.  The dressing was tangy and paired perfectly with the bitter peppery greens.

Amanda ordered the Spaghettini.  A bowl of fresh pasta was served with the house tomato sauce and two pesto infused veal meatballs.  The meatballs were very moist and flavorful.  The sauce was chunky and bright without being too acidic.  The pasta was slightly past al dente, but was still very good.  When getting to the end of the dish, the sauce and pasta left a lot of water in the bowl.  We weren’t sure if the sauce was supposed to be that thin or if it just needed drained more.

I decided on the Carbonara.  A bowl of linguine was tossed with prosciutto de parma, peas, and garlic in a thick cheesy cream sauce and topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano.  The linguine was fresh and coated with the sauce.  The peas and chunks of prosciutto gave the dish great body and I really couldn’t get enough of it.  I added some red pepper flakes to give it some heat and it was perfect.  The sauce was creamy and made the pasta even better.Despite how large the plate was, I cleaned the bowl.

Thank you to Scott for dinner and great service.  The hours of operation are Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 9 pm, Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 pm, and Sunday from 1 to 5 pm.  The phone number for information and reservations is 814-454-4533.

Keep sending me your recommendations for local favorite pasta and noodle dishes to akochirka@goerie.com or to the Beard Vs. Food Facebook.  Remember to come back and vote as well.

Until next time,

Andrew – Beard vs. Food