A Matter of Taste: Al-Mediterraneo

Al-Mediterraneo

288 East Main Street
Hummelstown, PA
717-566-5086

by Dawn Eckenrode

Basil, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and summer’s oh-so-sweet peppers... do I have your attention yet? Hot from the oven crusty breads and wine, cheeses and marinated olives... hello out there-is anyone ready for a soul-satisfying, palate gratifying experience? I thought so. So come with me as I take you to Al-Mediterraneo on Main Street in Hummelstown. That’s right, in quaint little ‘ol Hummelstown there’s a fine eating establishment that deals some righteous Mediterranean cuisine, boasts a wood-fired brick oven that spits out fresh crusty breads and pizzas, and is a contemporary-sophisticated place to take yourself and anyone else that craves the taste. You know the taste - the pungent taste of the garlic, the sweet taste of the basil, the taste of nirvana that happens when all the ingredients are put together in the right way, and all the right magic words are said. Strap in readers, and let me take you from zero to sixty; your hair’s gonna get mussed up, but you’ll thank me for it.

One fine warm evening, my taste-testing minions and I arrived at Al-Mediterraneo happy and ready for our usual hedonistic feast. (We don’t leave any dish unturned, this crew)! Anyway, parking is no trouble, and there is valet service available (and actually cordial and willing valet service, at that)! The building has clean, straight lines, an outdoor open courtyard, and lots of glass. A definite Mediterranean look is evident. Inside, once past the entrance area, the room opens up into a large, open dining area that is parted by an open stairway to the second floor, which provides a view of the area below. The feel of openness and airiness is compelling, provided by the huge windows and wide-open architecture. We were seated at a large round table near the appetizer bar (more on that in a moment) and in plain view of the grand brick wood-fired oven. The chef in charge of those wonderful breads and pizzas is posted there, spinning pizzas and tending to the oven. Watching him in action can be an amusing diversion - when you aren’t stuffing your face! When seated, you are served fresh bread, and on your table is extra-virgin rosemary olive oil to doctor it up. The menu offers some wonderful appetizer choices, as well as some beautiful salads. Big Hint: If you can’t make up your mind about which appetizer sounds the best, go for the Antipasti Bar, which is a cornucopia of different appetizers, and such good clean fun! You can check out the bar and see if it’s what you might like before you order. Other good choices are the Calamari alla Siciliana, which is wonderfully fresh Calamari, pan-fried (not coated and deep-fried) with grilled eggplant and a fresh tomato coulis (a puréed sauce), or the Funghi Portabello alla Griglia or grilled Portabellos as we call them in Pennsylvania. These are topped with a very nice mozzarella and prosciutto. I could go on and on about the antipastos, but let me tell you a little about the salads, before we get to the good stuff. There is of course a Caesar (Alla Cesare) - good, but I couldn’t detect my beloved anchovies in it; a nice summery salad of cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and goat cheese over romaine (Insalata Pugliese); a super spinach salad (a must-try) with blue-cheese croutons, garlicky roasted walnuts and tomatoes topped with a honey mustard dressing (Insalata di Spinace e Noci), and a pleasant garden green salad. There were a couple of soups offered, a minestrone, and a crab soup, both of which sounded good, neither of which we tried - we wanted to get right down to business. As I mentioned before, there is a beautifully done brick oven, at which one can watch the chef preparing pizzas and fresh breads. So, of course, we tried one of the six different varieties of pizzas offered. We picked Pizza O Sole Mio which is a kind of goofy name for this roasted red pepper, garlic, eggplant, and asagio cheese delight. (As an aside, asagio cheese is a high quality, piquant Italian cheese that is just superb). There were lots of other varieties of pizzas, with toppings that ranged from artichokes to anchovies, mushrooms to mozzarella, capers to calamatas (olives). Be aware though, that the crusts on these pizzas are fairly hard and crusty, as opposed to bready and gummy. So some wine to wash down the crusts wouldn’t be out of the question. There were six pasta dishes, of which we tried the Linguini alla Vongole (linguini with clams). This was a hearty and generous dish, very prettily plated, with a somewhat spicy white wine olive oil sauce. A nice variation from the heavy white cream clam sauce that you see so often with this dish. What we didn’t try - and I am going to have to bring my dinner buddies to task for this - was the wild mushroom ravioli on spinach with fresh tomatoes and a roasted shallot cream sauce. Surely, next time. Anyway, there were several innovative poultry dishes, not your run-of-the-mill ‘boneless grilled lemon pepper chicken breast’ or some such. There were two chicken breasts, one encrusted with macadamia and served with a wine-based brown sauce, and one crusted with sesame seeds and served with a mushroom wine sauce. They also offered a roasted duck breast, which we didn’t try - I usually am more interested in duck in the fall and winter. For meat offerings, there were five well-rounded selections. Of course we couldn’t let the rack of lamb go by - an absolutely lovely rack roasted with rosemary and served with roasted garlic brown sauce, the Costate d’Agnello was super. Also offered were fillet mignon, veal marsala, and an intriguing marinated pork tenderloin with a pear and dried cherry fruit chutney, which go un-reviewed. In addition to a couple of evening’s specials, the menu offers four fresh seafood dishes. We chose the Tonno alla Spoglia, which was my personal winner for the evening. It was a beautifully fresh tuna steak, grilled, with a scallop mousse in phyllo dough, plated above a very nicely executed truffle cream sauce - bravo! I also highly recommend the Stufato alla Mediterraneo, their signature seafood stew with all the clam, mussels, shrimps, and scallops they can stuff into it, all swimming in a saffron tomato broth and served with risotto (that’s just an Italian version of rice for all of you who haven’t quite graduated to trying it yet because you didn’t know what it was and weren’t sure you’d like it and were too shy to ask). The other really nice fish dish at our table was a grilled whole snapper (yep, head and all) that was served with a pasta side.

After all of that you’re wondering if we had room for desserts. Well of course not, but we tried them anyway. It’s a tough job, and I do it just for you dear readers - I hope you appreciate the sacrifice. The desserts are not listed on the menu, but our server brought over a dessert tray from which we picked out a few, and we also had several espressos and cappuccinos to go round for good measure. The desserts were well done, with offerings to please everyone from the chocoholic to the custard-eater. Suffice it to say that at that point we were done for. Go and enjoy. Ladies bring a shoulder covering - it was a little breezy with all that open space. Also, the acoustics can be pretty noisy, depending upon where you are seated. If you are an intimate couple, you may want to request seating upstairs.

Pricewise, appetizers run about $7, salads from $4 to $6, the pizzas $8-$10, pasta dishes go from $11 to $17, the meat dishes run from $14 for the chickens to about $24 for the rack of lamb, and the seafood dishes run from about $16 to $20. A wine list is available, as well as by the glass. Al-Mediterraneo is located at 288 E. Main Street, Hummelstown. Reservations for weekends are recommended.

Al-Mediterraneo

Entrees range from $11 to $24
Average Dining Time: 60 minutes

Location: Easy to Find

Parking: Vallet

Handicapped Access: Entranceway

Exterior Appearance: Impeccable

Initial Interior: Double-Door Foyer

Reservations Necessary: Weekends

Preferred Dining Attire: Neat & Clean

Wait (to be seated): None

Wait (for service): None

Lighting: Fine

Meal-time Music: None

Dining Area Appearance: Looked Brand New

Noise: Bad Acoustics

Climate: Drafty

Tables: Fine

Chairs: Comfortable

Booths: None

Table Setting: Full with cloth napkins

Your Meal: Entree from Dinner Menu

Appetizers: Creative

Salads: House

Dressings: House

Vegetables: Wide Selections

Desserts: Cart/Wide Selections

Coffees: Cappuccino/Espresso

Staff Attitude: Friendly

Staff Appearance: Dress Uniform

Hospitality: Served Efficiently

Cleanliness: Very Good

Wash Rooms: Clean

Crowd (Qty): Busy

Crowd (Attitude): Casual/Laughter

Food (portions): Very Satisfied

Food (prices): Fair

Overall Service: Attentive

Payment Accepted: All Major Credit Cards