made marinara sauce. All dipping sauces,
as well as all pasta sauces, are freshly
made in-house at Zio’s Pasta Presto, and
the marinara sauce was exceptional—
one of the best I’ve tasted (outside of
my grandmother’s kitchen!) My guest
and I both loved the fried ravioli! They
were easy to just pop in your mouth,
although it was better to make them
last two to three bites just to savor the
flavor. The ravioli squares are not made
in-house at Zio’s, but they are nonethe
less a very good appetizer option
that will satisfy most taste buds! An
order consists of approximately a dozen
ravioli with sauce for $8.95.
As we continued our visit
with Tony, Elisa delivered to our table
an order of Calamari Fritti, a generous
portion of both tubes and tentacles fried
to a perfect golden crispness, and served
with a home-made Creole Remoulade
sauce. The calamari were tender and
not chewy, and was delicious with or
without the sauce. The sauce was really
very good—the creole flavoring gave
the sauce just a little kick, but it was
not hot or too spicy. The calamari are
fresh, not frozen, and are cooked to
order, and are also priced at $8.95.
32 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM SEPTEMBER 2017
Next, we were treated to a bit of
a healthier (i.e., non-fried) option—
the Zio’s Salad. The salad consisted
of a mound of mixed greens, topped
with chunks of seasonal fruits, which
included cantaloupe melon, grapes,
pineapple, and honeydew melon. A
raspberry vinaigrette dressing was served
on the side, along with sides of candied
walnuts and bleu cheese crumbles.
When all items were added, the salad
was easily large enough to suffice as an
entrée by itself. Salads are served with
a warm, fresh garlic breadstick, a perfect
accompaniment for these lighter, fresh
selections. The breadsticks are not made
from scratch in-house, but are procured
from the well-known local Maggiora
Bakery. We thoroughly enjoyed the
Zio’s Salad, as the combination of
flavors—the sweet fruits and walnuts,
the tangy/tart vinaigrette dressing, and
the bleu cheese crumbles—was
very delightful and refreshing.
The entrée salads at Zio’s range
from $9.95 - $10.95.
The parade of food
continued with a dish of
savory Chicken Marsala, which
included a generous portion of
tender chicken breast chunks,
topped with a marsala and
mushroom sauce. The sauce
on this dish was divine—very
flavorful and rich-tasting. As
with the other dipping and pasta
sauces, Zio’s also makes their
own marsala sauce, and this
one happens to be a recipe that
originated forty-four years ago at
Tony’s father’s restaurant. It has
certainly been perfected, in my
opinion! There were plentiful
chunky mushroom pieces in
the sauce, and both my guest
and I really enjoyed this sample
of one of Zio’s most popular
entrees. Chicken Marsala and
other entrées are typically served
with a side of pasta; however, we did
not have pasta since our was a samplesized
portion. However, we were served
more yummy breadsticks, and I enjoyed
dipping mine in the surplus marsala
sauce.
My guest and I were feeling full,
but were still picking at the leftover
calamari, ravioli, salad, and chicken
marsala, when Elisa arrived with two
steaming bowls of clam chowder. Every
day of the week, Zio’s features specials
of the day, and the clam chowder
was one of the daily specials on that
Saturday. Zio’s clam chowder recipe
is also one that has been perfected
over the years at the LoForte family
restaurants, and is always made from
scratch on site. This was probably the
richest and most creamy clam chowder
that I’ve ever tasted, with plentiful
chunks of clam, celery, potato, as well
as bacon bits. Tony explained that the
recipe uses heavy cream to thicken the
soup, which makes it extra creamy and
Calamari Fritti
RESTAURANT REVIEW
1473 Fitzgerald Avenue, Suite 102, Pinole | (510) 223-ZIOS (9467) | ziospasta.com