Lobster bisque, classic American-italian fare among staples
Omezzo Italian Restaurant opened nearly nine years ago in Pickerington, dishing up bountiful plates of popular American-italian cuisine.
A customer favorite is the bruschetta ($7.50): diced tomato, onion, garlic, basil and Parmigiano-reggiano tossed in extra-virgin olive oil and placed on toasted Italian bread, which has an extra boost of garlic.
“It's very good flavor because we make each order when they come in,” chef and owner Mohammed Zaman said.
Not exactly something that appears on most neighborhood Italian venues, the lobster bisque ($7.99 a cup, $9.99 a bowl) is classically built using baked lobster shells, strained through stock to pick up additional seafood flavor.
Zaman said he creates a roux per order using the lobster stock.
The rich broth is complex with sherry, garlic, heavy cream, butter, lobster meat and diced shrimp.
“It's just creamy,” he said. “You lave lobster and a real buttery taste.”
In the chicken Francaise ($22), breast meat is pounded thin, dipped in egg and flour, and cooked to a goldenbrown. Set on a pile of linguine, the chicken is topped with a buttery lemon caper sauce and finished with softened spinach.
“That's a very good sauce, very flavorful,” Zaman said.
Similarly constructed is the chicken Parmigiana ($17), which is placed on a bed of angel-hair pasta and ladled with house-made marina and topped with mozzarella.
“At almost every table we sell chicken Parm,” he said. “It's good, very good.”
Fettuccine shrimp Alfredo ($20) is another rich dish — cream, butter and cheese — balanced by garlic, spinach and tomatoes, he said.
“The spinach is one of the vegetables that pairs very well with that,” he said.
With tomatoes still in season, the pizza Margherita ($7.99 for a small, $7.99 for a large) has thinly sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, olive oil and Parmigiano-reggiano.
Zaman cooked in restaurants as he worked his way through New York University, where he studied computer science. Two years ago, he opened Omezzo Pasta Bowl 2 Go, adjacent to his Italian restaurant.
He said when he moved to Columbus in 1995, he worked as a computer tech for a bank, which required a lot of travel, and he quickly tired of the job.
“I spent two years (doing it) and really I didn't want to do this thing for the rest of my life,” he said. “I think my goal is I want to own my own restaurant company — and here I am. It keeps me going to see people happy. It's nice.”
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