Donatelli's

White Bear Lake, MN

Friday night we went out to Donatelli's with a couple friends. Donatelli's is a little Italian restaurant located in an innocuous strip mall in White Bear Lake. They also offer American food. You can't hardly be a family restaurant in Minnesota without offering some kind of hamburger, but Donatelli's actually has many burger options, many of which are Italian inspired and use monterey jack and mozzarella cheeses. They also have American and Italian sandwiches and wraps... but that's not why you came. The appeal of Donatelli's is their homemade Italian food. They make it all by scratch, including the pasta.

We found out about this place from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and we knew we just had to make it there sometime soon. The place is pretty little and there isn't much room to wait for your table, especially when it's February outside. They do have ice cream right up front, so you can stop in to get ice cream to go and they also have a couple coolers with pizzas, pastas, sauces, etc. that you can pick up and make at home. After a brief wait, we were seated at a table in the large group/busy night overflow room and not in the main dining room. We could have held out for a booth, but it was our understanding that the food came to both booths and tables, which it did.

My wife and I put together a game plan. We were each going to order something different and share. She had been craving some manicotti, so she ordered the baked manicotti, and I ordered the baked mostacolli. Most of the pasta dishes come with the option of meatballs, Italian sausage, or meat sauce for a small up-charge. Since my wife isn't a huge fan of sausage and heartburn, she got the meatballs and I got the meat sauce. The game plan fell apart as soon as the food arrived. I did get a bite of the manicotti and some meatball (the meatball was awesome) and she got a couple bites of the mostacolli, but we were both fully enjoying what was in front of us that neither one of us cared if we got any more of the other dish. The red sauce was killer. The mostacolli was cooked perfectly and topped with mozzarella and sharp cheddar and baked. Then some grated parmesan was added at the end. The sharp cheddar really completed the dish. Those bites that included everything were just fantastic. I haven't been that into a pasta dish in a long time, if ever.

Donatelli's also offers pizza, which I understand is also really good. But that will have to wait for another time, assuming I can resist the lure of the mostacolli.