First visit to Armstrong's Restaurant in Moon. I did my homework by reading a lot of reviews and found that there were complaints about the wait for a table.
I called and found that they were BYOB and they had call-ahead seating. We stopped for a bottle of wine and were there a half hour after calling. We were told there wasn't a table ready yet, but there should be one ready shortly. We were seated in less than 5 minutes.
Our server, Danielle, arrived promptly with menus and to take our drink order.
Since reading that the portions were huge, we had already decided that we would not order an appetizer, but after seeing orders of Fried Zucchini being served and also being intrigued by the Baked Artichoke Hearts that were on the menu, that decision was quickly overturned. The Baked Artichoke Hearts are what we decided on.
I had questions about the menu. I was torn between the Penne with Vodka Sauce and the Stuffed Eggplant Parmesan. Danielle told me that the Vodka Sauce was one of her favorites and suggested that I get the eggplant, but for a $2 up-charge, have one of my sides as the pasta with Vodka sauce. That is what I went with, but not being a Penne fan, I ordered it with linguine instead. As my second side I ordered the house tossed salad with Italian dressing and dry Bleu cheese.
My husband ordered the Baked Garlic Shrimp with a Caesar salad and baked potato for his sides.
Danielle returned shortly with ours salads and fresh Mancini's bread, explaining that the artichoke heart appetizer took a bit of time.
My tossed was a mix of romaine and baby field greens, cucumber, grape tomatoes, red onion and topped with chick peas and dry Bleu cheese, garnished with a pepperoncini and black olive. I normally order an extra side of dressing, but the salad was so flavorful, I did not need it.
The Caesar was equally delicious with a real Caesar dressing and tender croutons. Both salads had very fresh greens and were generous in portion.
About a quarter of the way through our salads, Danielle brought the Baked Artichoke Hearts. An ample portion of tender artichoke hearts lightly browned and baked in a garlic-butter sauce. They arrived very hot, so I chose to keep eating my salad for two reasons, it was so good, I couldn't stop and I wanted the hearts to cool down enough so that I didn't burn my mouth.
The artichokes were delicious and we enjoyed dipping the fresh Mancini's bread in the sauce with every bite of artichoke. This appetizer disappeared quickly.
Our entrees arrived in a timely manner and were again, so hot that I had to wait to take a bite. My husband, not having as sensitive of a palate, dove right in. He was treated to a bounty of shrimp that were perfectly cooked and sauced with a garlic-butter that was perfect for dipping bread into and so good that he spooned some over his baked potato.
After finishing the last remnants of my salad, I started in on my entrée. The Vodka sauce was delicious, as promised, with the linguine perfectly cooked.
The Stuffed Eggplant was excellent. I'm 100% Sicilian and both of my parents were very good cooks, so I am very critical when it comes to Eggplant Parm. Was it the best I ever had? No, my mom will always win that contest, but the sauce and eggplant were some of the best I've had outside of my mom's kitchen.
We considered not ordering dessert because we were so blissfully full, but knew that an hour from now we would be looking for something sweet. We ordered the Chocolate Mousse cake to go.
This cake was in the top five of best desserts I have ever had. The cake was super moist, the mousse so light and flavorful, I wish we had gotten two slices to go. It was not too sweet, it was just chocolaty goodness.
I was a server for a long time in a variety of restaurants from casual to high-end. This is a very well run establishment. When you have a front of the house and back of the house that work in such harmony with each other, your dining experience is sure to be a good one.
I look forward to my next visit and am already planning on that Fried Zucchini. read more
