Il Fornaio

Il Fornaio Restaurant Review:

This cheerful, 250-seat restaurant, with its high ceilings, white marble and blonde wood, turns out savory Northern Italian cuisine in its gleaming open kitchen, where copper pots and pans and wicker baskets hang from the beams. The eight-seat counter affords diners a close-up view of the chefs at work. An attractive bar spans one wall in the lounge; the patio overlooks a landscaped stream bordering the resort’s Central Park casino. Antipasto della casa for two or more offers a sampling of the specialties: bruschetta calda, spicy Italian salame, zucchini and eggplant, caprese, grilled artichoke, Grana Padano cheese, and green and black olives. Entrées include good pizzas, pastas, mesquite-grilled fish and rotisserie-roasted meats and poultry. We like the petto di pollo al peperoncino --- grilled free-range chicken breast marinated with sage, rosemary, thyme, crushed red pepper, white wine, Dijon mustard and lemon, served with spicy peperoncino sauce, sautéed organic spinach and roasted Yukon Gold potatoes. Grigliata di pesce misto is a mixed grill of salmon, calamari, scallops, whitefish and prawns, topped with lemon-olive oil sauce. Tiramisu and budino di pane --- bread pudding with Granny Smith apples, golden raisins, figs and brandy, served with crème anglaise and caramel-sea salt gelato --- are among sweet temptations.