Tony C?s Boasts Bright Service

Tony C’s Italian Gardens Ristoranté
Arkansas Highway 12
Prairie Creek
2 1/2 stars

Summer Fridays were made for a road trip to the lake. We used one such excursion as an excuse to check in on Tony C’s Italian Gardens Ristoranté. The last time we visited Tony C’s, it was called Tony C’s Late Night Ristoranté and was located in Fayetteville.

A lot has changed in addition to its location since then. For one thing, most of the Razorbacks’ 1994 NCAA National Championship basketball team wasn’t sitting at the bar. There were also very few customers sharing our albeit late lunch, compared with the erstwhile eating horde of a decade ago.

The lighting was still fairly dim, as was the new clientele. But the service was a bright spot.

We didn’t come for the Italian fare, but for the fast food-fatted sandwiches that were as we had remembered: giant and juicy. The Atkins, South Beach and heart healthy diet crowds would want no part of our selections.

Our food critiquing pair started with the toasted ravioli appetizer ($6) and gave it a nod.

One rookie reviewer, but a veteran of Tony C’s, got down and dirty with a big bacon cheeseburger ($7), which comes with what is described as “fresh cooked bacon and cheddar cheese.” He added mustard and made noises through his bites that sounded as though he was sinking into a hot tub.

We guessed his obvious ecstasy came from enjoying the kind of grub he usually has to avoid to maintain such a girlish figure.

The other coronary artery assassin ate Tony C’s chicken parmigiana sandwich ($6), a fried chicken breast smothered in marinara and cheese between two big buns. It came with french fries, which he normally doesn’t eat, but they were as hot and greasy good fun as a Mississippi fish fry.

The chicken parmigiana was more Fazolli’s than “fahgetaboutit” but an interesting change of pace all the same.

Tony C’s offers an amusing atmosphere complete with red-checkered tablecloths and a wall of photos featuring Tony posed with what appear to be fake mobsters. There are some interesting sounding dishes on the menu, such as the veal and seafood picatta ($20), which consists of cutlets of veal topped with large shrimp in light lemon butter sauce and served over fettuccini.

But with the exception of an “A” for the bodacious burger, the overall grade is equivalent to Tony C’s initial: it’s average comfort food.