Doraldo Ristorante Italiano is located in an unassuming strip mall. The restaurant was small and casual. The walls are painted with pictures from Tuscany, and tables have nice tablecloths. None of this prepared me for the food. Unlike the relaxed and casual Italian restaurant atmosphere, the restaurant served the best Italian food I have ever eaten!
I am not very fond of Italian cuisine with its marinara sauces and pasta dishes. Italian cuisine is a little bit bland for me, as I am used to the spicy and vegetarian Indian cuisine, the sour and sweet tastes of Thai cuisine, and the strong taste of Turkish kebabs with lots of hot peppers. We started our dinner with fried calamari ($7), which consisted of big bread-crumbed and fried ringlets of calamari served with marinara sauce. The calamari was not very special, though I liked that it was light. Afterwards, our salads and breadsticks arrived. The salad was brought in a big bowl for everyone to share. The breadsticks were too greasy for our tastes, and the salad was not anything special.
The highlight of our night was our entrées. My flounder francese ($14) was unlike any other Italian food I have tasted. Filets of flounder were grilled and served with linguini and vegetables in a delicious sauce made with white wine, lemon, and butter. I also got a taste of my husband's delizie del mare ($18). Shrimp, calamari, clams, scungilli, and mussels were served with linguine and vegetables in marinara sauce. I was surprised that his food was also very delicious.
The restaurant advertises that it is operated the way they would cook at home - they use no fillers or no preservatives, and they will take no shortcuts with quality. I haven't seen their kitchen, but the products of their kitchen are like none others.