Tuscany Tavern

Oh my, not sure where to start. Tried this restaurant based on the fact that the one we wanted to try turned out to be more of a "bar" than a restaurant (which we were not in the mood for at the time.) Anyhow, popped in hoping for some good Italian food...is that what we received? Ahhh, not so much... The bread was sub-par--reminded me of something Olive Garden/Red Lobster would serve. I didn't eat much because it was a) not great, and b) we had ordered the bruschetta (which was the only semi-decent thing we ate all night, and that is only because it was super sweet and most humans tend to like sweet things...) After that came our salads. When I saw the quality of lettuce as well as what other people have commented on (one measly slice of tomato, cucumber) I was like: "things do not bode well from here..." Also, I received my minuscule glass of red wine at this time--I don't think I've ever seen a tinier wine glass in my life! Wine was so-so anyway, so (as the old joke goes) I wasn't going to complain about the small portion! Then came our food. My husband had the lasagna, which was just that--no side, no greenery, nothing--fine if it had been phenomenal, but it was mediocre at best, edible at least. Mine, however, not so much...I ordered the eggplant parmesan. It was offered grilled or breaded and, based on the recommendation of our server (who was quite nice and seemingly informative) I went with the grilled, as she had suggested that it was better due to the eggplant being cut "thicker." Mine did come with a side, and I ordered the risotto. What a mess it all was!! The risotto looked many days old--thick, gloppy, gross...reminded me of something a public food service place would serve to unfortunate, senile old people (who could only gum things to eat.) It was that nasty!! The "eggplant parmesan" was horrible, too. If I hadn't have ordered it, I wouldn't have known what it was--it was truly unrecognizable! There was a bunch of gloppy, melted cheese, and you could not even separate a piece of the super "thinly" sliced eggplant from it. It was just this boat/dish of gooey cheese, some rather tasteless red sauce ladled on top, and some indiscernible pieces of tasteless eggplant (I'm sure it was tasteless because there was so little in the dish itself, plus it was drowning in the cheese--no life preserver could have saved it!!) Just simply TOO MUCH CHEESE!! ! I couldn't even eat it! Gross/mess!!
So, here is the crazy part--in the beginning we asked what they were known for, and our server named a few dishes and then also said "lots of people" ordered their pizzas for take out. Well, a week later we decided "pizza night" and, as we are new to the area and have yet to find a spectacular pizza place, thought (hesitantly, or optimistically, I might add) 'Well, let's at least try theirs--maybe the pizzas are good...' Well, I am here to inform you to save your money!! I've had better at Dominoe's--or at least cheaper, and you *know* what you are getting! Their pizzas suck (too)--so, Never Again!! This place is officially crossed off of our list! I'd rather eat a frozen, three dollar Jack's pizza--they are WAY better!!

After mtn biking we popped in here to grab a bite to eat. Stella & 1554 on tap started us off and once we ordered food they bring out some fresh bread. I am not really an Italian connoisseur so I usually just pick something with chicken in it but the Penne Al Arrabbiata (the angry noodle) on the menu caught my attention. Bacon, onions and mushrooms sautéed in red wine and tossed in a spicy marinara sauce. It looked a little soupy and would of been better with more of that free bread! It was spicy enough and I enjoyed it but I dont think it was worth $14.95 even with the small salad included.
Friend got the chicken parmesan and the breasts were huge so she shared and it was thick and juicy. Service was good tho it was pretty quiet on a Sunday afternoon with just a few locals at the bar watching football.

To start with....NO Happy Hour!    A small glass of wine is $6.50 which wouldn't be so bad if it hadn't been so small.   My husband and I ordered the calamari  and split the cobb salad.  The food was good but the salad they split for us was on such a small plate it barely qualified as a side.

We have no plans of going back.