2008

Dehydrated Garlic Flake My memory is often addled, but I remember exactly what I ordered a year ago when I visited The Continental shortly after it opened in Fitchburg in the old home of La Paella. It was the Polenta con Funghi ($14), with tomato sauce, mushrooms, eggplant, garlic and mozzarella. The service had been a little slow, and my toddler was getting restless, so I got the rest of my meal boxed to go. I work in the evenings and left my food overnight in the office fridge. The refrigerator police hit the next day and tossed everything out, including my coveted polenta. I was miffed for days. On a recent visit, I was tempted to order my long-lost polenta. But the menu is so vast, I decided to branch out. The menu has more than a dozen appetizers, including a number of pizzas, along with soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, steak, fish, chicken and pork chops. Jim Schiavo, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Jenny, recently added old favorites from Antonio's, his family's Park Street restaurant. Antonio's closed in 1998, the same year his parents and brother opened Cafe Continental on King Street. From the new Antonio's menu I chose the original House Salad ($5), a simple salad with a nice mix of greens, slices of ripe Roma tomatoes and one of the best house dressings I've ever tasted: green pepper flake sweet-and-sour. Also from the Antonio's section, a friend selected the Eggplant Parmesan ($12), a huge and gorgeous plate of food. The eggplant was firmer than I like it, but the tomato sauce hit the right notes. It was topped with plenty of melted mozzarella and served over a heap of penne pasta. "I could do with a lot less cheese, but I'm not the typical American diner," my friend said. "I do like the basil. It's very fresh." The Ahi Tuna Sandwich ($11) features outstanding slices of rare tuna seasoned with a Tuscan rub and drizzled with wasabi mayonnaise. The tuna was too choice to eat in a roll, so I plucked it out (along with the tomato) and left the bread, lettuce and onion. Before the meal, The Continental serves wonderful Italian bread from the Gonnella bakery in Chicago, making any other bread redundant. The bread is served with olive oil that has a touch of balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes and asiago cheese. Sandwiches are served with either a side of salad greens or red potatoes that are soft and wonderful. The Meatball Sandwich ($9) comes on absurdly long Italian bread that is very well grilled. "It's bigger than I bargained for," said a companion, noting that the crusty bread was hard to bite into even after he broke off a section of it. He also complained that the tomato sauce was bland and that the meatballs were full of bread crumbs. The Crab Cakes ($14), one of the house specialties, were also filled with bread crumbs, but that's not a criticism. The two reasonably sized patties were served with an excellent tartar sauce described on the menu as a mildly spicy jalapeno pimento sauce. They were served with three spears of grilled asparagus that were a bit al dente for my taste, and something called sweet potato moss, a difficult-to-eat tangle of crisp, fried sweet potato. My daughter was along on one visit and had the cheese pizza ($4.50) from the kids menu. She devoured it -- and for good reason. It was a wonderful pizza with a crisp crust, a tasty tomato sauce and a hint of oregano. The Continental offers a sophisticated decor. The floors are beautiful, beige granite with a blue pearl border, and the Schiavos put in a zinc bar, consistent with the one at their downtown location. Service was slow between courses on one recent weeknight when there were few other tables. If you have time for dessert, there are eight of them, including a dense chocolate truffle cake with raspberry Chambord sauce ($4.75). A thin slice goes a long way.