Romero's: The Place, The People, The Food: A Foodies Review
I may be exaggerating a bit on the foodie perspective, as I'm neither a die-hard foodie nor a professional restaurant critic by any means, but I do know what I want when I go out to eat and that has to do with the three major criteria above ...... and Romero's of Mt Sterling Kentucky delivered on all three.
First, if you're like me, when you walk into a restaurant especially one in a historic downtown area, I go on auto pilot immediately hoping for a good vibe, a type of atmosphere that helps me relax and tells me I'm in for a great meal. That's what I felt when I walked into Romero's. From the dark wood furniture and aged floors to the fun tropical art tastefully arranged across a beautiful old brick wall and soft bluesy jazz playing in the background, both my husband and I knew; we had found our perfect place.
But of course, it doesn't stop there. Secondly, you meet the people, and that's when you start to feel a sense of comradery, you know you are in a place that wants to greet everyone as if they are family, because they are family. You'll meet Rachael the hostess and waitress, with a smile as soft and gentle as her sweet personality and you may see Rebecca (wife and Co-owner of Romero's) working fast and creatively behind the bar. A true blood Kentuckian with strong pride in her background, she knows a thing about great hospitality and friendly conversation and also making a mean, but perfectly balanced old fashioned. You may even meet her daughter Alex the Lead bartender. One thing was easily discernable; she has as much pride in this restaurant as her parents. She also knows a lot about teamwork, (and they all do.) When one person is busy and the bar is quiet, both Rebecca and Alex will be right there at the helm, smiling, ready to meet, greet and serve as needed to make sure the guest are happy, and no one is left waiting for anything. It was a nice thing to see.
We stopped in on an early Wednesday evening and were delighted to sit and talk with the owner and creator of Romero's, George Romero. It was a comfortable meeting. At first, he may strike you as a laid back and easy-going type and his excitement and passion for Romero's comes out casually, but then as we talked and the stories of the unusual individuals that he met and learned from along with his love for great food and the screenplay writing he also loves, you get a more complete picture of a man that truly loves whatever he commits to and right now it's the Romero's team and what he can teach them, what he can give them.
That leads us to the final and most important aspect of any good restaurant, the food. Trust me on this; it's good! At first, I was very convinced that the star of the menu would be what my husband ordered: an incredibly delicious Philly cheese steak plated with huge onion rings, (we both love gastro pub food and this was extremely crunchy, fresh tasting goodness.) But I had ordered from the head chef's recommendation; the Pasta Puttanesca; a perfect blend starting with a sauce made with Greek black pitted olives, capers and large white shrimp, perfectly layered within a huge bowl of very light linguini. I was instantly transported to a seaside village in Italy, and I loved it. Finally, we had the dessert from the pastry chef Phil, the raspberry cloud. A soft and light, yellow cake frosted with a white cloud of sweet scrumptiousness with a center of raspberry puree. Heavenly! We came in the next night and the food was equally memorable; from the cheesy and crispy fried ravioli with two deliciously creamy sauces to a very buttery Margarita flat bread with an incredible blend of flavors... fresh basil, roasted garlic and yes, butter! Who needs Pizza? When I asked about this, head chef Jessica was only too delighted to explain the process of how she makes her roasted compound butter. Oh yes, It's delicious Jessica.
I'm so glad we had a chance to visit the charming historic town of Mt Sterling. I'm equally glad that we met such an amazing team of hard-working people. Both my husband and I fell in love with this place and this town. We cannot wait to visit again. For more information Visit: Romeroskentucky.com
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