Latest visit: Apr 2024
First visit: Aug 1995
Back again - this time for our 27th anniversary! That seems to be where Luigi's is going to land in the RJG tradition. We miss the old school Italian restaurants and this is really the only one in town (along with the much smaller Roman Villa, who are better at pizzas in our mind). We decided to heed their call and make reservations, and we arrived at open. Already a line had formed, one of the few places who can claim that these days. Reservations allowed us one of the better seats in the restaurant, near the fireplace. Though on this warm April evening we weren't able to take advantage of that. On this visit we made sure not to possess wine envy, so we ordered a bottle of Charles Woodson's Intercept Cabernet Sauvignon, which is our favorite red style. An excellent choice. Per protocol, we received the delicious bread, breadsticks, and butter upfront so as to appease our large appetites walking in. This was followed by their excellent much-larger-than-it-looks salad. Spicy pepperoncini this time! Following my lead from last year, we both went for the chicken parm with a side of spaghetti Bolognese. It was similar to last year but a couple of demerits this time. It seemed to be lacking flavor. I was silent on the matter thinking perhaps my tastebuds weren't operating at full capacity. But everything up to that point I enjoyed immensely, so I didn't think that was the case. But Mrs. RJG made the comment about two-thirds through, and I knew she was right. Not sure what happened there, but it will drive me to have something else next year. Also the spaghetti Bolognese wasn't that hot. Problem was easily solved by adding it to the baked chicken parm dish which was bubbling as noted below. OK, so not the perfect meal we enjoyed last year, but we both agreed we'll be back next year for the same date, as we really like the ambience and general high quality of the food. We'll try other items on the menu.
---4/5/23 update
It was time for Mrs. RJG & I to celebrate our 26th anniversary. We decided that Luigi's would be the perfect place to enjoy that moment. We always talk about going out fancy and then remember that's really not for us. We always prefer the mom and pop establishments. Forgot to mention last visit, but we started with a 1/2 litre of their house wine. It's a good value though it's for certain a low alcohol cheaper fruity wine. Which is fine by us, though later Mrs. RJG had wine envy as others were ordering bottles of the good stuff lol. Along with that came out the yummy bread and larger-than-you-think salad (see original review). And non spreadable butter! Once again Mrs. RJG went with the daily special, which on Wednesday equates to Lasagna. Usually lasagna's tend to be heavy, especially the noodle. But not Luigi's variation. Out comes a bubbling baked dish loaded with their delicious meat sauce on top. Inside is ricotta cheese and noodles. She really enjoyed it and took about a third of it back home. This time I went with the chicken parm. This is a great variation as it too is a baked dish buried in mozzarella cheese and bubbling sauce. I had a side of pasta with meat sauce, cooked perfectly al dente. Delicious. I ate the whole thing, so no room for dessert I'm afraid. Our anniversary meal was a success!
---original 12/28/22 review
There are a lot of parallels with Luigi's and Roman Villa that we just spoke about. They're both old school Italian restaurants that opened in the late 1950s (note the plural "Italian Foods"); Both are dinner only places; I visited each only once while living here the first time; And Mrs. RJG and I had dined at both in our first year back (2018) and haven't returned since. The only difference is we did go to Luigi's once on a biannual trip from Texas in 2016.
Luigi's is a much larger, and certainly roomier, place than Roman Villa. But no less popular, so expect a wait unless you go early. Which is exactly what Mrs. RJG and I did on this visit, arriving not long after opening at 5:00. Luigi's does have a small four stool bar area (with a couple of small tables) for solo diners if inclined. The primary difference between the two is that Luigi's has much better Italian food. Can't speak for the pizzas, but Roman Villa certainly offers stiff competition on that front. They bring out a complimentary loaf of Italian bread that is delicious. With wrapped pats of cold non-spreadable butter, always a hallmark of a good Italian joint. We started with the house salad (which comes with the meal). Old styled wooden bowls with cold lettuce, red onions, and a pepperoncini pre-tossed in a wonderful vinaigrette based dressing (they have mushrooms and tomatoes too, but we both passed). There's more in that little bowl than you might think! Delicious. For entrees Mrs. RJG had the daily special, which on Tuesday's equates to Eggplant Parmigiana with Italian sausage. At first she expressed disappointment at the lack of an accompanying pasta, but then she realized the breading more than made up for that. She said it was awesome and the food was hot until the last bite. I had the spaghetti with Bolognese and Italian sausage. I suspect they make their pasta, and it's much better than the usual "homemade" spaghetti. This is a thin variety, and cooked al dente. Not thick and chewy like so many others who attempt this. The bolognese was really great. Perhaps the best was the Italian sausage, also guessing it to be homemade. It's a spicy variety and so soft you can cut it with a fork. Very flavorful! We both enjoyed it tremendously. Just a terrific meal throughout. Need to take the RJG's Official Mom here. Perhaps next year for her birthday.
8/19/95; 5/1/16; 9/11/18; 12/28/22 (new entry); 4/5/23; 4/5/24
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