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THIS AIN'T EUROPE
Awkward: There's something slightly discomfiting about
the new Dominick's Italian Cuisine (1430 Capital Ave., in
Watkinsville), the fourth incarnation of this small. Northeast
Georgia-based chain. The shopping center it's in, Market
Center, is a kind of New Urbanist development, all attractive,
squared-off brick facades, divided into several buildings rather
than existing in the monolithic form of a strip. But can you
really do New Urbanism if you have to drive a long way to get
there? The restaurant itself similarly strives for authenticity,
and although it doesn't quite achieve that goal, it's got some
plusses going for it.
The presence of two bottles—one wine, one water—on your
table when you sit down is obvious upsell, and places that
charge for a side salad with your entree always kind of bug
me. The prices aren't that iow at Dominick's, either, although
the half-orders are big enough to stuff you and let you take
another full meal home. On the other hand, the experience is
certainly an upgrade from Olive Garden, with black napkins
(no visible lint on your dark pants), soft lighting and Martha
Stewart-esque groupings of black-and-white photographs on
the walls. You will be subjected to the standard soundtrack of
tunes played in most Italian restaurants.
The food is mostly the normal red-sauce stuff, with a few
nice highlights. The arancini de riso, fried breaded rice balls
stuffed with cheese, are a good option and the kind of thing
you can't get elsewhere in Athens; $8.95 will get you four
sizable ones, enough for two people. The baked ziti, topped
with bolognese, is similarly well-executed comfort food, a big
plate of cheesy, meaty starch, which is what most people tend
to be looking for from Italian food. The chicken parmigiana
is better as an entree than a sandwich, where it sits drily on
a boring roll, but it is
...a big plate of cheesy, unremarkable in both
9 r ' cases. The nsotto bianco,
meaty Starch... with Tiger shrimp, scal
lions, grape tomatoes and
a white wine sauce, alternates between bites that are pretty
good (oniony, buttery) and bites that taste like overcooked
rice. And, really, you can't get good risotto in any restaurant. I
continue to order it out of curiosity, but the dish suffers when
made ahead and when made in large quantities. What you tend
to end up with is a bowl or plate of soupy rice rather than the
delicate, creamy, al dente texture you can achieve at home.
The service at Dominick's is enthusiastic, although some
of the servers need to work on their pronunciation ("PEN-ay,"
not *pen-AY"), and the clientele runs to business lunches and
folks out for a semi-special occasion. The restaurant is open
for lunch and dinner every day, serves beer and wine, has free
wi-fi, accommodates private parties and takes credit cards.
Follow-Up: After some debate in the Comments on Flagpole's
website, I was convinced to make a return visit to Pauley's
Original Crepe Bar (134 E. Clayton St.), which has recently
expanded into the space next door, doubled its size and added
plenty of seating that's not at the bar. Pauley's does much of
its business in the evenings, as a bar that promotes its large
number of beers (150+) and its $3 house martinis on ladies'
night, and the tall tables set with backed barstools don't
detract from that impression. The food remains a slightly
more interesting option than grabbing a sandwich downtown,
although it's not exactly Parisian. I believe in crosscultural
culinary fusion to some extent, and it's not that I think sau
sage pizza crepes shouldn't exist, but like most of the food at
Pauley's, they're less gourmet than the late-night inspiration of
a college student who happens to have a crepe maker. The staff
is friendly but focused, and the food arrives extremely quickly.
The crepes themselves are lighter and thinner than when
Pauley's opened, and the space remains attractive, with its
beautiful vintage tile floors, but there is no confusing down
town Athens and Montmartre. In theory, I'm happy to eat a
chicken cordon bleu crepe rather than a slice 6f pizza, but,
as one online source said of crepes in Paris, "Anything over 5
euros [about $7] should be mind-blowing or lit on fire to be
worth the price." Pauley's is open for '.unch and dinner every
day and serves food until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
It offers an array of dessert crepes as well as savory ones, has
a full bar and takes credit cards.
Hillary Brown tood@flagpoie.com
Restaurant
"The Food is Our Reputation"
LUNCH
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Available 6 bags a Week
at Peking Eastside Location Only
DINE IN • TAKEOUT • DELIVERY
706-549-0274
Major Credit Cards & Checks Accepted
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ALCOHOL RESEARCH STUDY
□ We are recruiting participants for an alcohol research study.
□ Participation will include three in-person assessments including
questionnaires, interviews, and two Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI) brain scans.
□ You will be compensated $ 180 for 12 hours of participation.
□ Call (706) 542-6881 for more information.
This study is being conducted by the Department of Psychology
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