Melville: Happy at Herrmann's Barolo
Heirloom tomato salad at Herrmann's Barolo in Melville Credit: Newsday / Erica Marcus
Newsday’s offices, on Route 110 in Melville, do not offer a wealth of dining choices. We’re a very short drive to Four Food Studio, just a bit further away from Blackstone Steakhouse. Then there’s the little knot of restaurants where Pinelawn, Broadhollow and Walt Whitman Roads all come together just north of the Expressway. Over the last year, we’ve been making a very leisurely survey of them.
I eat lunch almost once a week at Sweet Hollow Diner, where the split-pea soup and seafood Caesar salad have become favorites. Cirella’s does good Italian and sushi. At a recent lunch, Frederick’s was a disappointment.
Today: Herrmann’s Barolo, which bills itself as serving “Italian Continental Cuisine.” We were the only diners in a room that looked like it hadn’t been updated in a decade or so. My hopes were not high. Then the bread showed up; it was from Tom Cat in Queens—one of the area’s best artisanal bakeries. The olive oil was fresh and fruity. We split an appetizer of heirloom tomatoes with Maytag blue cheese and red onion. It was great. My linguine Amatriciana was a tad over-sauced but really delicious. My pal loved his seared sesame-encrusted tuna—raw-rare as requested—although I found its accompanying sauce too sweet and gluey.
I’d love to return to Herrmann’s soon, but next up is the Rosewood Inn.
Herrmann’s Barolo is at 1197 Walt Whitman Rd., Melville, 631-421-3750.
The heirloom-tomato salad at Herrmann's Barolo
