Tinello Cucina Italiana

• Cuisine(s): Italian
  Hours: Sun-Mon 11am-11pm
  Price: $$$
• Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards
  Attire: Casual
  Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout, Delivery, Private Party
• Serving: Dinner, Lunch
  Reservations: Accepted
  Parking: Meters

Description

Warm wedges of rustic rosemary bread started us off in promising fashion, as did a starter of eggplant croquettes, the four balls looking like chocolate truffles rolled in dark bread crumbs, with mozzarella cheese centers oozing out like melted white chocolate. Arancini, golden-fried globes of creamy rice perked with parmesan cheese and sweet green peas, and panzarotti, a crusty pale pastry encasing soft white cheese, were also quite tasty. Unfortunately the remainder of the menu is just conveyor-belt budget Italian fare. Entrées include potato-crusted salmon with white wine sauce, a generous slab of grilled skirt steak, and pastas running the gamut from luscious ravioli swelled with homemade white cheese to lasagna buried under a too-heavy beef-and-pork sauce. Service and prices are both friendly, the ambiance clean if a bit stark, the dining experience best defined as fresh, uninspiring, budget Italian.