Fiore II A Gem on Main Street, Middletown

There is a little restaurant on Main Street in downtown Middletown that celebrated its ten year anniversary this year, a rare accomplishment in the restaurant business. My wife and I have been going to this restaurant since the early days and we hope we are there to celebrate many anniversaries to come.

We first heard about this eatery from our daughter. It was her senior year in high school and she was out a bit late with a group of friends and were looking for a restaurant on Main Street that was still open. Someone in the group mentioned that a restaurant had just opened and they had heard it was pretty good. Someone knew the name so they looked up the phone number and gave them a call (no smartphones back then).

The person who answered the phone said they were closing in 10 minutes,but because their party consisted of 8 teenage girls he would be more than happy to stay open. This turned out to be a wise business decision. The girls were happy they could get delicious late nite meal close to home, and eagerly told everyone they knew about the great new restaurant downtown.

(We later learned that the restaurant was already closed that nite and the person answering the phone was a partner in the eatery and the only one left in the building. He did all the cooking and serving on that nite.)

After hearing the praise my wife and I visited the place that weekend. We were pleasantly surprised. Let it be known right now that when it comes to restaurant food I am a tough critic. According to my family my best praise for most eateries is "well, it didn't suck!" Guilty as charged, but I must say Fiore II gets a high score. First of all the food is consistent; the hallmark of a good restaurant is knowing your favorite dish will taste the same every time you come in.

Your favorite dish or any dish at Fiore  will taste great every time you come in. They do great Italian food, although none of them are Italian. The menu is divided into four sections: Chicken, Veal, Seafood and Pasta & Eggplant.  There is an appetizer and dessert section. Each nite there are several specials offered. (I recommend whatever seafood is on special, you will not be disappointed)

Your meal begins with a house salad and addictive garlic rolls.  Appetizers range in price from $4 to $8. I recommend the calamari. Entrees are priced from $12 to $24. Desserts are offered, and although they are good, they are not made in house. There is a good wine selection and they recently added a full bar.

Fiore's offers al fresco dining in the warm weather and has a special event room for parties.

I could not conclude this review without mentioning the service. Fiore's has a competent and friendly staff. Everyone is pleasantly greeted when they arrive and repeat customers are called by name and briefly chatted up. There is just enough banter to make you feel welcome, but not enough to keep you from your party, or make other diners uncomfortable.

I hope this little gem of a restaurant is around for many more anniversaries.

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