Food Fight at AV

Once again, the Food Fight! Meetup and I went out. This time, the restaurant was more upscale AV in Moosic. Be forewarned, you would never know that this wonderful place is there. It sits right next to, and shares a parking lot with a Roadway Inn. Not to say that Roadway Inn isn't a fine motel, but not where you would expect an establishment of this caliber. The place is run by a brother/sister team Francis and Michaelyn Ghilardi. Michaelyn is the head chef, while Francis is the sommelier. The interior is softer and darker tones, with a good, distinctly not elevator jazz in the background. Even for a Wednesday night, the place was packed, always a good sign.

The menu is a single page, displaying about three kinds of brushcetta, a few soups, about four salads, and seven or so entrees. There are also a few specials not on the menu. Prices range from $11-35 for entrees. The restaurant describes itself as "eclectic American with French and Italian influences." This really comes through on the menu with many dishes coming with pasta, and a couple risottos, and panna cotta, along with more French-based cuisine like soufflé, creme brulee, and (perhaps just for the sake of sounding French) haricot verts and frites.

As I love to do, most of us got different dishes and generously allowed sampling from friends. Three of us started with salads. One was a classic Cesar made with crisp romaine, another was a spinach salad that had cranberries, blue cheese, honey cashews, purple onion, and pomegranate seeds. It was refreshing, light, and a great way to start the meal. The final salad was a base of arugula, topped with olive oil vinaigrette, large slices a salty parmesan cheese, and chive to finish.

For our entrees, I had the skate, which came with a decadent, whipped sweet potato, blanched, oiled and salted haricot verts, arugula, and caramelized onions. The fish itself was perfectly cooked. It pulled apart without flaking, and was soft and delicate. There were thin slices of pears, and a little bite of fish went well with everything on the plate.

The fettuccini with meat balls was clearly handmade. The pasta was the definition of al-dente, still having a slight toothsomeness to it. The two meatballs were dense and flavorful with tastes of both regular beef and veal.

Risotto in Italy is savory. It relies on the earthy tones and the "umame" of the mushrooms to flavor the rice. The cheese plays second fiddle and is used more as a textural agent. AV pulls it off perfectly, generously adding wild mushrooms, red and yellow peppers, making for a beautiful and delicious dish.

Admittingly, our entrees took a little while to arrive. The restaurant, as I said, was packed and the company was great, so the wait didn’t feel nearly as long. However, Michaelyn took time out of her busy night to come and check on us, which is always appreciated. When we were expecting our bill, what arrived was all five of their dessert offerings, on the house.

Cinnamon ice cream, thick and creamy, pairing well with everything else on the table. The chocolate cake was rich and full of deep, dark, chocolate flavors without being bitter or overly heavy. It came with a piece of hazelnut brittle that was reminiscent of hard caramel and peanut butter put together. A pear panna cotta was light and dreamy and came with a beet-red poached pear and some pear sorbet. There was cheesecake with a raspberry coulis, which, oddly enough, did not have a crust. A crackable topped crème brulee finished the parade of desserts.

AV, whose website is as hidden as its real location, is a wonderful place. Perfect for a date night, sampling event, and definitely something any local should try.