Food: Some Also-Rans

One of the traditions in our family is "scouting" - to try out new restaurants in the hopes of finding something worthwhile. Typically my Mom is shielded from such duties; it's up to Dad and me to ferret out the good places to eat in town. Here in Gainesville, I've tried to find a really good Italian restaurant, to no avail. But I thought a record of my travels might be entertaining:

Amelia's

Nestled behind the Hippodrome State Theatre in downtown Gainesville, Amelia's has apparently been open for nearly twenty years. It's one of the fancier joints within striking distance of UF, and to be fair, the food is decent. The prices are fairly high, and the portions are small, which really hurts its chances at being a "go-to" choice. For example, I had a fettucine with white clam sauce that was passable, but not for the $13 menu price.

Napolatano's

Taking the exact opposite tack is Napolatano's, located off of NW 75th Street (on the western side of Gainesville - go on Newberry about a half-mile past I-75). The prices are lower, the portions are bigger, and the atmosphere is more casual than Amelia's. Unfortunately, the food suffers because of it, and my baked ziti was simply not up to par. Still, if you need cheap Italian, it's hard to go wrong with their $7.25 pasta dinner specials, which come with bread and salad.

Original Pizza Palace

Sometimes pizzerias can serve up decent, Americanized southern Italian food (I still get a craving for Nino's eggplant parmesan from time to time), so I gave the OPP a whirl. It's probably the most convenient place on this list, being located on NW 13th about a mile from University Avenue. Unfortunately, the pizza wasn't anything to write home about, and the pasta was forgettable, too. Throw in higher than average prices, and you have another "also-ran."