From Verona, with Love

Family recipes, old-school charm define Benton Italian spot

Named for a storied Italian city rich in history and tradition, Verona Italian Restaurant in Benton lives up to its name.

According to Verona owner Meriton “Mel” Atashi, the restaurant provides authentic, “old-school” Italian comfort food in a newly renovated, cozy environment with unmatched service. Many of the recipes are family treasures while others can be traced back to small Italian restaurants in Manhattan, New York, where Mel and his brother and co-owner, Armend “Benny” Atashi, worked before opening Verona in 2018.

The brothers heard that Saline County might be a great place to open an Italian restaurant, so they visited several times before making their move. “We have had the best support from local customers,” Mel says. “Our families love Saline County, and we always try to support the area.”

He continued with a warm, genuine smile, “We have cooked so much garlic and Italian comfort food that you can smell it from a mile away. All of our dishes are made-to-order with the freshest ingredients. We take pride in making our authentic sauces and our desserts in house.”

For this Let’s Eat visit, I was accompanied by three co-workers. Our meal began with irresistible bread and pesto sauce. Be careful not to eat too much of it (ask us how we know). The bread is perfect, and it is only the beginning of the Verona experience.

Appetizers, each served with Verona’s signature flavorful marinara, offered plenty to enjoy. The Fried Calamari was plentiful, with a light, crispy coating that had just the right crunch with

each bite. The Focaccia, oven-baked with tomatoes, garlic and mozzarella, came out warm and cheesy. The savory Mussels Marinara were beautifully arranged, swimming in the delicious sauce. We also sampled Meatballs in Pink Sauce — a best-of-both-worlds blend of marinara and Alfredo. We simply could not decide on our favorite, so we tried them each again and again.

We were able to sample three salads: the crisp House Salad with the zesty tomato-basil vinaigrette house dressing, the savory Caesar Salad with plenty of Parmesan shavings, and a tangy Greek Salad full of kalamata olives and feta cheese. You simply won’t go wrong with any of these options. The tomato vinaigrette was outstanding and a must-try.

Lunch specials, which include salad and bread, are served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Sized more like a dinner portion, the Chicken Piccata lunch special stood out with tender chicken in a lively lemon sauce with capers served with angel hair pasta.

The Shrimp Fettuccine featured plump, seared shrimp with fresh garlic sautéed in a homemade Alfredo sauce over fettuccine. The Linguine Clams included clams in

the shell with lots of fresh garlic in a white wine sauce. Red wine sauce is also an option, but the white wine sauce was impeccable, and the presentation was phenomenal.

The Chicken Marsala combined mushrooms with a rich marsala wine sauce over spaghetti. As you might suspect, there are hearty baked pasta options that will ensure that you will want to visit Verona many times to try each of them.

Desserts ended the meal on a high note. The Italian Cream Cake was sweet, cream cheesy and coconutty. The Cannoli offered a crisp shell stuffed with sweetened ricotta and dotted with chocolate chips, finished with a beautiful drizzle of chocolate. And the artfully finished Tiramisu was rich, delicately layered with coffee-soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone cream.

Service rounded out the experience, with friendly and helpful staff making the visit relaxed and enjoyable.