Zagat, USA TODAY Road Warriors pick top Italian restaurants

 

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Travel website TripAdvisor rates Martinelli's No. 1 of 25 restaurants in Salina. In 2011, Zagat's national restaurant survey gave Garozzo's a very good to excellent rating and said it "supplies food so good you will taste it in your dreams."

Frequent flier Leslie Ashor, a laboratory consultant in San Diego, says the staff is friendly at her two favorite Italian eateries, Arrivederci Ristorante in San Diego and Society Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia.

"I have had business lunches and dinners at both," Ashor says. "They are great for the same reasons: terrific food with a lot of choices for all dietary requirements, warm atmosphere and good service."

At Arrivederci, she recommends the "wonderful" carpaccio and gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce and walnuts.

Ashor says her favorite food is Italian because of the variety of dishes and the "creative use" of fresh vegetables.

Frequent flier Marc Belsher of Newberg, Ore., says Italian food is best for a business meal, because "almost any taste — vegetarian, seafood, chicken, beef, pork or fowl — can be satisfied at one location."

His favorite Italian restaurant is D'Angelo's Ristorante Italiano in Philadelphia.

"I love the prime-cut veal chop, and D'Angelo's has an intimate and very private VIP area upstairs that can be reserved for business meals," Belsher says. "You never know what celebrities or personalities you will run into there."

Frequent business traveler Marion Kruse of Powell, Ohio, prefers "lighter" fare and is not a fan of Italian food. She usually will only go to an Italian restaurant at a client or a colleague's request.

Yet, Kruse raves about the "amazing" food and seasonal specials at La Fiamma Italian Restaurant in Harrison, N.J.

"It is "a family-run restaurant with a friendly staff, upscale ambiance, moderate prices and a chef who will make off-menu dishes when requested," Kruse says. "I have never had a bad meal at this place, and clients and colleagues will ask to eat here whenever we are in town."