Pamela Holmes
| pholmes@uticaod.com
This week’s review is about Georgio’s Village Cafe at 62 Genesee St. in New Hartford. Community/ Scene Editor Pam Holmes and her son James ate there recently and had this to say:
About the restaurant: Georgio’s Village Café, 62 Genesee St., has been a staple in the village of New Hartford for almost 20 years. Georgio’s serves Italian specialties, seafood, salads, greens, riggies, steak and more.
They serve lunch from 11:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Along with the restaurant, there is a bar around the corner, which is a nice touch because you will most likely have to wait for a table since they don’t take reservations.
The restaurant is cozy and the tables are close to each other. It was busy when we were there and it got loud, which can sometimes make it difficult to have a conversation. So if you’re looking for a quiet place to enjoy dinner, this is not the place for you.
What we ordered: Hats and broccoli, $11.95; Chicken riggies, $13.95; Chocolate amaretto cheesecake and salted caramel cheesecake, $4.95 each. Both of our meals were served with salad and bread.
NOTE: Since we arrived later than we had hoped, we had to order off the dinner menu, and these prices reflect that. Everything we ordered is also available for lunch, however.
James’ review: There was no doubt in James’ mind that he was going to order his favorite, hats and broccoli. He said the pasta and broccoli were both cooked perfectly with the broccoli being tender and tasty. The sauce was delicious. For dessert, James chose the salted caramel cheesecake. He said it was good and it had a nice combination of cheesecake flavor and caramel, with an extra layer of caramel in the middle. But after tasting my cheesecake, and never having had amaretto before, he realized he had made the wrong choice. The one complaint James had was about the service. His Sprite tasted like soda water. Once he let the waiter know, it took at least 10 minutes to get another one.
Pam’s review: I ordered the chicken riggies. It was a plate full of tender bite-sized chicken breast served with rigatoni, Romano cheese, sweet and hot peppers, and onions in a hot-and-spicy pink white wine sauce. They were spicy but not too spicy. Absolutely delicious! There was definitely no skimping on the chicken. I order chicken riggies from quite a few local restaurants and Georgio’s is at the top of the list. For my dessert, I chose the chocolate amaretto cheesecake. What’s not to love about that? It had a delicious chocolate top and bottom, with chocolate swirled in the cheesecake, with the perfect amount of amaretto. It was worth every calorie!
Favorite part: Our dinners. Georgio’s food never disappoints. It is tasty, well-prepared and reasonably priced.
What could be improved: It would be nice if they took reservations. If you don’t want to wait, I suggest eating at an off-hour, or getting takeout.
Dining and Cooking