Photo by:Chris Shields

Classically Convivial
By B.A. Nilsson

Lombardo’s
121 Madison Ave., Albany, 462-9180. Serving Mon-Fri 11-1, Sat 3-11. AE, CB, D, DC, MC, V.
Cuisine: Traditional Italia
Entrée price range: $14.50 (fettuccine Bolognese) to $24 (zuppa di pesce)
Ambiance: Vintage Albany
Clientele: Vintage Albany

Someday, the colorful neon sign that hangs outside of Lombardo’s will be enshrined. It should go to no less a place than the Smithsonian. But let’s not anticipate that in our lifetime—right now we need the reassuring glow that illuminates the corner of Madison and South Pearl.

Albany’s history isn’t in the ornate legislative buildings or governor’s mansion. It’s here, whispering from the walls of one of the few restaurants to have flourished in the glory days of the city’s 20th-century political intrigues and continues to flourish today. During one of my recent visits to the place, I saw the city’s mayor chatting with the owner, checking out the crowd.

And this place bustles, mid-week and weekend, its long tables crowded with large parties in the dining room center, the booths and banquettes that ring the room the province of deuces and fours.

As if the atmosphere weren’t enough, the old-fashioned bar and the high tin ceilings remind you of an earlier age, back when Billy Lombardo was in charge and you could pay off a debt by painting murals on the walls. Since 1992, the restaurant has been owned by Paul and Rose Marie Mancino, who wisely have introduced changes gradually and in concert with their customers.

The four-page menu couldn’t be more straightforward. Antipasti ($5.25-$9.25) are more or less little dinners, with clams and shrimp, mussels and calamari among the highlights. Antipasto di Casa, designed for one, easily serves two, and goes light on the lettuce in order to offer more of the spicy sausage slices, provolone chunks, olives, roasted red peppers, marinated mushrooms—all the expected components in a simple, easy-to-attack presentation.

Appetizer specials typically complement the menu, and a homemade ravioli ($7.75) sounded too irresistible, given its portobello-porcini stuffing. Even better: a cream sauce that turned out to be light enough to thread itself in and among the other flavors, but thick enough to cling effectively to the pasta.

Five soups are always available, and the two we tried—tortellini in broth ($3.75) and Zuppa fantasia ($4.25)—were a reminder that excellent stock is the basis for so much in good cooking. Fighting back a sore throat, I turned to the tortellini soup for a classic cure (and felt much better the following day). Fantasia adds eggs and cheese to that formula, for a meal-in-itself experience.

Not surprisingly, Lombardo’s is a kid-friendly place. There’s a generous family-
oriented friendliness that we taxed to the utmost by arriving with a toddler whose fatigue-inspired vocalizations rang out like war whoops. Fortunately, the aisles were wide enough to allow the parents to walk the kid back into silence, while I sat with my 7-and-a-half-year-old and quietly enjoyed the fact that I don’t have to deal with that stuff anymore.

We silenced the older kids with plates of classic fare, kid-menu priced but still large enough to necessitate take-home containers. The children’s menu is really just a selection of the regular menu, and without the nonsense of fast-food-inspired selections, our progeny enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs (one meatball, actually, but it’s massive) and chicken parmigiana.

With 15 seafood entrées, it’s hard to zero in on a selection, so first-time visitor Ken chose the zuppa di pesce ($24), which is a soup only in the sense that it brings together so many different items: in this case, clams and mussels (in their shells), shrimp, scallops, calamari and a good-sized lobster tail, all in a tomato-rich broth.

Ken’s wife, Marla, hasn’t got as much menu latitude because she’s allergic to basil. Fettuccine Alfredo ($16.25) was a contender, but we were sure it would be as classical (and thus familiar) as possible, and why not try something new? Linguine Raffaele ($17.75) mixes a mound of pasta with butter and cream and a touch of wine (there’s a lot of wine in these entrées), with an accompaniment of spinach and shrimp.

Eight chicken dishes put the fowl through various paces, including the
vegetable-rich marinara of a cacciatora ($16.50) and sautées alla Marsala ($16.50) and Francese ($17). What’s chicken cordon bleu ($17.50) doing on an Italian menu? The ham and cheese in question are prosciutto and fontina, and it was an excellent combination with just enough wine-rich sauce to keep it moist.

Veal dishes are a specialty, and the 11 menu items were complemented by a special: vitello alla bosciola ($18.75), another cream-sauce dish, this time with the flavor deepened by mushrooms and prosciutto.

Naturally, there are the traditional veal preparations—parmigiana, pizzaiola, Francese and more—and a few beef dishes round out the menu. Salads are included with entrées, warm crusty bread hits the table soon after you do, and side dishes of pasta proliferate quickly once the entrées arrive. As if you have to be persuaded, the dessert menu includes some photos. Although tiramisu (served in a goblet) is a specialty, I also recommend the limoncello gelato. A hot cup of espresso and you’re ready for the night.

Service is busy, friendly and consistently attentive. The room is reverberant, so that even without a keening child of your own you’ll share in all of the surrounding conversations. But it’s all in the name of conviviality. Your party invites the food; the food invites a party. It’s a complete lifestyle solution that’s been going on here for 80-some years.

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