By Scott Joseph
Roma Ristorante is one of those places you can pass and not even notice. In fact, I have driven by the little stand-alone building on Orange Blossom Trail probably a hundred times and never paid much attention to it.

Allow me to keep you from making the same mistake. Roma is a charming, unassuming restaurant with the kind of food that
might be considered boring if it weren't prepared with fresh ingredients and served with a sort of homeyness that epitomizes the term "comfort food."

It only took me nine years to finally get inside Roma, but my "discovery" will come as no surprise to the regular customers who have been enjoying the food there since 1964. That alone would quailfy it for some sort of longevity award, but Roma has a lot more going for it than staying power.

Roma was started by Donate and Maria Violante, who moved to Apopka from Italy by way of Palatka. Donate died about 10 years ago, and Maria retired a few years after that. But, according to her son-in-law, who now owns and operates the restaurant with one of the Violante's daughters, "Mama Maria" still comes to the restaurant every day to prepare pasta, make ravioli and lasagna.

My favorite entree among those I sampled "was the chicken cacciatore ($10.95), which featured chicken on the bone sauteed with green pepper and a tomato sauce that was thick and pulpy. The chicken was juicy, and the green peppers added a tangy flavor, but it was the tomatoes that made the dish stand out. When was the last time you had a sauce you actually had to chew?

               A great Italian homeyness              Maria Violante, Eva Bonaduce, Brian Mounce, Armando Benaduce

Roma Ristorante
730 Orange Blossom Trail, Apopka

Scott's recommendation: Roma has served fine "home-style" Italian dishes since 1964. The chicken cacciatore is one of the best, and so is the fettucine - Bruzzi. Have the calamari ravioli for an appetizer and soup instead of salad. Don't worry about busting your diet: The tiramisu is worth it.

Phone:(407)886-2360 Hours: Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2p.m. Tuesday-Friday; dinner 4:30-10p.m. Tuesday-Saturday Reservations: Accepted Beverages: Beer and wine Price range: $8.50-$14.95 Credit: AE,D,MC,VI

The same lumpiness was found in a special-of-the-day of grouper fin diablo ($14.95). Here a firm fillet was covered with sauce, but this time some spicy red pepper was added to give the dish a devilish kick. Fettucine Bruzzi ($9.50) was a baked dish of freshly made fettucine egg noodles mixed with mushrooms and a thick meat sauce and topped with melted cheese. A simple but hearty dish. I also sampled the luncheon combination plate ($6.75) of manicotti stuffed with ricotta cheese, breaded and grilled
eggplant and "spaghetti," though the spaghetti was actually angel hair pasta. 

The manicotti was the best part of the dish, though the eggplant added a nice texture. It was a little difficult to tell where one started and the other left off because all were crammed together in a small metal baking dish. 		The appetizer list is small, but you don't need much more than the calamari ($4.95) and the fried cheese ravioli ($4.95). The squid was lightly breaded and perfectly fried so the ringlets were tender but not chewy. They were served with a tomato-based horseradish sauce that was perfect for dipping. The ravioli was stuffed with a cheese mix that oozed from the little deep-fried pillows when cut with a fork. Here a simple marinara was provided for dipping. The best dessert was the tiramisu ($3.95), a remarkably light concoction of layered lady fingers and marscapone cheese, topped with chocolate shavings for a bit of a different taste.

Entrees include a house salad, which is fairly basic and unexciting. Instead of the salad try a cup of the minestrone if it’s available.

It is a flavorfiil soup full of vegetables and little bits of pasta. You also get a basket of freshly baited bread. It, is wonderful plain, unslathered with garlic as you might find at other Italian restaurants, and good enough to eat without butter. The dining rooms have obviously been updated since 1964 and are tidy and clean. Walla sport frames of mauve fabric and wicker baskets filled with silk flowers. Tables are covered with vinyl cloths and set with paper napkins. A wine bottle sits on each table, more as a sales tool than a decoration. There are some nice wines available by the bottle and a few good selections by the glass or carafe.

A small staff of women handles the serving chores without flourishes. Service is basic but friendly and attentive. It seems to an obsei'ver that. there' is a longtime relationship between the servers and many of the customers. There is a notion that dinner here is a regular night out for many of the patrons.

Roma was finally pointed out to me by one of the family members who wondered, politely, why I had ignored the longtime restaurant all these years. I assure you it wasn’t on purpose. And I certainly don’t intend for another nine years to go by without stopping in again.

Scott Joseph dines at least twice – anonymously – at each restaurant he reviews. His reviews are on America Online at Keyword: Orl Entertain. You can send him e-mail at : OSOjoseph@aol.com

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