With this post, we inaugurate a 4-star rating system for the restaurants we visit. Today we discuss Panino, on Mathis Ave. in Manssas, VA. We visited it on a lark after dropping off two of our grandchildren at their home. We'd been there once before for a birthday and had a good memory of it, but weren't really sure what we were getting into.
Turns out that Panino has some pretty darn good food. The outside look isn't that promising -- its in a strip mall just down from a bowling alley. And the interior is pleasant enough, with good tablecloths and such, but a functional room.
The food, on the other hand, is a solid step up. There was a very fine wine list (Katy had a nice crisp Gavi and Paul had a very fine Cabernet from California) and the food was quite enchanting. We learned,early on, that the specials list is much better than the main menu -- the owner told us so. And so we took her advice and ordered only off the specials.
To start, Katy had an arugula salad with pears, nuts and a fine vinagrette. Paul had a very tasty cold antipasto consisting of grilled peppers, zucchini, squash and sun dried tomatoes, all drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. What could be bad? For the main course, Katy had the fresh rockfish, nicely grilled with a red-wine reduction. Paul, meanwhile, had the seafood pasta special -- fresh ravioli (house made, we were told) stuffed with shrimp and scallops in a lobster cream sauce. A bit heavy on the cream, but excellent overall. We skipped desert and finished with some herbal Roobis tea (hard to find in DC area) that hit the spot.
On the whole, the ambiance was quite fine. We were well taken care of; the room was quiet; and the food far outdid the setting. We give Panino 2 stars.
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