With a name like
Baronessa, you might expect a high falutin' restaurant. Nothing is
further from the truth. Antonia Cenere's latest venture is small and
cheery. That's a contrast to the eponymous trattoria she owned in the
Wheaton Triangle for 10 years, and that's how she likes it. She sold
Antonia's in 2003, but after taking a year off, the native of Puglia,
Italy, discovered she was not ready to retire.
A search for a new
space brought her to the East Gude Drive site of the former Sunny
Chinese Restaurant. The area had not seen an Italian restaurant since
Sylvia's on Southlawn Drive closed, and she figured it was ripe for
one.Cenere
was psyched about building her restaurant from scratch."It's just like
a little baby," she says. "I really put my heart into it."To truly make
it hers, she wanted a wall of landmarks."A beautiful lady worked very,
very hard to do this," she adds.That lady was
Clarksburg artist Edna Searles whose colorful images -- Portofino's
harbor, Florence's Ponte Vecchio, Rome's Coliseum, Venice's canals and
more -- fill one side of the dining room. Cenere can go home to Italy
every day.Customers who frequented Antonia's feel like they are coming
home, too, when they discover Baronessa."Everyday some come in. 'We
found you,' they say. I'm so happy!" Cenere says. Old and new patrons
get a warm welcome.Cenere's menu is
filled with the authentic Southern Italian dishes she loves. As chef
and teacher, she passes on her knowledge. A former co-worker from El
Salvador joins her in this kitchen.Baronessa's prices are
modest, and the early bird special is hard to beat. From 4 to 6:30
p.m., a choice of 16 entrées served with homemade bread, soup or salad,
dessert and coffee is $10.95.Surveying the colorful ambiance and her
food, one satisfied senior declares, "All this and heaven, too."Lunch
specials, $5.95
to $7.95, offered weekdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., are equally extensive.
They include nine pastas, two chicken dishes, salads with beef or
salmon, eggplant Parmigiana, served with homemade bread and salad, plus
Latin-accented steak ala criolla and roast pork (both with rice and
beans). Also on the menu are nearly a dozen pizzas, cold and hot
panini, and Cuban and Latin American subs.You would swear an
Italian grandmother is in the kitchen preparing the minestrone and
pasta fagiole, they are so good. The Italian bread and focaccia made on
site are additional dividends.Choosing is difficult,
faced with a menu that goes on and on, and even includes a dozen
Spanish specials. Where to begin? The pastas are predominantly
tomato-sauced as befits their Southern Italian origin. Genoese linguine
al pesto and the cream-sauced tortellini quatro stagione are
exceptions.Tried and true
melanzane (eggplant) alla Parmigiana is a winner from the oven. Chicken
Marsala, another standard, garners praise. Ossobuco al vino rosso
stands out among six veal offerings.The signature salmone
alla Baronessa (sautéed salmon with garlic-butter, wine, shrimp, clams
and scallops) and grilled salmon with lemon-butter crown the fish
offerings.The flounder was off
on two occasions, one time enveloped by an excellent pizzaiola (garlic,
caper, olive and tomato) sauce, the other broiled with lemon-butter
sauce. Veggies and pasta (tepid one evening) accompany main dishes.A
look at the Spanish
specials reveals such classics as puerco asada (roast pork), ropa vieja
(shredded flank steak) and camarones enchilado (spicy shrimp in tomato
sauce). But it is the paella that catches our eye. Studded with shrimp,
scallop, calamari and oysters, the golden paella de marisco is an
exemplar for generosity and a bargain at $12.95. Unfortunately, it was
oversalted that evening.Desserts like tiramisu and rum cake are
commendably light textured and delicious, and the cannolis are
first-rate.For lunch, dinner or in between, Baronessa has a lot to offer.
