Enzo's Restaurant & Lounge

My love of Enzo's Restaurant & Lounge goes way back -- never mind how many years -- but I was working in downtown Warren at the time I first discovered it. My business colleagues and I loved to go there for lunch when our workloads permitted us a real lunch hour. Once my job moved to Youngstown, my visits necessarily were far less frequent, but now that my husband Jack and I are at least somewhat retired, we've rediscovered the place and fallen in love all over again.

In addition to enjoying a wonderful, leisurely lunch or dinner, though, I must note that Enzo's was the site of an even more joyous occasion: Our daughter's wedding reception more than a dozen years ago. At that time, Enzo's had just opened a banquet room, and she was looking for a place to hold the big event. All the huge well-known banquet halls were booked up a year or more in advance, and besides, her reception, with something like 125 guests, didn't require such a big facility. The minute she learned about Enzo's, she paid them a visit -- and went on to become the first wedding reception to be held there. Needless to say, everything was perfect, not the least of which was the food. To this day, we remember the wonderful time we all had there, and every once in a while one of the guests from all those years ago mentions the great surroundings and food as well.

Our "official" visit was in early April for a late lunch, and once again, we left with full stomachs, smiles on our faces and a pledge to not wait so long to eat here next time around. The decor is quite lovely with a decided Italian flavor -- Enzo's is owned by the Cantalamessa family, after all -- and there's a definite upscale ambience that's felt the minute you enter the lobby. To the right is the banquet facility; to the left is a small bar where you can wait for a table (or just pop in for a glass of wine, mixed drink or a cold beer). Almost straight ahead is the restaurant, which has a couple of dozen booths and a dozen or so tables. We also noticed a small outdoor patio that will be nice in warmer weather -- we'll definitely give it a try this summer!

Given the surroundings, you might expect to find outrageous prices -- but not so. We spent just under $9 apiece for our entrees (not including a couple of beers); we've spent far more than that at many "family casual" restaurants like Applebee's and Ruby Tuesday, all amid the banter of overly friendly servers who seem bent on becoming our best friends, the clatter of dishes and intrusive music and chatter from a half-dozen TV sets pointed at us from every direction.

At Enzo's, there's none of that -- the servers here are very friendly, courteous and helpful (they even bring ice water as soon as you sit down with no need to beg for it). Although business people clearly eat here often and you'll see lots of suits, sport coats and even an occasional necktie, you won't feel out of place if you wander in, as we did, in jeans. We also learned from our server that the restaurant's "regulars" haven't slacked off a bit despite the economy -- which also tells me something about how good, and reasonably priced, the food is here.

Two things we almost always get here -- wedding soup and linguine with red clam sauce -- we've always said are as good as you'll find anywhere. The wedding soup (I'm the one who loves it) is filled with all the usual greens, shredded chicken and those teeny meatballs, all swimming in an absolutely delicious broth. As for the linguine, it's Jack who claims that as his all-time favorite (I don't like red sauce on seafood). He love it so much, though, that he orders it at just about every Italian restaurant we've ever been to. So when he says this is the best, I'm inclined to believe him.

For him, then, the choice of entree was a no-brainer, especially since the cost is a reasonable $8.95 on the lunch menu. He chose the daily special soup of vegetable beef, which he pronounced delicious as he ate that and a slice of fresh Italian bread from the basket our server delivered with our soup.

The choice of entree for me, however, was a bit more difficult. I've always loved Chicken Francaise, for instance, and it's wonderful here, sauteed with lemon, wine and butter and also $8.95. Then there's the Fettuccini Prima Vera -- homemade noodles tossed with fresh vegetables and Alfredo sauce at $8.95. Most lunch entrees, I should add, come with either a tossed salad or a cup of soup (sandwiches generally include fries or onion rings). If you're there for dinner, expect to add three or four bucks to the lunch cost, but the portions are substantially larger and non-pasta entrees include either tossed salad or soup and a choice of potatoes, pasta, rice or vegetables. We've never had dinner here without bringing home at least half to enjoy another day.

Needless to say, there are plenty of salads and sandwiches here as well; when was the last time you had a real pizzaburger -- a choice of hamburger, sausage or a meatball served between two slices of pizza? The lunch version costs $5.95, by the way, and it's a real treat.

For this lunch, I finally settled on a new-to-me entree: Angel Hair Giardiniera, or angel hair spaghetti tossed in olive oil with snow peas, sundried tomatoes, red, yellow and green bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and romano cheese ($8.95). It sounded absolutely marvelous, and I was absolutely right. Light but spilling over with flavor, especially in the sauce, it's surpassed the Fettuccini Prima Vera as my favorite pasta dish. Although I struggled to make room, it was so delicious that I finished the entire bowl.

I digress a bit, but I must stop to share a little tip. Those who know me know I love anything hot and spicy -- I'll know I'm old when I can no longer wolf down a bowl of hot peppers in oil without suffering for days afterward. But in all my years of enjoying the spices of life, never once did I ever consider adding hot pepper flakes to pasta cooked in a white sauce. That was until I found a special linguine with white clam sauce at another local Italian restaurant -- the "secret" ingredient is (you guessed it), red pepper flakes. They add just the right amount of zing without changing the flavor of the dish.

So trust me: Although Enzo's Angel Hair Giardiniera is as close to perfect as you can get all on its own, try adding a couple of shakes of those pepper flakes. Bellissimo!

If you go: Enzo's Restaurant & Lounge
2918 Elm Road N.E.
Warren, Ohio
(330) 372-331­4
http://www.enzosofwarren.com

Open Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon to 9 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday.