Whether it's a "buy one, get one free" beer deal at the local bar, the 99 cents Burger King menu or bargaining with the Sabres' ticket scalpers, most UB students are in search of a good deal and friendly environment.
For those students, just a stone's throw away from the Seneca Niagara Casino lies Provenzo's, a comfortably small Italian restaurant that keeps to its Italian heritage and remains a good choice for college students because of its heaping portions and clean yet informal atmosphere.
If the food and name are not ample clues that Provenzo's is an Italian restaurant, then the surroundings finish the job.
Red, green and white - the colors of the Italian flag - were the only colors visible. The room had white walls, the tables had red tablecloths, and a green carpet covered the floor. To the left of my table was a large Italian flag displayed on the wall.
The upstairs section of the restaurant gives a bird's eye view of the bar and adjacent dining area, where the low lighting and candlelit tables allow for a relaxing meal.
What really set the mood were the boisterous Italian women celebrating a birthday. The prompt, comical waiter, along with the laughing ladies, immediately infected the customers with good humor.
With its motto "Everything made with a family touch," Provenzo's offers authentic Italian dining that manages to avoid being ordinary. The restaurant's meals include steak that is served with artichoke hearts or pork that is stuffed with spinach, bacon, tomatoes and ricotta cheese ($11.95).
To begin, I ordered the Portobello Venice appetizer, grilled and marinated portobello mushrooms covered in a feta cream sauce and topped with a crab dressing. At $6.99, it came at a great price, and every bite was satisfying.
The appetizer was filling, adequately serving two, and the feta cream sauce was enough for additional bread dipping.
For the main course, I was easily able to get a full two meals out of my pasta rizzo, a pasta dish with spinach, tomatoes, and cannelloni beans saut?(c)ed with olive oil and garlic, topped with parmesan cheese ($8.95). The flavor of this dish was like nothing I had ever tasted; the combination of the beans and olive oil made my mouth water.
One of my guests devoured the steak Mediterranean, an 8-ounce sirloin grilled and served over spinach, artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomatoes in a roasted garlic sauce over vermicelli pasta topped with feta cheese ($12.95). Surprisingly, the tender meat was trimmed of all fat, and there was not a bite of gristle.
Another guest ordered the pasta portafino, boneless chicken breast, bay scallops, gulf shrimp and clam meat served in a seafood cream sauce over fusilli pasta ($10.95). This also came stacked high on the plate, destined to later be part of a doggy bag. The seafood combination was delicious, especially mixed with the pasta.
The presentation of the food was a clear display of artistic skill, with the steak Mediterranean being the most impressive. The steak posed as the first layer, while mushrooms and artichoke hearts - delicately placed over the steak in an ornamental pattern - added an appealing touch.
The dessert menu at Provenzo's is scarce, consisting of only one item -Aunt Jeanie's Homemade Tuxedo Truffle Mousse Cake, $3.50 - perhaps because customers rarely make it to the dessert stage after the huge main course.
A scrumptious meal at Provenzo's serves as an excellent start to a night out, whether partying or gambling at the casino.
Provenzo's, 1300 Buffalo Avenue, 278-1264
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
