Last night was our second visit to Da Marcella. This is a simple place serving high-quality Italian food at very reasonable prices.

We’ve now tried a number of dishes and were very happy with all. These include fried calamari (very tender and lightly battered), fresh mozzarella with roasted peppers, an asparagus salad special, gnocchi with shrimp and tomato (very light, perfect gnocchi), skirt steak with brandy cream sauce, calf’s liver with sage, and a whole roasted branzino. Each main course comes with oven-roasted potatoes and a fresh vegetable. The only dessert we tried is the ricotta cheesecake, and it was very good.

It’s a great find and a better value than so many of the Italian restaurants in the area.

http://www.damarcellavillage.com/Home.html

At $40 for 4 courses, this is a steal. Recette is one of our favorite restaurants, and our dinner last night was nothing short of spectacular. Included are a snack, two plates, and dessert. The entire menu is available, with the only supplement being $15 for the two most expensive plates, the duck and the lamb.

We started with the hamachi crudo and Buffalo sweetbreads, then continued with skate, quail, pork belly with shrimp, and langoustines. For dessert, we had an assortment of three ice creams and a chocolate banana gateaux.

To take advantage of this deal, you have to arrive by 7 PM, and it’s only available until Labor Day. This would cost $146 for the two of us at regular price, but it was only $80. We will definitely be back before it’s over.

Monument Lane has been around for a few years, and we live only a block away, but it was one of those places we just never got around to trying. A Blackboard Eats deal for 30% off was what finally got us to give it a shot, and I’m very glad we did. Nice atmosphere, warm and attentive service, and very tasty and interesting food made it a happy experience.

I started with the pork salad, with fried pig’s ears that were crisp and delicious. Stanley began with sauteed squid. I had the tilefish with a tomato sauce and sunchoke, fava beans and olives. Stanley had another appetizer, rabbit with gnocchi and goat cheese, with a side of pole beans. I had a Saranac brown ale and he had Mother’s Milk stout.

We did not have room for dessert, but the dessert menu looked tempting.

This is definitely a place we will return to.