Tony & Nick's - Ellenville, NY

Special occasion restaurant shopping.  It's a thing.  We sometimes have reasons to celebrate and are looking for a restaurant that offers a private room or can accommodate large parties (20 or more seems to be considered a large party).  We also want it to look nice, serve good food, have a nice atmosphere and full bar.  At times, the location is also important.  Our quest brought us to Tony & Nick's Italian Kitchen in Ellenville.

On the table when we arrived was a bottle of spring water available for purchase.  We opted out.

However, I did ask about the available Italian soda choices and went with the one pictured below:

Classic Movie Poster Wall Decor

Not long after we placed our order we were brought toasty hot ciabatta bread with creamy butter that was ready to spread.

We selected one appetizer to share.  Who can resist a plate of cured meats?  Pictured left to right are salami, Porchetta pork and prosciutto.

For our younger son, the "Whole Hog" panini which was served with delicious, golden truffle fries.

For the Mr. - Chicken Marsala of course.  Unfortunately, he was disappointed about two aspects of this dish.  He prefers his chicken and pasta served separately - marinara sauce on the pasta and secondly, the Marsala sauce had a few flaws for his taste; it was a very strong alcohol taste, he had to ask for extra sauce (which he was brought fairly quickly) and he does not enjoy this much onion.

For me, the shrimp scampi.  I was pleased with the sauce flavors, amount of shrimp, overall serving size and honestly, I ate every bite.

Since we were on a tasting mission, I wanted to try dessert.

Not sure what the Spumoni Bomba was, I asked our server and it was well explained as chocolate, pistachio and strawberry ice creams encased in chocolate.  Accurate description and I very much enjoyed half of this decadent treat.

The service was quite attentive, the background music was appropriate and included classic Italian-ish songs many would recognize from pop culture movies.  A private five-course meal with wine pairing event was held in the private room, but since I had stated almost upon arrival our intent to scout restaurant sites for a future event, we were able to have a sneak peek before the group of 60 guests began to arrive.

Our conversation ranged from topics including the current restaurant, the black and white photo of Sophia Loren in the restroom as well as one of Rocky Marciano as well as what we think would be a good, solid commuter car for the Mr.  

Two out of three forks up for Tony & Nick's.  It is still under consideration and further members of the jury will have to try it as well.  We left feeling Fed Well and if you want to know a secret, I'm looking forward to doing further research.