Monday, January 5, 2009

The New Georgie D's Place

Georgie D's Place, one of my favorite local Italian restaurants, recently moved from its prior location at the intersection of Main and Marble Streets. It now is located near the Redstone Shopping Center, occupying the former space of a Chinese restaurant. I recently stopped by to check out the new location, hoping that its quality had not diminished, and it did not disappoint.

First, the parking situation is much better as there are plenty of spots nearby. That makes it easier to visit the restaurant. Second, the restaurant itself is larger with two rooms, one a bar and the other the dining area. The bar has about twelve stools and has a full menu of alcohol. There is also a piano in the bar and on Friday and Saturday evenings, there is a pianist and sometimes a singer as well. The dining room seats around 50 people and has a nice ambiance, a casual but classy vibe. The lighting is subdued with candles on each table.

The food menu, which is still being finalized, is larger than at the prior location, adding more appetizers as well as a new category, vulcanos. Plenty of old favorites are still on the menu. And one of the restaurant's best options still exists, that the chef will make you almost any dish you want if you do not see it on the menu. So you are essentially guaranteed of finding a dish you want there. Appetizers range $8-$11 and entrees generally range from $15-$25.

Before any of your food comes, you receive a freshly baked and warm loaf of delicious bread with a dish of oil, herbs and grated cheese if you want. An excellent way to begin your dinner. I started my dinner with the Beef Spiedini ($10), sirloin stuffed with prosciutto and cheese topped with balsamic pepper cream sauce. There were four pieces of tender beef with the ice salty ham and melted cheese. The sauce was very dark, with a strong balsamic flavor that matched the sirloin quite well. I enjoyed this dish and would order it again.

For my entree, I decided to try one of the new vulcano dishes, said to be a thin bread filled to bursting with fillings. Though they have several vulcano dishes listed, you can also make your own, deciding on which fillings you want inside of it. I decided to have veal, prosciutto, and mozzarella in marsala sauce inside of mine ($24). When it arrived, it reminded me of an open-faced calzone. It was like a shallow bread bowl surrounding all of the fillings, and there was plenty of meat and cheese inside of it.

The bread was baked with the fillings and had a nice crispy exterior and soft bread within. An excellent bread which is going to appeal to any bread lover. There was plenty of thin and tender veal, with lots of ham and cheese. And the marsala sauce was quite savory and delicious, similar to what I had at their prior location. I was very happy with this dish and would highly recommend the vulcanos.

Service was very good. Overall, the quality of the restaurant has not diminished at all, and in other respects the restaurant has improved. It is easier to park, the restaurant is larger, and the menu has more interesting choices. The food is just as good as before and I continue to highly recommend this restaurant.

Georgie D's Place
125 Main St.
Stoneham, MA
Phone: (781) 481-9300

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