J Parrino's, Springfield Mo

J Parrino's Italian Restaurant
1550 E Battlefield St, Springfield, MO
Tel: (417) 882-1808

General Impression: Excellent
Service: 5/5
Food Quality: 4.5/5
Atmosphere 4.5/5

When we walked in to the bar area, it looked pretty average. We went into the larger dining area and it was cute, but not absolutely beautiful. Decorated somewhat like an Italian villa (Americanized, naturally), there was an arbor covered in vines, a few statues of what I believe were Saints, and frescoes on the walls. The tables were not covered in tablecloths, but were pretty wood and the chairs were spacious and sturdy. Important to a large fellow!

We began with the stuffed mushrooms, called Mushrooms Louis. They were decent, though I had a few piques with them. They were large button mushrooms, which I really enjoy. They are common and cheap, but mild in flavor and firm and meaty. The caps were pulled out and they were stuffed with a small amount of 'herbed' cream cheese which I believe was probably just parsley, garlic, and cream cheese. Button mushrooms don't hold much filling though, so there really was not enough cheese to balance the mushrooms. They were fried in a lovely batter, though, and I always respect hand-breaded items that taste good and look nice. Served with a course mustard seed sauce made with honey, vinegar, and mustard (I did not care for it, though my companion did). $6.95- not a bad price for 5 really, really large mushrooms.

Next I had small Cesar salad that came with my meal. The pasta dish does not come with salad, sadly, though it can be added for $3.00. The Cesar was pretty usual- cool slightly bitter romaine lettuce, a creamy Cesar dressing, shredded Parmesan (I prefer large shaved slices and wish more restaurants would go with this method. Tangent, I know), and homemade croutons that were lightly fried and garlicky. They were made from the same bread, wheat and white, that comes with all of the meals. The dressing was, quite possibly, made in house, though I can never tell with Cesar. Either way, it was nice.

The entrees were excellent, and rightly as they should be, the star of the dinner. I ordered the Apple Brandy Pork Loin and broiled asparagus. I would most certainly order it again! Around 8oz. of extremely tender pork fillet were stacked on my plate and covered in a rich, sweet brandy and caramelized onion sauce. The loin, I believe, had been seared on the outside to keep it moist when roasting in the oven. Before serving and adding sauce, however, it was cut into lovely 1 inch slices and quickly grilled to give grill marks and flavor. Very, very moist and flavorful, which is always a chance one takes when ordering pork. The sauce seemed to be made from nice golden delicious apples with the peel, sweet yellow onions, and a splash of brandy. No cinnamon (or not much at least), which I expected. A good choice for a spring menu, however, for cinnamon always leaves memories of the fall. The asparagus was tender and sweet, roasted simply in sea salt, olive oil, and garlic. The other dish we ordered was pasta with broccoli, mushrooms, and a rich white sauce. It was wonderful, perhaps better than my own. A huge portion of pasta that I will incorrectly call tubetti was covered in a heavenly white sauce made with cream, thickened with a bit of flour (I believe) roux, and cheese. With a good hint of black pepper and nutmeg, one can't go wrong with this one. Pork loin, $17. Pasta with Broccoli, $9.50.

The dessert was very, very tasty as well, though I think it could very, very easily be re-created. It was a lemon cake studded with berries with a layer of mascarpone cheese in the middle of two stacks of cake. A huge piece was perfect for the two of us. A squeeze of fresh lemon, insisted our wonderfully sweet waitress, would be perfect with it. It was, indeed. It cut through the decadence without fail and I really, really liked the fresh summery taste of this one. The cake was what I will call a muffin batter, so I think this could easily be redone with either purchased muffins or using a homemade muffin batter and baking a cake of it. $5.50