970 Rivers Street
Boone (828) 264-7772
We first ate lunch at the Cafe Portofino one fine summer day, and we have visited it often since then.
Tom: I shared poppers with pesto and marinara. These were drizzled with a little oil and were excellent. Don’t fail to order these for some silly fear of getting too full! For my main course I had the Portofino, an Italian sandwich with sauteed Portabella mushrooms, red bell peppers and red onions, shredded mozzarella cheese and pesto, coupled with warm marinara sauce. It is served on foccacia bread.
It was excellent, overflowing with these ingredients and perfectly done. Just enough oil to remind you that you are eating Italian, but not too much. The marinara was served on the side, allowing me to try it dipped and undipped.
I had this with a house salad, made with romaine lettuce, finely sliced red onion, ripe tomatoes (they actually were!), with parmesan cheese. It was served with “Burt’s signature dressing”–a nice vinaigrette.
I forced down a slice of fresh strawberry cheescake (made with fresh strawberries). It was great and I could only eat it with the help of you and our guest. The meal itself was just enough to fill me.
Ray: I had Burt’s Legendary Spaghetti (garlic cloves, caramelized onions, Italian sausage, and roma tomatoes, all in a marinara sauce over spaghetti noodles, $8.95). This was great spaghetti, some of the best in town. Tasty, spicy sauce over a bed of aldente noodles, with garlic bread sticks on the side. Mmmmm, good! I washed this fine meal down with a Hobgoblin ale ($3.50), which was also quite good.
Tom: I about choked at the sight of the placard stating that a “selection of low carbohydrate entrees” is available. Aaarrgghhh! I do not go out to eat concerned with the latest in a continuing series of fad diets! (See the Rants page!)
Ray: The atmosphere here is a mix of many styles. One table is made from a big slab of rock, while the bar is patterned after a beach bar. There is a back room with a few games, darts, and nice pool tables, and an upstairs area that would be good for small groups. The walls are covered with eclectic posters and pictures, with one wall devoted to someone’s cycling memorabilia. The walls are rough board, the tables are nice, and the chairs are comfy. All in all, quite a relaxing place to have a good meal.
Tom: The tea was just strong enough for me and almost sweet enough.
Ray: The food here was served on better-than-average tableware, which suited Portofino’s slightly more upscale atmosphere.
Tom: But I didn’t like the cheesy CocaCola branded plastic glasses. This place is good enough to have its own regular glassware. The only question I have is about their byline: “An International Garlic House.” What is that all about?
Ray: I don’t know, but Portofino’s serves great food at reasonable prices in a nice, relaxed atmosphere with quick, efficient service. All the dishes we had were replete with garlic, and there were even garlic shakers on each table, a nice touch indeed. Also, the service at Cafe Portofino was fast, cheerful, and good.
Tom: I will no doubt return–it is a fine place to eat. Jimmy–what is your take on this place?
Jimmy: I had the Garlic Cheesburger: a hamburger infused with garlic. It includes a good portion of fries that are crispy, hot, and with an excellent seasoning. To drink I had a Killian’s Red that comes in a Ball Jar mug. The burger was hot and even though it wasn’t still bleeding, it tasted great. I’m sorta of biased when it comes to Portofino because I frequent this place quite a bit. However, most of the times I’m here I’m usually in the bar area. In the back room there are a couple of pool tables and some dart boards (Portofino also has a dart team that plays against other teams that are backed by other bars and restaurants in the area). The back area also has an X-Files Pinball machine and an Area 51 arcade game. The restaurant stops serving food at 9 (or 10?) but there is a late night menu that includes most of the appetizers offered during the day and also serves “fold-over sandwiches”. It’s a great place to come with friends to relax after a long day listening to professors babble on about the effects of the Industrial Revolution on Indo-China.
Ray: I would recommend Cafe Portofino to anyone looking for a hearty meal in comfortable, relaxed surroundings. I’ll certainly be returning here soon myself. If you are a garlic lover, you definitely shouldn’t miss dining here.
GPS Coordinates
Lat: 36° 13.077′
Lon: 81° 41.142′
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