There are several restaurants to fill the niche market. Everyone who walks through our doors is traveling for the same reason. No matter what your niche is, your restaurant’s survival depends on your ability to meet their needs.
But other restaurants strive to be many things to many people. Although a more difficult path than the former, this approach allows companies to potentially have multiple outlets as they seek to succeed in multiple areas simultaneously.
Napoletana, the new dairy restaurant at Stamford’s Armon Hotel, is the latter. Look through the menu and you’ll find many possible paths. As a tour guide, I can tell you that there are delicious options no matter which way you go.
When invited to Napoletana, I decided to start with the most reasonable section of the menu: breakfast. Among the many menu items, I recommend the Eggs Benedict. The fact that the restaurant is Milcig means that they use smoked salmon instead of meat, but considering that real dairy products are used in making the hollandaise sauce, the deal is more than fair. is. The base is often ignored, but the homemade brioche challah is an important part of this dish. This acts as a great medium to absorb the hollandaise, and will also absorb the eggs (if you puncture the fully poached pods). If you’re looking for breakfast or brunch items, this is it.
But let’s say you’re there a little later in the day and looking for lunch. For that, an Israeli platter is essential. Two pitas, eight falafel balls, a large plate of hummus, a bowl of Israeli salad and fries, and a tehina and sumac onion garnish easily feed two people. In fact, if you ask for more pita, you may be able to extend it to 3 people. The hummus, falafel, and tehina are all homemade and make you feel like you’re sitting in your hometown itself. The Israeli salad is classically prepared, and the pita is as soft and crunchy as French fries. Did he mention this platter was only $25? Maybe it has something to do with the exchange rate.
The third lane that Napoletana can occupy is that of an upscale dairy restaurant. The atmosphere is mid-range, but some of the items on and off the menu impress with their plating and upscale feel. Speaking of off-menu items, Chef Doron Ginat is happy to come up with something interesting if you want to suggest it to him. For me he made a tomato and red pepper carpaccio and it was amazing. If you ask him, you might get a special treat that you won’t soon forget.
For something in that category that’s actually on the menu, try the wild mushroom risotto. Maybe it’s because all the risotto I’ve ever had was at Fleisch restaurants, but I thought this was the best risotto I’ve ever had. Nothing beats using real butter and Parmesan cheese. The flavors of wild mushrooms and truffles mingle to create a rich texture and flavor combination.
While Napoletana offers this menu, please note that this restaurant is also a local pizza joint. Napoletana’s 16-inch pies are crucial to the area’s kosher landscape, as there are no other places around that offer kosher pizza. A little more artisanal than your standard hole-in-the-wall 18-inch pie shop, the pizza here is really good. Everything I had had a nice char on the bottom, virtually no flop, and flavorful dough.
You can order a regular pizza, but if you’re feeling a little more adventurous, try the All About the Greens pizza. This white pie has a spiral of pesto on top of mozzarella and is studded with garlic confit and arugula. The combination of garlic and pesto makes for an interesting marriage, and it works well here. I’m not a big fan of white pies, but considering the toppings, the one without sauce works well.
Maybe you want some comforting food, but don’t want to eat something with a fork and knife? Then try cheese lasagna. It will take a few minutes, but you’ll know it’s fresh. This is your go-to staple. Pasta, sauce, and cheese. that’s it. That’s the list. But there’s a reason why simple things last forever. Something as basic as lasagna could be something you didn’t know you needed until you saw it on the menu. And we promise it won’t disappoint. Maybe you can make lasagna at home and it will be very delicious. This is something like that, but it’s almost certainly improved. Try it if you’re tempted.
They say there’s always room for dessert, but you probably won’t have room to finish your gooey chocolate calzone. That is, unless you bring a few friends. Calzone is a dessert made with the same dough as pizza, but the inside is topped with Nutella and halva, and the outside is topped with strawberry syrup and powdered sugar. The dough is as good as ever, and while the Nutella flavor overwhelms the halwa, the halwa’s texture still stands out. The result is a unique item that can feed an entire block if a patron wants to limit himself to just one slice. However, considering the taste, one slice may not be realistic.
Napoletana has something for everyone. That’s a good thing in a place where there aren’t many kosher restaurants. Depending on what you order, Napoletana can range from a pizzeria to an upscale Italian restaurant. Or maybe everything from breakfast to brunch, lunch to dinner. Either way, it’s worth stopping by and taking a look at the menu.
Or why not try something off the menu? What are you waiting for?
Napoletana is located at 2701 Summer Street, Stamford, CT (in the Armon Hotel). Certified Kosher by Badatz Tartikov Kashrus.
Napoletana’s hours are Sunday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Motzei Shabbos from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
