RESTAURANT REVIEW: When in Roma

Roma Deli & Restaurant recalls the best parts of traditional Italian trattorias

Roma Deli & Restaurant certainly evokes memories of many a trattoria in southern Italy.

Well, don't take that too literally. I don't want to be too graphic here (and I sure don't want to offend the in-laws), but if you've been to Italy or know anyone who has, you'll understand when I say once again that we Americans generally don't want our ethnic restaurants to be too authentic. Not to worry about that at Roma Deli -- which is fairly spacious, brightly lighted and sparkling clean -- but the sights and smells certainly evoke memories of those native trattorias, and so do the sounds.

In a word, Roma Deli is noisy. Two words: really noisy. The floor is tile, the furniture wood, the deli cases glass and the walls your standard sheetrock, which means there's nothing there to soak up the sound. It was so noisy, in fact, that when I ordered two appetizers, our capable waiter apparently heard only one. We otherwise weren't bothered by the chatter, which lent an air of vitality.

True to its nature, Roma Deli has the look of a market with a bunch of tables set up for dining, and those tables were filled and lively on the weeknight we visited. In our experience, people talk more at dinner when they're happy, and at Roma Deli, they have ample reason to be happy.

For instance, the baked risotto ($14.95) that was on the specials board on the night we visited. A lovely risotto that would've been exceptional in its own right had been layered with eggplant, strips of ham and mozzarella cheese and baked with a bit of marinara to a mellow, melty goodness. (Think of a latter-day lasagna, only better.)

For another instance, the gnocchi ($11.99), with pesto and marinara. I love gnocchi (little potato-based dumplings) and am extremely particular about it. I tend to like lighter gnocchi instead of the chewier stuff, which can easily flip across the line into gummy. The gnocchi at Roma Deli was none of the above. It was as far from gummy as is possible, but instead of possessing a cloudlike lightness, it had more of an al-dente quality that was immensely satisfying. It would've been great with either the soulful, deeply steeped pomodoro sauce or the bright springlike flavor of the pesto, but the use of both (which we did inadvertently, communication being sorta dicey) had a very appealing yin-and-yang quality.

The starter we missed was a classic caprese ($8.99), but that turned out to be OK because the one we did get was an equally classic prosciutto and mozzarella ($9.99). The dish was as simple as it comes -- just suitably wafer-thin slices of prosciutto fanned out on the plate with thick slices of a nutty fresh mozzarella, both oh-so-lightly drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil. We added a little more from the bottle on the table; there also was a bottle of a sufficiently aged balsamic vinegar, both of which were enjoyable with the crisp-crusted bread that filled our basket.

We finished with a cannoli ($3.50) -- a crackling shell, a filling so creamy it was almost runny -- and gave some serious thought to getting some bakery items to go, even though we already had a couple of takeout boxes.

No matter. Roma Deli also has a large display of imported Italian groceries, and of course there are those deli cases. We know we'll be back.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at 383-0474 or e-mail her at hrinella@reviewjournal.com.

LAS VEGANS TASTE FROM ITALY'S CUP

Shootout makes fans shout out with joy at local restaurant

There was an eerie silence Sunday inside Roma Deli & Restaurant in the waning moments of Italy's match against France in the World Cup soccer final in Berlin.

More than 100 Italian fans held hands, put their arms around each other and stood quietly awaiting the cruelest of all endings in sports, a penalty-kick shootout, to decide their team's fate again.

"What a dreadful scenario," said Nicola Ponzo, an Italian-Canadian who has lived in Las Vegas for the past 15 years.

But with Fabio Grosso's one swift kick, the tense crowd erupted in a deafening roar of delight as 24 years of frustration ended with a fourth world championship.

"This is something you can't describe," said an emotional Massimo Lanzafame, a native of Sicily who has been living in Las Vegas for nine years, just moments after Italy won its first World Cup since 1982 with a 5-3 shootout triumph over France.

"I feel like we are the most beautiful people in the world," Lanzafame proclaimed.

Tears were flowing, and sounds of joy echoed throughout the Italian eatery, which has had Celine Dion and Jerry Lewis as visitors at its 5755 Spring Mountain Road location, as perfect strangers sharing the same heritage embraced as if they'd known each other for decades.

"I'm super, super happy," said Nilda Maffei, a Las Vegas resident born to Italian and Venezuelan parents. "Everyone is so emotional. I don't know what to say."

Jubilant fans doused each other with water, a plausible replacement for the celebratory champagne that traditionally signifies a championship, as a little boy in full soccer gear waved an Italian flag two times his size while the crowd offered him encouragement by chanting, "Italia, Italia, Italia!"

Ponzo said the people jam-packed inside the restaurant was an amazing thing to witness.

"What a wonderful energy and positive spirit of these people," Ponzo said. " It made watching the game more than just a game. It was a cultural event. It was an opportunity for people in our community, which is scattered, to have the ability to come together in one place."

Before the match, the fans chanted in Italian and sang their country's national anthem. Patrons blew whistles and struck cow bells, getting supporters of the team known to soccer fans as the Azzurri fired up for the highly anticipated match.

But all it took was a sketchy call from the referee that led to a penalty kick and ensuing goal from French captain Zinedine Zidane in the seventh minute to turn the rowdy group into a speechless, shell-shocked bunch.

"That was a bad call," Roma owner Guiseppe Consarino said. "A call like that can jeopardize the game. We should have instant replay. It would have been devastating to lose the game like that."

The Italians scored the equalizing goal later in the opening half, and the two sides battled the rest of regulation and overtime, forcing the match to be decided on penalty kicks.

Such a development wasn't something that sat well with Ponzo.

"With our history, we're prone to look at things in tragic ways," Ponzo said. "The penalty-kick situation is haunting for Italians."

But despite Italy's historical woes in shootouts, the most recent coming in the 1994 final against Brazil, Lanzafame remained confident in his team.

"I was positive we were going to win," Lanzafame said. "Everything was against us, but God was with us."

The Italians made all five of their penalty kicks, with Grosso ending it, setting off a celebration inside Roma that carried out into the parking lot for several minutes after the victory.

Just like that, years of disappointment turned into a moment of pure bliss for the Italians.

"It just goes to show that history can be changed," Ponzo said.