Ristorante Castello
721 Skippack Pike (Route 73)
Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
(215) 283-9500
Tucked away in an office complex set back a distance from Skippack Pike, Ristorante Castello might easily be passed by without notice. The only hint of its presence, a wisp of blue & white awning… In my capacity as a professional “hired belly,” however, I’ve discovered that hard-to-find restaurants are usually well worth finding – and Ristorante Castello appears to be no exception.
Stop by for a quiet weekend lunch in a nearly empty dining room, and you’ll think the place hadn’t been found at all… On the other hand, drop in on a free-for-all Saturday night, as our party of six did recently (the former Fine Arts bowling team and their significant others), and you’ll get a much clearer picture. The night of our visit, the place was, quite literally, packed to the gills.
To start things off, diners encounter a host of seafood suspects – mussels/clams/calamari fra diavolo, oysters Rockefeller & Blue Point – as well as salads of spinach, Caesar and caprese. In this case, though, I think I’d opt for the more traditional Italian preludes… bruschetta, for instance. The restaurant’s homemade bread is grilled, then brushed with olive oil and topped with fresh roma tomatoes, basil & olive oil.
This is a relatively simple dish, a no-brainer, if you will… but a lot can still go wrong. Insufficient seasoning is a major culprit. Or if prepared too soon, the entire enterprise can degenerate into a soggy mess. On the other hand, if the bread is a bit too crisp & crunchy, it could crumble into oblivion at the very first bite, send a shower of diced tomatoes, et al., cascading into your unsuspecting lap, and necessitate an embarrassingly costly trip to your favorite dry cleaning establishment… Fortunately, Castello’s benchmark rendition prompts no such worries.
The Carpaccio di manzo is another sure winner. This is a typical Italian dish consisting of beautifully arranged raw, wafer-thin slices of filet mignon. It was invented and popularized by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry’s Bar in Venice, and named after Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio. The beef is served with olive oil, lemon and, in this case, garnished with basil leaves and shaved parmesan cheese. If you are incurably carnivorous, this is a marvelously tasty starter.
La parmigiana – layers of Italian eggplant and fresh tomato sauce topped with fresh mozzarella and finished in the oven – is basically a fancy name for mini eggplant parm. It wasn’t the greatest variation on this Neapolitan theme I’ve ever tasted, but still quite good… and a very comforting starter on a cold winter’s night.
Ristorante Castello’s pastas, which are available in both appetizer and entrée portions, are also worthy of consideration. Possibilities run the gamut… from penne pomodoro with red, pink, or vodka sauce to homemade potato gnocchi with gorgonzola to farfalle with diced salmon to ravioli stuffed with either vegetables or a combo of lobster, shrimp & scallops in vodka sauce.
Two dishes, sampled during that aforementioned quiet weekend lunch, however, were particularly enjoyable. The first was an excellent fettuccini Bolognese, eggless pasta smothered in a rich meat & tomato sauce infused with a touch of cream. But even better, in my opinion, was the linguini Siciliano (pictured). Perfectly cooked al dente pasta was tossed with a winning combo of sautéed sliced mushrooms and crumbles of grilled sausage kissed by garlic and splashes of olive oil.
When it comes to entrées proper, the usual chicken, meat, and seafood dishes are all present and accounted for. I must admit, I wasn’t terribly thrilled with the piscatorial options on the printed menu. The Alaskan salmon and the grilled blackened tilapia, for example, are served over risotto; the former rice garnished with lobster, the latter with asparagus & crab; both of which I find entirely too rich for my palate. And since no substitutions are permitted, I immediately crossed these off my list of possibilities.
From what I’ve noted in several visits, the kitchen’s daily specials – both pesce and carne – are clearly the way to go here. And the accompaniments of luscious au gratin potatoes and mixed vegetable medley are an added bonus.
The Dover sole, served up with a traditional caper lemon-butter sauce was good but not exceptional. I much preferred the baked branzino, also known as Mediterranean sea bass (pictured). The flesh was firm yet incredibly moist and bursting with flavor. This dish is a winner in every respect and reason enough for a return visit.
When it comes to more carnivorous pursuits, the sumptuous veal chop, another daily special, is clearly the way to go. Incredibly tender, perfectly seasoned, and completely free of excess fat and/or gristle, this presentation was clearly a table favorite. To my way of thinking, veal is the acid test for Italian kitchens… and Ristorante Castello clearly passes with flying colors.
Desserts, if you still have room, vary daily and are well worth considering. And be sure to wash them down with a shot of espresso, which is rich and potent.
One additional point of interest… In the very near future, Ristorante Castello’s owner, Habib Troudi (pictured), will be opening a sister restaurant, Panache Wood Fire Grill, on the site of the former L’Angolo Blue, just down the road at the corner of Skippack and Penllyn Pikes in Blue Bell, Pa.
According to Mr. Troudi, the restaurant will be offering thin-crust Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked in a wood-burning coal-fired oven, as well as steak, seafood, and other new American cuisine. Once complete, the space will have two bars, one of which will also house the massive 10,000-pound oven needed to crisp up the pizzas and cook other dishes in cast iron skillets. Mr. Troudi also notes that he is “trying to humble the building down a bit… It will have an industrial look and a casual theme – no white tablecloths here.”
Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the opening.
Bon Appétit!
TAD
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