Angelo’s Steak & Pasta: What Was I Waiting For?
http://angelosteakandpasta.com/_wp_generated/wp01358924_0f.jpgIt’s 7 p.m., my folks are in from Long Island and we’re all absolutely starved. We’re also not patient enough to endure the 45-minute wait at The Olive Garden.
”Hang a right out of the parking lot,” I tell Dad, “and just follow us. Angelo’s is just a few miles down the road.”
For the life of me, I don’t know why it took us three years to finally check out Angelo’s Steak & Pasta. Maybe I’ve just been lazy, and know there are plenty enough Italian dining options in the Carolina Forest area. Why schlep all the way down to South Ocean Boulevard?
Maybe it’s the notion of an “all-you-can-eat Italian buffet.” Sends visions of sneeze guards and cafeteria-style décor racing through my head. No thanks.
Or maybe it’s the incongruous notion of a “steak & pasta” joint. To me, steakhouses are for steaks; Italian bistros are for pasta. The two don’t naturally mix. Reminds me more of Ron White’s description of the “Flagstaff Airport/Hair Care/Tire Center.”
Three years and one impromptu visit later, each preconceived notion was blown completely to smithereens.
The décor is traditional Old World. Plenty of Sinatra and Rat Pack favorites humming through the sound system. And the Italian buffet is served to you from behind a wood-paneled counter. But while the buffet selections aren’t numerous, they’re everything I could ever have asked for.
Spaghetti with a sampling of meatballs and sausage that rivals my favorite at Amici’s Brick Oven Pizza. Chicken cacciatore that falls right off the bone. Stuffed shells and beef and cheese ravioli that complement their sweet sauce exceptionally well. And a lasagna that’s the best I’ve had on the Strand.
None of us was able to sample the steaks, but we figured we’ll take the advice of countless others who’ve told us to try the buffet on the first visit, and return a second time to sample “some of the best steaks in the area.” If our first visit was any indication, I can pretty much guarantee it won’t take us another three years to come back.
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