Stephano's Ristorante (Italian) - Wappingers Falls, NY - 11/9/07
Friday night my wife and I hadn’t put much thought into dinner or our evening plans. Neither one of us were able to make up our minds. I happen to be reading
the Rao’s Cookbook. Yes, I do read a cookbook as if it’s a novel or something. My wife thought it was a bit odd at first but I think she’s accepted it. Rao’s for
those that don’t know is a 100 year old Italian Restaurant in Harlem. It’s considered the hardest reservation in the entire city and is frequented by long time
regulars and celebrities. Rao’s is as old school as it gets. I hear the food is great but I’ve never had the pleasure. The recipes in the cookbook include the
classic yet simply Italian dishes that we all know and love. While I was reading the cookbook I sat there wishing there was a place like Rao’s nearby that
combined fantastic food with an old school feel. We found it at Stephano's Ristorante in Wappingers Falls.
Stephano’s was one of the first restaurants we had heard about when we moved to the area over a year ago but for some reason we never went. When we
arrived at the nondescript building and could barely find a parking spot we knew the food had to be good. The restaurant is housed in a plain white one story
building that could have easily been missed if it were not for the big lit sign out front. The inside isn’t much fancier but the place was packed. We were greeted
immediately and asked if we had a reservation. Of course we didn’t but were still seated in about 15 minutes. We were beyond grateful.
The dining room is small and runs at a hectic pace with waiters running around but everyone seems to be having a great time. The menu is simple offering
several soups and appetizers like a hot antipasto, tortellini en brodo and caprese. The wine list is short with Merlot and Chianti as the two red choices by the
glass. I’m not sure if they sell by the bottle or not. We did notice that they sold a lot, and I do mean a lot of White Zin. We opted for the Chianti which was very
good and to my wife’s delight was a very heavy pour. The glasses are huge and filled to the top. At about $4.50 a glass it’s a bargain.
Before our appetizer arrived we were served warm rolls, olives and roasted peppers. With the rolls was a spread of garlic, Gorgonzola and ricotta that was just
unbelievable. When I talk this much about the bread you can just imagine what follows. We both shared a generous order of fried calamari. The calamari was
crisp without being greasy and the marina sauce had a fresh tomato taste. I ordered off of the specials menu and got the homemade lobster ravioli fra diavlo
and my wife went with classic, penne ala vodka. Continuing with the theme of the prior course both were phenomenal. The penne ala vodka could have served
four people that's how big it was. My wife had enough to take home that we both had it for lunch the next day. She insisted that I carry the take home bag just to
feel its weight. Luckily I didn't drop it. My lobster ravioli was so delicious I had to finish it all that night. The fra diavlo sauce had just the right amount of heat and
you could tell the ravioli was homemade. Although there were big chucks of lobster in the ravioli you kind of lost the taste due to the strong fra diavlo sauce. It
just overpowered it. This is not a criticism I’m just not sure if the lobster was needed. When you can remove lobster from a dish and it’s still fantastic, that tells
you something. Despite no decor and a small dining room you wouldn’t change a thing about this place. Its prefect the way it is. When the food is this good
nothing else matters, in fact adding anything would just take away from the experience.
Much like I imagine how Rao’s would be we noticed that many of the diners walked into the kitchen to personally thank the staff before heading out for the
night. My guess is that Stephano’s has regulars who will not be happy that I’m letting this secret out, if it’s a secret at all. Hopefully in time we too can become
regulars. I’m already looking forward to our next dinner at Stephano’s. It’s the real deal.
Friday night my wife and I hadn’t put much thought into dinner or our evening plans. Neither one of us were able to make up our minds. I happen to be reading
the Rao’s Cookbook. Yes, I do read a cookbook as if it’s a novel or something. My wife thought it was a bit odd at first but I think she’s accepted it. Rao’s for
those that don’t know is a 100 year old Italian Restaurant in Harlem. It’s considered the hardest reservation in the entire city and is frequented by long time
regulars and celebrities. Rao’s is as old school as it gets. I hear the food is great but I’ve never had the pleasure. The recipes in the cookbook include the
classic yet simply Italian dishes that we all know and love. While I was reading the cookbook I sat there wishing there was a place like Rao’s nearby that
combined fantastic food with an old school feel. We found it at Stephano's Ristorante in Wappingers Falls.
Stephano’s was one of the first restaurants we had heard about when we moved to the area over a year ago but for some reason we never went. When we
arrived at the nondescript building and could barely find a parking spot we knew the food had to be good. The restaurant is housed in a plain white one story
building that could have easily been missed if it were not for the big lit sign out front. The inside isn’t much fancier but the place was packed. We were greeted
immediately and asked if we had a reservation. Of course we didn’t but were still seated in about 15 minutes. We were beyond grateful.
The dining room is small and runs at a hectic pace with waiters running around but everyone seems to be having a great time. The menu is simple offering
several soups and appetizers like a hot antipasto, tortellini en brodo and caprese. The wine list is short with Merlot and Chianti as the two red choices by the
glass. I’m not sure if they sell by the bottle or not. We did notice that they sold a lot, and I do mean a lot of White Zin. We opted for the Chianti which was very
good and to my wife’s delight was a very heavy pour. The glasses are huge and filled to the top. At about $4.50 a glass it’s a bargain.
Before our appetizer arrived we were served warm rolls, olives and roasted peppers. With the rolls was a spread of garlic, Gorgonzola and ricotta that was just
unbelievable. When I talk this much about the bread you can just imagine what follows. We both shared a generous order of fried calamari. The calamari was
crisp without being greasy and the marina sauce had a fresh tomato taste. I ordered off of the specials menu and got the homemade lobster ravioli fra diavlo
and my wife went with classic, penne ala vodka. Continuing with the theme of the prior course both were phenomenal. The penne ala vodka could have served
four people that's how big it was. My wife had enough to take home that we both had it for lunch the next day. She insisted that I carry the take home bag just to
feel its weight. Luckily I didn't drop it. My lobster ravioli was so delicious I had to finish it all that night. The fra diavlo sauce had just the right amount of heat and
you could tell the ravioli was homemade. Although there were big chucks of lobster in the ravioli you kind of lost the taste due to the strong fra diavlo sauce. It
just overpowered it. This is not a criticism I’m just not sure if the lobster was needed. When you can remove lobster from a dish and it’s still fantastic, that tells
you something. Despite no decor and a small dining room you wouldn’t change a thing about this place. Its prefect the way it is. When the food is this good
nothing else matters, in fact adding anything would just take away from the experience.
Much like I imagine how Rao’s would be we noticed that many of the diners walked into the kitchen to personally thank the staff before heading out for the
night. My guess is that Stephano’s has regulars who will not be happy that I’m letting this secret out, if it’s a secret at all. Hopefully in time we too can become
regulars. I’m already looking forward to our next dinner at Stephano’s. It’s the real deal.
| Stephano's Ristorante 41 Middlebush Road Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 (845) 297-9300 |
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