Blacksburg VA: Avellino's

My Virginia Tech friends introduced me to a very nice Italian restaurant in Blackburg to kick off my visit and our discussions. Avellino's has that classic Italian-American vibe that reminded me of so many nice dinners in New Jersey. The service was very gracious in a relaxed way. The sound system played a steady stream of crooners (although a little light on the Sinatra).

The meal started, of course, with bread.

We ordered some fried calamari which was excellent: crispy on the outside, just the right balance of tenderness and chewiness.

My salad was very fresh.

As my main course, I ordered veal saltimbocca. I enjoy the salty tang of the ham against the tenderness of the veal. The pasta was al dente.

Lynn ordered seafood in cream sauce, which he reported was excellent.

Patrick and Paul both ordered the fish, which they also declared to be excellent.

We couldn't resist dessert. Paul and Lynn shared the cheesecake and limoncello cake. I didn't hear any complaints from their side of the table.

I really enjoyed my tiramisu, paired with an espresso. The tiramisu was very dense with a thick layer of marscapone between very tender cake. This was one of the better examples of tiramisu that I've had.

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