SOMETIMES we diners are so busy searching for the next new thing that we forget why we like some of the old, taking for granted their familiar, comfy-slippers appeal.
Mauro’s is a throwback. As at some restaurants on Arthur Avenue where tradition persists, a number of offerings at Mauro’s Restaurant in Ossining have appeared on Italian restaurant menus since the days of spaghetti, meatballs and heavy red sauce.
While offerings like minestrone, chicken parmigiano and zuppa de pesce are well represented, this kitchen also cooks up some interesting variations on these themes. And so what if shrimp francese reminds us of 1980?
Though some of those old dishes can taste pretty good, we gave half of our attention to the newer models, skipping, for example, fried calamari and stuffed mushrooms and instead ordering vegetable napoleon, in which stacks of sweet vegetables — grilled eggplant, squashes and mushrooms — are topped by a thick layer of slightly pungent goat cheese.
Cooling salads made refreshing choices on a steamy day. A small cake of warmed goat cheese (deliciously runny) added savor to a salad of young greens, the whole sprinkled with raspberry vinaigrette. A simple toss of young arugula, roasted beets and walnuts under a lemon vinaigrette could not have been more fresh or elegant.
There was much to be appreciated in the three pasta dishes we sampled. Shiitake and domestic mushrooms added a dark richness to the sauce for penne (garganelli), and mascarpone and a dash of truffle oil rounded out the texture and flavors. A splash of hot broth wilted a handful of shredded greens that mingled beautifully with angel hair pasta, soft cannellini and small shrimp. And orecchiette came with juicy sausage, onions and a hint of hot pepper.
The efforts that the kitchen invested in the entrees proved less successful. All were overdone, often not by much, but enough to rob some succulence, say, from chicken rustica, an otherwise terrifically tasty dish: pieces of chicken with the bone in, sliced potatoes, nuggets of sausage finished off with butter, lemon and garlic. But for the sausage, the dish could have been a scarpariello.
Grilled filet mignon was a tad chewy, but the meaty flavor was set off nicely by a topping of mushrooms. The dense meat of an extra-thick pork chop, also grilled, took on just enough sharpness from vinegar peppers to give the meat some pizzazz. But sautéed salmon Siciliano, under a shower of rosemary, was too delicate for the bitingly astringent artichokes that went with it.
Patrons happy with the familiar will find nothing has changed with chicken parmigiano; the thin breaded cutlet is still served with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella. Nor has shrimp francese succumbed to newfangledness. The shrimp arrived butterflied under a lick of lemony butter. Sides of green beans and potato or rice garnished every entree.
Desserts were competent but not surprising. So often bland and dry, house-made ricotta cheesecake here was moist and creamy and set in a cookie crust. A mousse of light milk chocolate came prettily presented in a tall goblet.
Mauro’s has occupied the old Guido’s spot off Route 9 for almost a year. Now that the floors have been scrubbed and the walls given a peachy coat of fresh paint, it might be time to turn attention to streamlining the unwieldy menu. On one visit we were given for our consideration a lunch menu, an overly long dinner menu and a specials menu, making choosing dishes for a meal overly difficult. The décor has been smartened up; the menu deserves similar treatment.
Mauro’s
199 Main Street
Ossining
(914) 941-2662
www.maurosrestaurant.com
GOOD
THE SPACE Fresh and pretty. Long, narrow dining room beyond a roomy bar. Soft pastel walls and sconces shedding mellow light that makes everyone look his or her best. Street-level entrance; restrooms on second floor.
THE CROWD Neatly dressed adults. Efficient service.
THE BAR Full bar. Wines by the glass, $9; mostly Italian bottles in all price ranges.
THE BILL Lunch: main dishes, about $12 to $17. Dinner: entrees, $18 to $32; pasta, $15 to $24, with half orders available.
WHAT WE LIKE From a changing menu: grilled vegetable napoleon, goat cheese salad, arugula and beet salad; angel hair with shrimp and cannellini, orecchiette with sausage, garganelli with mushrooms, chicken rustica, grilled pork chops; ricotta cheesecake.
IF YOU GO Lunch: Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Friday to Sunday, 12:30 to 3 p.m. Dinner: Monday to Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 12:30 to 9 p.m. Valet parking Wednesday to Sunday.
Reviewed June 15, 2008
