Adolfo's

Brian's Auntie Deb & Uncle Gary gave me a cool dining out restaurant journal for my birthday. It will be a great way to keep note of restaurants I want to blog about and will provide a great template so all straight-up restaurant reviews looks similar. 

Adolfo's Ristorante
Worthington St., Springfield MA

Day / Date / Time: Saturday, Jan. 8, reservation for 8:00, we were seated around 8:30
Type of food: Italian
Occasion / Event: My 39th birthday!
Dined with: Sue & Kevin, Joe & Maria, and Brian
Ambiance / Entertainment: I love the family kitchen feel of the country tables and chairs they use; they make you feel as though you are a guest in some one's home. The music, while eclectic and fun, was LOUD - we were practically shouting at each other, and the waiter had to lean down in order to hear our order. There were couples, families, and what looked like a really fun girls' night out and all seemed to be having a great time. There's a nice bar with some tall bar tables, and then a dining room with booths and tables.
Wine / Cocktails:  We had a great 2009 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir - delicious!
Appetizers: We tried the fried calamari and jalapeno scallops.  The calamari was good, but nothing out of the ordinary - it was lightly fried with banana peppers and served with a chunky tomato sauce. The scallops were wrapped in jalapeno bacon and had a great spicy kick - they were excellent! The bread was steaming hot and was served with olive oil for dipping...hard not to eat too much before dinner came.
Entrees: Our table tried veal and shrimp francese dishes, chicken marsala, veal saltimbocca, and veal capicola. Besides my marsala I only tried Maria's shrimp francese - would get either again. Brian started, at the hostess's recommendation, with the twin pork chops. Sadly, they were very overdone and terribly dry. As soon as he mentioned it to our waiter, Johan - who was later deemed by the owner as "the best waiter in western Massachusetts" - that meal was whisked away and replaced at no charge with the saltimbocca.
Desserts: It being my birthday and all, I had to have dessert and went with the lemoncello mousse cake. To. Die. For. (I must confess that lemoncello is my favorite liqueur!)  Kevin ordered a chocolately concoction that looked very decadent.
Average price range: Apps are generally in the $8 -$12 range. No one in our party got pasta, but they are about $15. House specialities and entrees run about $20 - $25.  Salad isn't included with any meal as far as I can tell, but you can get a side salad for about $4.  Neither of the desserts we got are on their on-line menu, but those desserts that are, are around $6.
House favorites / Signature dishes to reorder:  With the exception of the pork chop, I think it's safe to say everyone would order their meals again...but next time I'm going to try bolognese - just to see how it compares to mine! ;-)
Final comments: My biggest dining pet peeve is when they begin to clear the table before everyone is finished eating. I had to tell three different people not to clear until we were all through. Seems like something a restaurant like this should have down...especially the "best waiter in western Mass"!