The words "Woburn" and "good food" are seldom mentioned in the same sentence. But there's a new place called Cafe Amante on Main Street [Route 38] at the corner of Montvale Avenue diagonally across from the big, white Congregational church by the commons. It's good. It's also small; fewer than 10 tables. I've been there twice, once on Halloween eve and a few nights ago. The calimari is terrific, as good as at places in the North End. The pastas are quite well done. Preparation is imaginative. Little squares of mango ringed the [large] plate's edge for my well-flavored buffalo mozarelle and tomato. Portions are more than generous and prices are very reasonable. The place is in what used to be Ronnie's pizza, a neighborhood takeout joint. Amante has redecorated but there's still a bit of the pizza parlor flavor there, if only in the open preparation area. I haven't tried them, but there are many exotic-looking pizzas on the menu. Cafe Amante is not fancy. It's Woburn, after all. You'll see people in business clothes along with guys in workboots. But the food is well worth a trip. They don't have a liquor license but were very good about my bringing in a bottle of wine.
Boston, MA
New restaurant in Woburn
Dan S. wrote: >The place is in what used to be Ronnie's pizza, a neighborhood takeout >joint. Unlike Ronnie's (and before that, Jimmy's) Amante's pizza is, like so many other places in Middlesex decidedly Greek rather than Neapalotan (or ideally, New York! -- Sorrento's at Concord center does a good job of that). I brought this to the attention of the manager soon after they'd opened (late July) and he started to explain to me that the reason I didn't like their pizza is that I was used to Greek pizza, but their chef was the grandson of the man who introducted pizza to the North End blah blah blah. But they don't want to be a pizza place at all. I want to try their Chicken Piccata and such, but if I'm going to spend more than $10 for an entree I'm more likely to go to a real restaurant.