Well, I did ‘have to have’ a Special Birthday Dinner, Didn’t I?

I do know that I’m ‘milking’ my recent birthday for all it’s worth… After all, it was a more significant one-time milestone, at least to me. 

I even got ‘dressed up’ for my birthday dinner!  Note the collared golf shirt…a step up from my usual retirement t-shirt.  For that matter, all of the guys wore collared shirts, quite a big deal!

This was our destination.  In the 13 years that we’ve lived in East Tennessee, we had never previously dined at Altruda’s Italian Restaurant.  Our local Italian restaurant favorite near our home is Little Italy, we’ve enjoyed meals at Carrabba’s (bad reviews recently) and we really liked Naples Italian Restaurant…but the owners retired and it closed… After a bit of research, Altruda’s seemed like our best bet and I did want a bit of upscale Italian food for my birthday dinner.

Cozy…or dark?  My first impression upon entry to Altruda’s was that it was dark, probably intentional in order to create a warm softly lit dining environment.  The bar was closed for seating so I’m guessing that staffing is an issue here as it is in many places.

The owner of Altruda’s Italian Restaurant is Paul Meyer.  His mother was born in Italy and she moved to America in 1925 when she was 12...the youngest of 12 siblings.  She married and had 5 boys who all grew up with mama in the kitchen.  This experience led to Paul ending up in the restaurant business.  Altruda’s opened in 1988 and it has operated continuously now for 34 years, quite a run in the ever changing restaurant business! 

Of course we had to mark the occasion with Laurie taking a photo of yours truly with David II, Amy, David III and Emmett Lee.  The menu is quite large and it took us a while to decide what…and how much…to order.

I should have turned on my camera’s flash capability as a couple of the food photos just didn’t come out too well in the dimly lit dining room.

Of course, after we ordered our appetizers and entrees, it seemed appropriate to raise a toast to the event!  Emmett is too young for alcohol but he certainly got into the moment with gusto and his Sprite… Laurie finally got into this family photo!

…and then the food started coming.

For some unknown reason, appetizers are not listed on Altruda’s on-line menu so I can’t really describe how the restaurant views their efforts in preparing these items. 

In any case, Laurie and I love Calamari so we ordered this generous portion for the table. ($13.95) If I remember correctly, the white dipping sauce has a light horseradish base.  I still prefer the marinara version but I appreciate the alternative.  The calamari was nice and tender.  Laurie had a few pieces, David II had a couple…and I ended up eating most of this appetizer by myself.

Our family is cheese orientated so it was no surprise that David II placed an order for Altruda’s Mozzarella Sticks. ($8.95) This plate didn’t last long!

Neither Laurie nor I had ever seen Fried Tortellini before although we are very familiar with fried ravioli. ($10.95) I’m assuming that they were cheese filled although I didn’t taste any with the one tortellini that I tried. (Too full from all the calamari to eat more of this appetizer) Again, nothing went to waste…

A basket of high quality garlic rolls was delivered to the table and were promptly consumed!  They came with all the entrees…

All the entrees came with a nice Italian Salad bowl with lots of cheese, beets and mushrooms. 

Emmett’s palate is slowly widening as he grows older.  For example, he now likes steak!  In this case he decided to go for straight-up Spaghetti with house marinara sauce. ($14.95)

David III was a bit more adventurous.  His broadening cuisine-wise stems greatly from his time at New York University with the city’s broad spectrum of food options.  In this case he ordered the Lasagna Napoletane…alternate layers of wide flat noodles stuffed with ground beef, Italian cheeses and meat sauce. ($15.95)

Since I can eat greens any longer due to my meds, I ordered the Tortellini Sausage Soup as my side dish. ($7.95) It was very good indeed!

For my entrée, I decided to try the Shrimp Altruda. ($26.95) On the menu it is described as seven large shrimp topped with seasoned bread crumbs, simmered in lemon butter with a touch of garlic.  While I did enjoy this entrée, it was not quite what I expected.  I did take home part of the order, which served as a satisfying dinner a couple of days later.

Amy ordered Fettucine Alfredo for her meal. ($19.95) This was simply butter, cream and parmesan sauce over fettucine noodles. 

For his entrée, David II went for the Vitello Canzanese. ($24.95) This dish was comprised of a breaded veal cutlet, ham, cheese, fresh mushrooms and a red wine sauce.  He definitely cleaned his plate!  He also ordered a smaller serving of Fettucine Alfredo as a side dish. ($5.50)

My better half ordered one of her all-time Italian favorites, Vitello/Veal Marsala. ($24.95) This entrée simply consists of scallopine of veal sautéed with fresh mushrooms and Marsala wine sauce.  One thing for sure, not only did she like the veal but the huge serving of mushrooms had to satisfy her desire for this fungi for some time to come.   

All in all, we had a nice time with solid Italian cuisine and service.  Thanks to David and Amy for the birthday dinner!  It sure has become expensive to dine out these days… 

Altruda’s was quite busy for a weeknight and we had the last reservation that they could take that evening.  Alttruda’s Italian Restaurant is located at 125 North Peters Road in Knoxville Tennessee.  Phone: 865-690-6144.  Website: Hours + Location | Altruda's (altrudas.com).

Just click on any of the photos…sorry again for the quality…to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave