! KEITH O'CONNOR NATE BLAIS
Villa
Napoletana W
hy go Searching for Italy like Stanley Tucci on his popular CNN television show when you can find a bit of Napoli - or its better-known English equivalent Naples - right in East Longmeadow? Villa Napoletana has been serving up a taste of the finest southern Italian cuisine since 1998, where you will be greeted by their friendly, welcoming staff headed by Giuseppe "Joe" Manzi, the restaurant's chef manager. Born and raised in Italy, Manzi and his family moved to the United States in the 1980s. “I opened Villa Napoletana on St. Anthony’s Day, June 13, 1998, in homage to my parents, Anthony and Silvana Manzi, and to bring the tradition of real authentic Italian cuisine to the local area. Even now in her seventies, my mom regularly visits the restaurant and specially crafts recipes that are added onto our menu." While the menu features a wide range of choices that are both traditional and unique and is set up in a way that offers the flexibility to enjoy either a full-course meal or share drinks and appetizers at the bar. There is a wide selection of appetizers to choose from including a unique, warm Bruschetta which they call Panzanella. It's a Freselle bread with freshly diced tomatoes, basil, minced garlic, red onions, extra virgin olive oil and parmesan cheese. For those with a taste for seafood, the chef recommends their Clams Casino, formerly remembered as the "Frank Sinatra." The popular dish features freshly caught clams
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