Tre Scalini (Joan Reminick Newsday Review)

Tre Scalini
672 Walt Whitman Road
Melville, N.Y. 11747
Phone (631) 673-1766
....Fax (631) 673-1767
BUSINESS HOURS
Monday-Thursday
12:00pm-10:00pm
Friday & Saturday
12:00pm-11:00pm
Sunday
2:00pm-10:00pm
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The Original

R E S T A U R A N T E S T. 1996

He Loves Tre Scalini
In case you're wondering what's new on the Melville restaurant front, there's Tre Scalini, a moderately priced Italian spot that just made its debut in the digs of the former Luigi's, where Chefs II was for many years.
Back in the late '90s, Tre Scalini's chef-restaurateur Tony Dushaj owned a Huntington (Dix Hills) restaurant called - guess what? - Tre Scalini. Years earlier, Dushaj worked at a Manhattan restaurant of the same name and, before that, spent time in Rome. In the Eternal City, Dushaj became enamored of the Tre Scalini restaurant near the famed Trevi Fountain.
There are no fountains along traffic-clogged Route 110, and Dushaj's modest-looking new eatery doesn't quite evoke the Piazza Navona. Still, the roster of Italian standards is straightforward and priced right. On a recent visit, I found the rigatoni amatriciana properly al dente, the pasta bathed in a smoky sauce of bacon, onion, fresh tomatoes and basil.
Tre Scalini is at 672 Walt Whitman Rd. in Melville, 631-673-1766.
- Joan Reminick
New York Newsday - 1/2/09
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Tony Dushaj's devotion to the name Tre Scalini verges on the obsessive. Decades ago, in Rome, he fell in love with the famed original on the Piazza Navona. Later, in Manhattan, he worked at a restaurant with that appellation and, in the late '90s, opened his own Tre Scalini in Huntington. He sold it in 2000 (it later became Piccolo Mondo).
Now, after a hiatus of several years, Dushaj is back as chef and co-owner of this modest-looking spot in Melville (formerly Luigi's and, before that, Chef's II). Its modus operandi seems ideal for the times: straightforward Italian food, large portions, low prices.
BUONGIORNO
Caesar salad is simple and fine; the dressing has just the right Parmesan bite and lightly coats every piece of romaine. A hot antipasto combination special includes a luxurious eggplant rollatini made with spinach; baked clams oreganata have an ideal crumb topping-to-clam ratio, while stuffed mushrooms aren't at all stuffy.
Dushaj respects pasta by cooking it al dente. I'm won over by his rigatoni Amatriciana, ridged tubes bathed in a smoky bacon-onion-tomato sauce. All too often, pasta dishes involving salmon are overly rich and salty, but the farfalle Tre Scalini (bow ties with pieces of cooked salmon and green peas in a tomato cream sauce) is a harmonious success. Linguini with white clam sauce features fresh clams in and out of the shells, briny-sweet and garlicky.
Dushaj also succeeds with a lush, citrusy shrimp Francese. Filet of sole Fiorentino stars fresh fish in a lovely lemon-and-white-wine sauce. Lemon, garlic and roasted peppers also spark up that suburban classic, chicken scarpariello.
Dinner concludes on a comforting note with Dushaj's boozy, creamy tiramisu and his moist home-style Italian cheesecake. What's more, the espresso is excellent.
ARRIVEDERCI
There should be a law against raspberry vinaigrette, lollipop-sweet and tossed into a timeworn cliche of mesclun, pears, pecans and goat cheese. I also expect better meatballs than the dense spheres that top a bowl of well-sauced spaghetti.
In case you're wondering about the tartufo, the forte of the Rome original, it's the same commercial stuff you'll find virtually everywhere.
Bottom line
While the restaurant may not be a century-old tourist attraction, like its namesake in Rome, this Tre Scalini has all the makings of a Long Island keeper.