antonios
by Frank Quattrone
You don’t have to fly to Italy to find a great Italian meal. Save your euros and drive to Café Antonio instead. Last April the popular Morrisville dining haven won the 2018 Bucks Happening List award, voted in by customers, for “Best Italian Restaurant.” Not hard to see why.
First off, the exterior, with its colonnaded orange-tile entry roof, its graceful iron window railings, and its colorful signage suggesting the flag of Italy, resembles an Italian villa. Inside, the columns, arches, refreshing fountain, and earthy paintings and murals of Italian villages transport you to that warm, sun-dappled land. In the background you’ll hear strains of Italian folk music, complemented by the vocal stylings of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and other Italian musical icons.
But the décor is just one lure. At Café Antonio, great traditional Italian cuisine (with innovative specials) reigns. But it’s also the passion that infuses your experience. It starts with chef-owner Antonio Adragna, a proud native of Carini, Sicily, whose aim is “to create the same kind of small-town flavor I enjoyed back home. Simple food, high-quality ingredients. In Sicily, food is art. There’s passion behind it — from the homemade ice cream made fresh every day to fresh bread.”
Antonio recalls watching his aunts and uncles creating everything from pasta and sauces to seafood dishes “to perfection. In Sicily, you eat to enjoy and not just to satisfy your hunger.” So at the charming ristorante he opened in 1995, Antonio, his lovely wife Francesca, who serves as hostess on weekends, and his whole staff — from Houston-born Mexican sous chef Chris Uriostegui and genial general manager Maurice Duvoli, to the kitchen staff that can be heard singing as they massage great meals into life—live by the mantra “Treat your customers with warmth and genuine hospitality. Treat everyone like you’d treat your own children. Be patient. Be kind. Listen to them carefully. Please them. Make it easy for them to come back again and again.”
The renovations now quietly under way (expected to be completed by mid-autumn), for example, are an extension of customers’ requests for a bar. Now set with his new liquor license, Antonio is building a second entrance to the restaurant that will lead to a discrete modern horseshoe bar, with an approachable new wine list of wines starting in the $20 range. The dining room will still accommodate 150 guests.
Meanwhile, the kitchen hums along with fine seasonal offerings, as well as vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. And the menu—well, homemade is the key. Antonio and his staff bake their own bread fresh, two to three times every day. “It’s grilled at the back end,” says Antonio, “to add that final flavor touch.” Fresh mozzarella is also made in house, as are some of the pastas and most of the desserts.
“Bucks County diners, as well as our guests from New York to Philadelphia,” he says, “are really discerning. They know and appreciate good food, so we have to do well.”
Our dinner there was one for the ages. We shared a trio of mouth-watering appetizers. The savory Stuffed Mushrooms were filled with sausage, Gorgonzola, roasted peppers, and Italian seasoning over a rosé cream sauce. The toasted homemade Bruschetta Bread, topped with fresh tomato bruschetta, was also excellent. But the Calamari Fritti—I know I’ve said this before, but this time I truly mean it—was absolutely the most tender and flavorful I’ve ever eaten! My wife Eve agrees. And the complimentary focaccia was so good that we took some home with us to enjoy at our next meal.
Our entrées were also superb. I had the wonderfully balanced Four-Cheese Ravioli, complemented beautifully by naturally sweet tomatoes from a special farm in California, enhanced by an infusion of sweet Vidalia onions. Eve’s Veal Antonio was a hearty plate of highly prized Catelli veal medallions, sautéed with prosciutto and mozzarella in a sage, lemon, and butter (Chablis) white wine sauce. We’ll have to wait until our next visit to try the Lasagna, a recipe created by Antonio’s own mother featuring a béchamel meat sauce filling.
Our dessert, accompanied by a rich cup of coffee, was a delicious Limoncello Torte. Again, at a later date, we aim to try general manager Maurice Duvoli’s popular Crème Brulee and, even more tantalizing, Antonio’s legendary light “fantasy crepes.” Made only on weekends (please call ahead—they are in demand!), these sweet crepes might be filled with bananas, blueberries, strawberries, or peaches, topped with the chef’s homemade, sugar-free whipped cream.
If you’re lucky, perhaps Antonio himself will stop by your table to regale you with memories of his home country or show you a smartphone video of his crepe-making process, or tell you, as he did us, “how blessed I feel every day because of my good fortune—my beautiful wife and three lovely daughters, the way the community has supported us, and the joy I have in making great food every day.”
Café Antonio is located along the Delaware River at 107 E. Trenton Street, Morrisville, PA 19067; 215-428-3999; www.cafeantonio.com. Open for lunch and dinner Monday – Thursday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m., and Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Full-service bar. Available for banquets, catering on-and off-premises and takeout. Pizzeria menu also available.