Mystery Diner: Newcomer Aliano’s shines in Batavia
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| There are specific pizzas available for ordering at Aliano’s Ristorante in Batavia, or customers can pick their own ingredients. (Kane County Chronicle photo) |
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BATAVIA – As one of the newest restaurants to open in the Tri-Cities, Aliano’s Ristorante is trying to become a vibrant part of a downtown that has seen several other eateries close in recent years. If my experience Sunday at the establishment at Island Avenue and Houston Street is any indication, Aliano’s will be around for years to come.
Nestled near the Fox River in the River Square Shopping Center, Aliano’s prides itself on serving homemade Italian cuisine with fresh ingredients.
I have only heard positive things from others, including another member of our newsroom that visited on New Year’s Eve.
The decor inside was nice, with TVs in a bar area and good lighting and decorations inside the main dining room.
My companion and I visited during the lunch hour, so our menu featured a section of sandwiches not available during dinner.
Many of the appetizers sounded delicious but we opted to go straight for the meal itself. The attention of my dining companion was immediately drawn to the Portobello Mushroom and Roasted Red Pepper Panini. It’s served with grilled portobello mushrooms, sweet basil pesto, roasted red peppers and goat cheese. Before it came to our table, she made a point to mention how excited she was for the combination of the sweet basil pesto and goat cheese.
After going back and forth on what to order for myself, I ended up ordering a 10-inch New York style pizza, with pepperoni, tomatoes and green peppers. A lot of the pasta dishes looked particularly interesting, but the pizza ended up calling my name. And I’m glad it did.
The first piece of pizza is always the best and Aliano’s was no exception. It wasn’t overpowering with pepperoni like a lot of other pizzas of that nature I’ve tried. There was a fresh tomato – cooked, obviously – on each piece. The green peppers added a small crunch. With so much going on in each bite, I was only able to eat half and had to take the other half home, which ended up being my dinner. (If you take home the pizza, make sure to reheat it in the oven – it will taste a lot better and almost like it did when you first ordered it.)
My companion’s sandwich was well cooked, and she was thoroughly impressed with the pesto/goat cheese combination. The bread the sandwich was served on was tasty, she said, and she can’t wait to come back and taste some of the other panini options, including the Veggie Panini. She added that the mushrooms and peppers were both cooked well and not too hot.
Because of the large portions each of us received, we both took food home and had a second meal Sunday night. We were both very impressed with the food quality at Aliano’s and hope it succeeds. After we finished our meal, one of the owners came by our table to see how everything was. He mentioned that in the warmer months, he has plans to have a lot of outdoor seating and live music. Along with the tasty options on the menu, that sounds like a perfect summer afternoon to me.
• The Mystery Diner is a newsroom employee at the Kane County Chronicle. The diner’s identity is not revealed to the restaurant staff before or during the meal. The Mystery Diner visits a different restaurant each week and then reports on the experience. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a review.
