The search for good and fast food near campus is long and tedious, but if you want simple Italian food, look no further. La Lombardia, the little Italian restaurant located at 1434 S.W. Park Ave. in the South Park Blocks, beckons the hungry with the promise of pizza and pasta.
Upon entering, the sweet sounds of upbeat adult contemporary waft from the kitchen. The ambience is casual, reminiscent of a New York City deli circa 1980. Faux marble tables rest against light blue and white walls. Slices of grease-soaked pizza rest in the glass case next to the register. Prints of famous Italian paintings and bottles filled with oils and dried peppers add a splash of class behind the counter.
La Lombardia is definitely a casual, order-at-the-counter restaurant.
It’s also definitely not the type of place to celebrate an anniversary or romance a new lover, nor is it the place to go if you’re craving home-cooked Italian straight from the hills of Sicily. But La Lombardia is cheap and fast, and can cover you in a carb-craving crunch.
The menu reads, “All of our sauces are fresh and made with natural ingredients,” and it boasts such selections as spaghetti bolognaise, alfredo and ravioli. Pasta prices range from $6.95 for spaghetti with marina to $8.50 for the fancier Pennette ala Arrabiate, which has prosciutto, black olives, pepper, tani and special sauce.
Salads begin at $6.75 for a house or spinach, and go up to $8.95 for the Insalte di Mar, with salmon and shrimp. The menu also has pizza, starting at $7.95 for a small and $3.50 per slice. Calzones are $8.95.
A sampling of fettuccini alfredo and the spaghetti bolognaise revealed mixed results. Both were bland, served on white plates garnished with a sprinkle of parsley and a thick slice of focaccia bread.
The fettuccini sauce was runny and needed pepper to improve its overall milky boringness. The spaghetti was drenched in olive oil, but hearty on the meat and sauce. Serving sizes for both meals were hearty and filling, but lacking in pizzazz.
Desserts in the counter range from Costco muffins to what appears to be homemade baklava.
Leaving La Lombardia, one doesn’t necessarily feel overly satisfied, but does feel full, and so does the wallet. So while it isn’t Grandma Moses’ home cooking, it is fresher than Sbarro’s, the other restaurant boasting “fresh Italian” on campus. Don’t take a date there or plan your life around it, but if you’re dying to scarf down some pasta, it will be good enough.
La Lombardia has been in business for just under a year, and is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.