Tuscan Table: New (smaller) Menu, Same Huge Portions

When a restaurant boasts about a new menu, it can often be deceptive. A lot times that means a smaller menu, and sometimes it means same prices, smaller portions. Tuscan Table in downtown Circleville now advertises a new menu. And in their case, the former was very true, and the latter anything but.

My family has been visiting this somewhat overlooked place in Roundtown for a while now. On my first visit, I was very skeptical. I come from an Italian-American family and am very picky about my Italian cuisine. Add to that the word "Tuscan" in the name, and I had visions of lots of North Italy dishes involving Alfredo sauces. Not my cup of tea.that's

I was pleasantly surprised, however, and have enjoyed every one of my visits since. The food is quite good, and the portions are amazing. See the picture in the upper right? That is a chicken breast. Yes, it actually covered my large plate from edge to edge. It had to be the biggest piece of chicken I have ever seen.

So we showed up tonight and saw the "new" menu. It was printed on a place mat and was probably half the size of the old one. Nothing new, just a lot of things eliminated, most notably ravioli. An Italian joint without ravioli? That's like a greasy diner that doesn't offer burgers. Just not right.

Fortunately, they still had a lot of their signature dishes. Angela and I ordered lasagna and the aforementioned Chicken Parmesan and agreed to split both. Good call. As mentioned earlier, the portion sizes here are unreal. The chicken is a deep fried and delicious chunk that is nearly the size of a flat football. It is covered in a garlic heavy marinara sauce and smothered with cheese. The lasagna, a favorite of mine, is a hearty, huge, and tall chunk of deliciousness. Topped with the same tasty sauce, it is highly recommended by this picky Italian.

Overall, the experience was awesome as usual, despite the smaller menu. And there was actually even a positive that came out the the menu cut. One of the only complaints I have had about Tuscan Table in the past is the service. It would take forever for the food to arrive. Tonight, due in part to the streamlined menu, our food arrived in record time, and the service was excellent and very attentive. I highly recommend this place. It's worth the trip down to Circleville.