Since taking over the 75-seat restaurant in the summer of 2007, Mr Tambascio and his head chef, R.J. Moody, a Culinary Institute of America graduate, have gradually introduced new offerings, opening up the cuisine to a menu that reflects the feel of trattorias across Italy. The menu is built around tradition-based contemporary Italian appetizers, salads, and entrees.

“Our Bolognese sauce is very traditional, for example,” said Mr Tambascio, “and the baked eggplant Fiorentina is very much what you would get in Italy.” The sauces are lighter and cleaner than many Americanized Italian eateries offer, allowing the flavor of the high-quality meats, fish, or pastas used at Tambascio’s Italian Grill to shine through, he stressed.

Mr Tambascio is also excited to offer a new menu starting this April, featuring more traditional dishes such as braised short ribs over creamy gorgonzola risotto, rigatoni with a fire-roasted pepper cream sauce and homemade sausage, and linguine Pecorino tossed with sundried tomatoes and baby spinach in a Pecorino Romano broth.

“It is exactly how it would be served in Tuscany,” Mr Tambascio said.

Other menu items popular with Tambascio’s clientele are the clams casino, pork osso bucco, and the 16-ounce porterhouse steak.

The nine appetizers range in price from $5.99 for hand breaded fried mozzarella to $10.99 for a bowl of Prince Edward Island mussels and clams in a pink vodka sauce. A small garden salad is available for $4.99, or make a meal of a large Mediterranean salad of feta cheese, kalamata olives, romaine, tomatoes, onions, and roasted peppers for $8.79.

Dinner entrees are priced between $9.59 and $23.59, and encompass items such as pasta with homemade meatballs, chicken Parmigiana, tortellini Certosa with veal sausage, broccoli rabe and roasted garlic, and fruitti di mare. Weekly dinner specials are offered using the freshest of ingredients and innovative techniques. Seasonal changes to the menu mean that palates will not quickly tire of the same fare, said Mr Tambascio.

Tambascio’s stresses quality ingredients, using only the best pastas and meats, said Mr Tambascio. All breads are baked on premises every day to accompany the meals.

Pizza lovers will not be disappointed with the New York-style pizza made at Tambascio’s Italian Grill. Hand-tossed and baked directly on top of a stone and featuring Italian cheeses, this pizza will be enjoyed by those who love a pie with an al dente crust. Delicious stromboli, a meat and cheese stuffed bread, is also available.

Hot or cold grinders are available for a lighter meal, but each is prepared with the same care and attention to detail bestowed upon the full entrées.

Included in the dessert menu are several made on premises. These specialties change from week to week and may include a chocolate mousse cake, carrot cake, or crème brulee. Gelato from Buck’s Ice Cream in Milford is featured at the restaurant, as well as chocolate orange ice cream from the Newtown Creamery.

From a $20 bottle of Calabria to an $80 bottle of Brunello, the wine list at the restaurant offers something for all tastes. The house red wine is from Italy, and wines not carried locally are featured. A weekend special wine by the glass is available and wine connoisseurs will be pleasantly surprised, Mr Tambascio believes, at some of the wines found on the list or carried as specials.

 “I truly want people to be happy and enjoy their meal,” Mr Tambascio said.

Experience Tambascio’s Italian Grill, 1 Dodgingtown Road, Newtown, serves meals from 4 to 10 pm, seven days of the week. Takeout for all menu items is from 11 am to 10 pm, seven days a week. For takeout or party planning, call 426-2715.