Vol. 4, No. 8, August 2008
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Aroma Therapy
Garden café offers a taste of the Mediterranean
There are no hints of what you will see inside the restaurant from the exterior. Aroma Italiano is located in an unassuming office building on Rainbow Boulevard south of Russell Road. Inside is a whole new world.
There are two dining areas, a main floor and a garden space. The main dining area is comfortable and somewhat dark, but not so much so that you’ll need a flashlight to read the menu or see what you’re eating. It’s a very good balance between comfort and convenience.
The Small Talk Garden is a world unto itself. This dining area is set up like a patio and looks like it is being overrun with vegetation. Between the plants and the skylights, the patio’s atmosphere is similar to a sidewalk café, with the advantage of being climate-controlled. Heat in the winter months and air conditioning in the summer months means you can eat on the patio any time and not have to worry about the weather.
Not only can you eat on the patio whenever the mood strikes, but thanks to an expansive menu, you can bring even the most picky of eaters along with you.
Aroma Italiano offers everything from light fare like salads, soups and omelets to heavier meals like sandwiches, pizzas, pasta and chicken and beef entrees.
On the lighter side of the menu are items like a traditional Caprese salad with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar; a salmon salad with an eight-ounce salmon filet on a bed of romaine lettuce, garbanzo beans, carrots and radish tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette; and a delectable tuna salad with fresh, homemade tuna salad served with a caper dressing along with mixed greens, red onions, fresh corn, cherry tomatoes and avocado.
Sandwiches are all served on house bread (delicious, by the way) and have a range of traditional options like roast beef, Italian, pastrami and turkey breast. There is also a portabella mushroom sandwich with bell peppers, zucchini, goat cheese and olive spread; and a grilled veggie sandwich with grilled zucchini, eggplant, bell pepper, feta and pesto sauce for the grazers in your group.
The pizzas and pastas are more traditional fare for an Italian restaurant, but there is nothing run-of-the-mill coming out of the kitchen at Aroma Italiano. Pizzas come with a choice of three toppings—grilled chicken, pepperoni, olives, artichoke hearts, wild mushrooms, feta, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh sliced tomatoes—and are large enough to feed two for lunch (unless your dining guest has a voracious appetite). If you start out with one of the delicious appetizers like the calamari or the shrimp scampi (or the mozzarella sticks, artichoke or eggplant parmesan, for that matter), it is definitely enough for two, even at dinner.
Stand-outs among the pasta dishes include the meat lasagna and the cannelloni. There are also other traditional pastas that can be paired with sauces, including marinara, marinara with cream, pesto, alfredo and wild mushrooms and cream.
For entrees, the menu contains some expected items like veal parmigiana, veal marsala and several steaks. Salmon and Chilean sea bass are also available, as are items like the chicken breast served with green and red peppers, red onions and a homemade barbecue sauce.
Everything coming out of the kitchen is excellent, and it is obvious that the main focus at Aroma Italiano is putting the best food possible in front of customers. With a mix of lighter fare and heavier dishes, it works as a perfect place to grab a quick lunch or enjoy a full dinner—and the patio is great for a meal on a lazy weekend afternoon.
No matter who you are with, what you want to eat or when you want to go, Aroma Italiano has something on the menu to keep everyone satisfied.
Aroma Italiano
5875 S. Rainbow Blvd.
702-221-4893
Hours
11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
