The original Nello’s is still operating, as it has been for years, in St. Albert. The business was sold to Nello’s son, Tony, who opened the second location in December 2011 in a south side strip of businesses just off Calgary Trail at 29th Avenue.
The interior is in the decor style of all that is modern: warm wood and leather in deep browns, and soft lighting, and white tablecloths. The space is large and split in two: the lounge on the left, the dining area around a wall and to the right with a capacity to fit about 80 people, possibly more.
Everything seems to be large here: the space, the menu (8 or 9 pages) and the food’s portion size. I was heartened to hear the server say that everything was homemade. Good Italian food should always be made from scratch.
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| Nello’s pastas |
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| Nello’s Appetizers and Salads |
From the list of appetizers we chose the Salsiccia in Cognac: Italian sausage flambeed in the french brandy and heaped upon a bed of roasted potatoes, mushrooms and, if I recall, peppers. On the plate as well, was a serving of olive-oiled kidney beans and chickpeas, and a lovely portion of slightly crunchy broccoli with a generous infusion of garlic. Love at first bite – until the salt kicked in, and it was plenty. So much so, that eating more than one piece of the sausage was hardly bearable. Too bad. The server mentioned that the sausage was not made in house, but was from a supplier whom she couldn’t recall.
On to the mains:
We were warned that the portions were family-style, meaning to be shared, but needing to try several dishes at an average of $25-$30, I knew this was going to be a very expensive tasting.
The vitella (veal) cannelloni came two to the plate but was barely visible under a staggering amount of sauce and cheese which diffused any flavour of the veal.
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| Veal cannelloni (before) |
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| One cannelloni adrift in a cheesy ocean of saucy mozzarella |
The sauce issues continued with the chicken parmigiana and the side of gnocchi.
The gnocchi, like the sausage, was not made in house and was reminiscent of the gnocchi contained in those plastic packages you see on store shelves. In fact, the gummy little nuggets got stuck to the roof of our mouths – somewhat of an odd dining experience.
The pan-fried salmon fillet was fine and was the one dish that went down without anything to say — good or bad about it. In hindsight, I realize that this was the least Italian type of dish of the bunch. Hmmm…
The last of the mains, the gamberi e capasente (prawns and scallops) pan-seared in garlic butter and flambeed in Pernod held promise.
The scallops and prawns were large and plentiful, and I chose the penne arrabbiata as its side. Arrabbiato, in Italian, means “angry”, and the dish gets its name from the heat of the chili peppers. This sauce was made with jalapeños, so although a pepper, jalapeños are relatively mild and the heat factor was hardly noticeable, making this sauce more ornery than angry. The seafood, unfortunately, was lacking any evidence of Pernod, but more an abundance of watery, salty butter.
Dessert: We were a little disheartened hearing that a very un-Italian Irish Cream cheesecake was on offer along with the usuals of tiramisu, gelati, and a hazelnut chocolate torte, but by this point we were feeling “once bitten, twice shy” and passed on the whole dessert menu.
The service was prompt and cordial, but I feel a little unsettled about the “all homemade” claims. The portions are huge, no doubt, and need to be shared, but I feel Nello’s could do better in offering fewer dishes, smaller portions and concentrate more on fresh ingredients and better preparation of the food.
My CBC Edmonton AM review of Nello’s (south Edmonton) can be heard
here.
