Tommy G’s – Burlington

This Burlington spot combines Old World style and a unique Italian/Cajun menu.

By: Pat Tanner

   Tommy G’s, which opened last summer in a grand old bank building in downtown Burlington, is a testament to adaptive reuse. This Italian restaurant, many of whose dishes are influenced by the New Orleans cooking of Paul Prudhomme, makes the most of a soaring ceiling, huge Palladian windows, marble accents, and even the old bank vault, which makes a snug private grotto for two (or for four confirmed non-claustrophobes). Along one long wall is a pretty polished wood bar, and the dining room is divided lengthwise by what used to be a row of tellers’ windows. The regularly spaced cutouts in this marble wall are now filled, whimsically, with old, oversize account books topped with green plants.
   Owner Michael Corbi prides himself on greeting every guest personally, which he does with grace and warmth. Upon entering, coats are whisked away by a young woman whose only job is to do this seamlessly. The aim at Tommy G’s is that kind of Old World formal hospitality that makes patrons feel like invited guests. This aesthetic is also evident in touches like trays of personal grooming supplies in the restrooms.
   The restaurant is named for chef Thomas Geneviva, who is a veteran of the Culinary Institute of America from its earliest days, when it was located in New Haven. While there, he was greatly influenced by Mr. Prudhomme, and his melding of traditional Italian dishes with the spices and flavors of Cajun cooking has become his hallmark. I expected to like the straight pasta, veal and seafood dishes more than the blended, but found just the opposite to be the case.
   Crab and crawfish manicotti ($19) demonstrated this beautifully. Tubes of tender pasta encasing sweet shellfish were blanketed by a creamy vodka sauce that was delightfully lighter and more subtle than is often the case. In an untraditional but delicious saltimbocca ($23), provolone cheese was paired with the usual prosciutto and thin slices of sautéed veal (excellent), and the customary lemon-white wine sauce was replaced by a creamy tomato-lemon sauce. A spectacular, pull-no-punches jambalaya ($16) with chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage is one of three dishes listed under the "New Orleans Specialties" section, which also includes crawfish étoufée ($18) and "Nawlins" filet mignon with Swiss cheese ($26).
   I was thrilled to see braciole on the menu, a dish of thin steak, rolled and stuffed. Tommy G’s version, a traditional and very good one, is filled with pecorino and provolone cheeses, sausage and hard cooked egg ($20). A generous number of these savory pinwheels was arrayed around a mound of slightly overcooked radiatore pasta in a meatless tomato sauce. This sauce, which also appeared on a linguine accompaniment to the saltimbocca, was bland and tinny tasting, providing one of the few down notes of the evening.
   Before that, we had reveled in the lovely clams Calabrese appetizer ($8.50), with tender littlenecks topped by squares of dense, smoky bacon, and a refreshing, if slightly boring, salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions ($6). Both the latter and an "Angelina" salad ($7.50) of arugula, prosciutto and shavings of Parmesan came drenched in too much of a nice balsamic vinaigrette.
   Tommy G’s has an extensive, fairly priced wine list. Our bottle of 1997 Glass Mountain chardonnay was a pleasant surprise at only $19. If we were in a more expansive mood, we might have opted for the 1997 Chassagne-Montrachet from Joseph Drouhin at $55, an interesting alternative.
   Desserts are good, but not great. Many are purchased elsewhere, including Bindi imports from Italy, but the house does make its own bananas Foster, strawberries and cream, and mascarpone filling for cannoli. We tried the latter, only in pizzelle shells because they had run out of cannoli shells, and it was very good. Other choices include tiramisu, profiteroles, spumoni and white chocolate macadamia cheesecake. Prices start at $4 for ice cream. Coffees, including espresso, are excellent.
   Tommy G’s is one of the very few restaurants I’ve encountered, if not the only one, that is accessible to wheelchair-bound individuals on all levels. An elevator can take diners to the second floor, where two private dining rooms as well as the "fancy" restrooms await. (More utilitarian ones, sans colognes, etc., are on the street level.)
   With its polite, Old World hospitality, a seasoned chef who is able to blend two excellent cuisines flawlessly, and its interesting setting, Tommy G’s is a real asset to the Burlington area. Bank on it.