Castagna's Restaurant & Lounge

Castagna's near Central City was just fine for what it is - a family restaurant well off the beaten path in an area with very few options.  Their food is basic, the service is very friendly, and you don't need to worry about finding a table.  

I've been there twice - the most recent visit exposed me to their prime rib, dinner salad, and their Ham and Bean soup.  

The salad was acceptable - just that.  No frills, just 'berg and carrots.  Just enough to get your ruffage on.  

The Ham and Bean soup was very tasty - obviously home made with ham scraps (as it is meant to be) and white beans.  A bowl of that would fill you up and leave you very satisfied.  Next time I'll do just that I'm sure if it's available.

Their prime rib was good - with some qualifications.  First, I find often that unless you're somewhere that specializes in prime rib, that it can always be hit or miss.  To that end I rarely order it but felt it was worth a try.  The cut here had plenty of gristle and fat, but look - expectation management here - far off the beaten path, very convienent prices, it was just fine for the situation.  The cut was thick, cooked to order (medium) and very tender.  For the context, it was good.  

I'll be back - if you're in the area it's hard not to see it.  Right outside the Flight93 memorial, it is one of the very few options there.  That said, if you're there, stop by for a friendly staff and decent cooking.

Recently in the area with medium sized group for a great weekend paintball activity.  We had called ahead an alerted them of a large group (15) for Saturday night dinner.  I was given the option to order prime rib in advance and I did even though I am not a huge fan of the style of beef I figured it was beef and was more inclined to that than pasta.

Once we arrived I thought maybe I wanted something else besides prime rib and the server quickly made sure that wasn't an issue and did it with a smile.  I ordered a sirloin steak 'medium' instead.  As our group awaited the meal I noticed the completely small town feel of this place and would describe it as having a low-end budge for decor and furnishings but generally clean.

We quickly received our food and the service was on point from the beginning until the end of our meal.  I must say that my requested 'medium' steak arrived having been twice cooked and trampled on making it worse than leather; I cut it with the knife only.  I did notice that the prime rib that most of our party ordered was huge, cooked perfectly, and folks were raving about it.  So, knowing that I had already changed my order at the beginning sharing with the waitress my preference was not prime rib I grabbed her attention and shared with her the issues with the steak.  I offered to pay whatever price to make the change to prime rib and apologized for switching once again.  The waitress was top notch and apologized for the issues with the steak and confirmed she would take care of it and all this with the continued down-home smile.

The prime rib arrived just two minutes later and was delicious!  I haven't eaten this cut much but I am sure that this small Italian restaurant in the middle of almost nowhere has their recipe down right!  If you go to Castgna's you MUST order the prime rib!

Keys here are prime rib and service.....good job!