Dave Hansen/Daily Nebraskan
Grisanti’s
Grisanti’s menu worth the wait
By Lisa Nielsen
Staff Reporter
Anyone who needs a relaxing
evening out or happens to be in the
mood for a better-than-average
meal should definitely put
Grisanti’s on top of the list of op
I tions.
Grisanti’s,68200 St., has some
thing to offer everyone who enjoys
superb Italian food accompanied by
top-notch service.
The atmosphere at Grisanti’s is
friendly and exuberant. Though we
arrived at what was probably the
most busy, hectic time possible
(7:30 on a Friday evening), the serv
ice we received from all employees,
our dining-room waitress in particu
lar, was cordial and enthusiastic.
Grisanti’s takes reservations for
parties of eight or more. Small
groups don’t need a reservation, but
should be prepared for a wait.
(About 50-55 minutes the evening
we were there). While you wait, you
can go into the lounge for drinks and
hors d’ouevrcs.
The lounge was a bit small to
accommodate the number of people
wailing for tables in the dining
room, but a few moments of pa
tience were all it required to locate a
vacant spot.
Grisanti’s bar menu consists of
appetizers, soups, hors d’ouevres
and a, variety of specialty drinks. We
ordered a Strawberreto (a mixture of
fresh strawberries, amaretto and
vanilla icecream), a brandy Alexan
dcr (brandy, dark cream de cacao
and vanilla ice cream topped with
whipped cream) and an appetizer
plate called the Fritto Misto. This
plate can be ordered for one or two
people, and is a combination of fried
zucchini sticks, mozzarella mari
nara (deep-fried mozzarella cheese
plank) and toasted ravioli. All of this
is served with Grisanti’s homemade
marinara sauce and freshly grated
Parmesan cheese. The drinks were
excellent, very well-blended and
generous in size. They were $3
each. The Fritto Misto appetizer
plate for two, which was also pre
pared to near perfection (nothing
overcooked or undercooked), was
$4.95. The enjoyable atmosphere of
the lounge made it seem as though
wc were not even waiting.
Almost too soon, wc were called
to the lobby to be shown to our table.
After long and tedious deliberation,
wc decided upon eggplant Parme
san, defined on the menu as “large
eggplant slices, dredged in seasoned
flour, dipped in egg, lightly grilled,
and then topped with marinara
sauce, ricotta and mozzarella
cheeses and baked.”
Don’t let the thought of eggplant
scare you off. 1 didn’t think I could
take it cither, but I was astounded by
how good it tasted.
I decided to order one of the
several combination plates called
the Southern. It features lasagna,
chicken Parmesan and toasted ravi
oli. AH of this was fantastic, and it
was really fun to eat something dif
ferent.
Both meals came with Grisanti
salad (an assortmentof fresh iceberg
lettuce, spinach, tomato, artichoke
heart, red onions, ripe olives and
fresh mushrooms, tossed with
Grisanti’s special Italian dressing)
and Tuscan-style bread, which is
half of a loaf of round Italian bread
with garlic butter kept hot atop the
large white candle holders that
adorn each dining table. The salad
ingredients were fresh, and the wait
ress served each person’s salad from
the bowl, then grated fresh Romano
cheese and pepper on it if desired.
The Southern combination plate
also came with potatoe baci, which
is balls of mashed potatoes rolled in
a seasoned coating and deep-fried.
The eggplant Parmesan was $6.50,
and the Southern was $9.95.
I just couldn’t resist the opportu
nity to have some really good white
wine with dinner. There were sev
eral to choose from, but I selected
Frascati, hailed in the menu as “the
house wine of Rome.” At $2.25 per
glass or $8.95 by the bottle, it is
worth every cent to someone who
enjoys white wine. There are also
red wines and beer available.
If this sounds like an astronomi
cal amount of food, it was. We
needed a fork lift and a route driver
to get our leftovers home. Fortu
nately, they have sturdy take-home
boxes available.
I wish I could tell you about
dessert; they have about six items
offered, but I was too full at this
point to even try.
Although Grisanti's has been
open since late October, probably a
lot of people have yet to try it. It is
well worth your while to make the
trip. Prices range from the soups,
$2.25, to the platter meals. $12.95.
Everyone should be able to find
something within an appealing
price range.
UPC foreign films slated
By Geoff McMurtry
Senior Editor
“Caravaggio,” a film about the
life of 16th century Italian painter
Michaelangelo Carisi, (no, not that
Michelangelo) known as Caravag
gio, will open the spring semester
of UPC’s Foreign Film Series at
Sheldon Theater.
“Caravaggio” is the work of
director Derek Jarman, perhaps
known for his previous feature
films “Scbastiane,” “Jubilee,”
“The Tempest,” or “Angelic Con
versation.”
The film recreates the feel of
j Renaissance-era Rome without the
staid, overtly hushed reverence
j usually asssociated with period
pieces.
The Foreign Film Scries schcd
i ulc for this spring is:
j_
Jan. 31: “Caravaggio” (Great Brit
ain, 1986, 93 min.) Directed by
Derek Jarman. Screenings at 3,5,7,
and 9 p.m.
Feb. 14: “The Crazy Family” (Ja
pan, 1986, 106 min.) Directed by
Sogo Ishii. Screenings at 3,5,7, and
9 p.m.
Feb. 28: “Faces of Women” (Ivory
Coast, 1986,105 min.) Directed by
Desire Ecare, Screenings at 3, 5, 7,
and 9 p.m.
Mar. 13: “The Assault” (Holland,
1986, 140 min.) Directed by Fons
Radmakcrs. Screenings at 3, 6, and
9 p.m.
Apr. 3: “Summer” (France, 1986,
98 min.) Directed by Eric Rohmer.
Screenings at 3, 5, 7, and 9 p.m.
Apr, 17: “Kaos” (Italy, 1986, 188 i
min.) Directed by Paolo and Vitto- j
rioTavani.Scrccningsat2:30.5:45, *
and 9 p.m.
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