Personally, I love Italian food, be it pasta, risotto or pizza. I have probably been to over 50 Italian restaurants in my life, and none of them have left me disappointed. Trying Passariello’s for the first time made me nervous about losing my streak, but thankfully, I did not.

Upon entering, my eyes were immediately drawn to the vintage brick columns all around the restaurant, as well as the low-hanging bronze lights above the tables. The wooden chairs and tables complement the aura of the restaurant very nicely. As I walked up to the desk at around 3 p.m., when the restaurant was still empty, I noticed the staff in the restaurant. They were all conversing, working and smiling. It was a really wonderful feeling.

This next part of the journey was perhaps the most interesting part of Passariello’s and the most unique of any other restaurant I have ever seen. Instead of taking our order, the waitress handed us a sky blue card that read “Passariello’s Pizzeria Italian Kitchen.” Similar to the procedure at the popular arcade Dave and Busters, we were to take that card and order whatever we desired. At the end, the card was swiped and we would pay the total amount. This system gave me, a fifteen-year-old without a credit card, an enjoyable sense of independence that other teenagers would likely also wish for.

Though the concepts and the design of the restaurant were exceptional, they would not be important unless the food was the same. I ordered one slice of pizza ($1.99) and one order of mozzarella sticks ($6.99). The pizza was wonderful–the crust was crunchy, but not too crunchy as to take away from the soft cheese and sauce. I would recommend getting a slice of pizza at Passariello’s.

The mozzarella sticks, on the other hand, left something to be desired. The cheese seemed to lack the flexibility that many other mozzarella sticks have. The marinara sauce that was given was also not as hot as I had hoped for. Despite these shortcomings, the mozzarella sticks were pretty good overall. I finished all six.

I enjoyed my experience at Passariello’s and I will be returning. The design, concepts and food were very good. I would rate the restaurant a 8.5/10.