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Adolfo's Offers Tempting Taste of Old Country
 | | Stephen Cherry | | Michele Murphy and Thomas Petorak, of Avenel, N.J., look over the menu at Adolfo's Restaurant near the Inlet. |
Adolfo's Restaurant evokes memories of a friend's Italian grandmother's house. Tantalizing aromas of olive oil, garlic and slowly simmering marinara sauces waft from the kitchen. The cozy dining room has the feel of the old country, with its kitschy knickknacks, paintings of Italy, lace-covered tables topped with flowered oil cloth and empty wine bottles on shelves swirled with faux grapevines.
And when the staff greets you like an old friend instead of a first-time customer, you feel like you've been hugged by mama. It's comfort, Italian style – just a short stroll from the southern end of Ocean City's bustling Boardwalk.
Adolfo's Restaurant
806 S. Baltimore Ave. near Inlet
(410) 289-4001
Cuisine:Italian
Open: 5 p.m. daily
Appetizers: $2.50-$9.50
Entrees: $6.95-$23.95
Reservations: recommended
Credit Cards: D, MC, V |
Kimberly Griffin and her husband, David, took over the 20-year-old restaurant in 2001. Kim, who had been managing Adolfo’s for 10 years, and her husband, who has been in the restaurant business for more than 26 years, use only the freshest ingredients to create classic Italian dishes, including daily chef’s specials. Sauces, soups and salad dressings – you can take home a bottle or two – are homemade.
The candle-lit dining room provides an intimate setting. For even more privacy, reserve one of four tables in an elevated corner alcove enclosed by white lattice. While waiting for your table, you can enjoy a drink at the dining room's full-service bar. On warm summer evenings, dinner is also served on a sidewalk patio.
From our table in the alcove, my companion and I had a secluded view of the rest of the dining room where Chef David and his wife took turns strolling from table to table chatting with customers like they were family.
With Sinatra crooning in the background, we started our dinner with crusty slices of Italian bread we dipped in olive oil sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. For an added touch, the bread was served with slices of pepperoni.
We started with one of Adolfo’s signature dishes: lump crab meat, shrimp and fresh avocado slices served around a small bowl of chopped, marinated fresh tomatoes and topped with dollops of thick homemade sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. The tangy, tomato-based dressing perfectly complemented the sweet morsels of crab meat and the ripe slices of avocado -- a bright beginning to dinner.
Other pre-dinner offerings include mushroom caps stuffed with crab imperial and baked in a velvety lobster cream sauce; fresh calamari, hand-breaded and fried lightly golden in extra virgin olive oil; bruschetta, lightly toasted Italian bread topped with fresh chopped tomatoes, red onion, garlic, olive oil and herbs; and fresh mussels sauteed in the shell with a slightly spicier version of the restaurant's marinara sauce.
 | | Stephen Cherry | | Adolfo's appetizers include sliced avacado with lump crabmeat and jumbo shrimp with sun-dried tomato vinergrette dressing. |
The salad included with each entree features a bed of mixed greens topped with red onion rings, grape tomatoes, olives and chili peppers. Both of us ordered the house dressing, a homemade Italian vinaigrette that's a perfect blend of olive oil, champagne vinegar, herbs, spices and Parmesan cheese. The dressing can easily compete with those served in the best Little Italy restaurants in Baltimore.
Entrees range from hearty Italian pasta dishes and chicken creations served with pasta and marinara sauce to tender veal and seafood dishes. Making up our minds wasn't easy, but our friendly server, Gina, was eager to help and full of suggestions. Being so close to the water, we both finally opted for "frutti di mare": shrimp and scallop tarragon for me and scampi victoria for my companion.
As soon as my heaping serving of the local favorite dish arrived, I knew it was more than I could eat in one meal. After a few bites, I was already looking forward to taking home leftovers for lunch the next day. Tender scallops and plump shrimp were sauteed and then added to a thick and flavorful marinara sauce, touched with sherry and tarragon. The seafood and sauce combination was served on a bed of linguine perfectly cooked al dente. The homemade marinara sauce was an excellent version of the tomato-based red sauce -- a hint of sweetness balanced the acidity.
The flavorful marinara sauce was also the centerpiece of Scampi Victoria. This time though, wine was added to the sauce, then mixed with large sauteed succulent shrimp and served over a bed of fettuccine. Half of that hearty portion also was boxed for next day's lunch.
We accompanied our meal with a bottle of wine from an extensive wine list that included about 50 red and white wines, domestic and imported. Kimberly Griffin is in charge of the wine buying and constantly strives to expand the wine offerings.
Other items on the menu include traditional pasta dishes such as spaghetti and meatballs, fettuccine Alfredo, Eggplant parmigiana, and hearty lasagna. Veal entrees range from Veal Michelangelo - veal rolls filled with Italian spinach, thinly sliced prosciuto, provolone and Romano cheese, served in a delicate wine and cream sauce - to Veal Miccino, a lightly breaded veal cutlet crowned with sauteed jumbo shrimp and provolone cheese, baked, then topped with a butter, garlic, lemon and white wine sauce. You can also order chicken Florentine, chicken parmigiana, chicken cacciatore and chicken Alfredo. And there are plenty more seafood dishes.
Chef's specials rotate daily, but always include a fresh fish item. On our visit the fish was a grilled Wahoo bathed in a lemon, ginger and caper sauce.
We somehow found room to share a dessert -- the huge piece of raspberry explosion looked like the "lightest" offering on the dessert tray that also featured Bailey's chocolate-chip cheese cake, chocolate decadence, cannoli, spumoni ice cream and a double cappuccino chocolate chip cheese cake. Our piece of sponge cake was filled with raspberry mousse and covered with a whipped cream icing --- along with an espresso, a perfect finale to a memorable meal.
The best ending, though, was the friendly round of goodbyes from the top-notch staff.
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Comments from users:
| Peggy N Ray Jones | Elkins, WV | | peggynray2 AT yahoo DOT com | |
We visit Ocean City and Adolpho's four times a year. The staff is great; Kimberly Griffen greets you like her next-door neighbor, and we always request Kathy as our server; she's the BEST!! Hey, Kathy, see you in January 2006! |
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