by Zak Ortenzio

502 N.3rd Street, Harrisburg (717) 221-0192 www.sammysitalianrestaurant.com.
Call to check on hours. Reservations suggested, street parking, no corkage fee.

Sammy’s has been a fixture on the Harrisburg restaurant scene for years. Upon arrival, “…you are family, whether you’ve traveled a block or a galaxy…” to get there. After ordering you can relax and enjoy a meal that was prepared with attention to detail.
For our appetizer we decided to order Portobello Oreganato and divided it among the four of us. The appetizer came with three Portobello Mushrooms served with oregano, bread crumbs and olive oil.  While eating the Portobellos we noticed a hint of spiciness which was not mentioned when we ordered the Portobellos. The spiciness did not mask the meaty flavor of the mushrooms, and the olive oil did not saturate them they had not lost their firmness. This was a fine start to the meal.

Our main courses were: Veal Florence, Veal Margarita, Lasagna, and Scallops Provençale. All of our main courses included a salad. The salad greens were fresh and the dressing was applied sparingly so as not to mask the taste of the fresh greens. The Veal Florence also included Italian sausage, spinach and lemon sauce over Angel hair pasta. The veal was not overdone and had the same lemon sauce, which did not over power the veal.  The Veal Margarita was tender and served with a tasty sauce as well.  Sammy’s Lasagna is not your typical Italian Lasagna. It had a mushroom brandy sauce, which was unusual, and included pieces of portobellos and tomatoes.  The Scallops Provençale were sautéed with diced tomatoes, garlic and herbs and served over Angel hair pasta. The Scallops had a wonderful sear, were fork tender, and paired well with the rest of the meal. All of the pastas were done al dente.  We did not ask about dessert. It is always pleasure to visit a restaurant where food preparation is of the highest quality and the wait staff has knowledge of the entire menu. Sammy’s is highly recommended.