Phantom Gourmet: Amelia's In Stoughton

STOUGHTON - When big city dining comes to the suburbs, you are bound to get a reaction, and at Amelia's in Stoughton, that's just what happened. Located on Route 138, the massive Italian steakhouse is big on everything, from their portions to their parking lot. Owner Marios Michalakis took over the space about two years ago and spared no expense when designing the interior.

"It's a rather large restaurant. We have over 300 seats. We have a nice dark wood decor, some stone too. So we want to have a rustic and a little bit of a modern touch as well. It's definitely a little bit different than what's around here."

Connect With Phantom: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

With an ambiance like a downtown dining destination, and food just a great, there's really no need to leave the suburbs, according to General Manager, Kara Arico.

"You're getting exactly what you get when you go to Boston. You're getting quality food. You're getting good steaks. You're getting the time and preparation and quality that you're looking for when you go to Boston, but it's right here in Stoughton and it's just as good, if not better."

So Phantom tasted it all to find The Perfect Meal.

Every experience at Amelia's starts with a complimentary basket of warm ciabatta, served with olive oil and a luxuriously creamy feta dip. From there, you can move on to Italian apps like Fig and Pancetta Pizza, or a larger than life Antipasto Board, loaded up with carefully selected cheeses, Italian meats, stuffed vinegar peppers, cured olives and a sweet housemade fig jam. The meatballs will make you salivate, smothered in house marinara and served two to an order.

It's the Steak and Cheese Egg Rolls that are the must order. This not-so-Italian start to your meal turns a sub shop favorite into finger food.

"You get that crunch with the whole steak and cheese vibe, and then we have a chipotle sauce which is right on the side," Kara described. "They come two cut in half, so technically four to an order. And then the sauce is right on the side so you have the option of dipping into it or not. I always use all the sauce."

All of the pasta at Amelia's is made in house, so you know it's fresh.

"You can tell right when you taste different types of pasta if it's homemade, if it's fresh. It's quality and you can tell the second you bite into it," Kara said.

There's Spaghetti loaded up with lobster, mussels and shrimp in a flavorful white wine, garlic sauce; and thick cut pappardelle tossed in a hearty short rib sauce spiked with sweet burgundy and Grana Padano cheese. The top pasta to try is the Angolotti filled with pear and mascarpone cheese, slathered in a pecorino Romano based sauce, and served over something called Mostarda di Frutta.

"It looks like marinara sauce, but it's a fruit garnish which is actually on the dish," Kara explained. "It's really good. It goes really well with the white cream sauce too. Just those two flavors together, that fruit garnish and the white cream sauce. It just melts in our mouth."

Since Amelia's is an Italian Steakhouse, you can be sure there are plenty of choice cuts on the menu, like Double Cut Australian Lamb Chops served in a pomegranate fig demi with au gratin potatoes; or the 14 ounce Aged New York Sirloin topped with a roasted garlic butter and served alongside truffle sea salt and parmesan fries. But if you're looking to splurge, get the 20-ounce Aged Bone-In Delmonico.

"It's a bone-in ribeye, biggest steak we have. We serve it with a gorgonzola sauce on the side, which is to die for," Kara said.

"It's very flavorful, has a nice fat content so it always stays juicy. It's amazing," Marios added.

If you have room for dessert, you can go with something traditional like a big slab of Tiramisu, or something special, like the Vanilla Soufflé, a dessert that's hard to make, but definitely easy to eat.

"The Vanilla Soufflé, very difficult to prepare such as a dish and it has to go up to the table very quickly because it will rise up, but it won't stay," Marios said. "It's delicious as the vanilla flavor and we pair it with a nice vanilla ice cream."

Steak and Cheese Egg Rolls, Marscapone Pear Agnolotti, a 20-ounce Delmonico and a Vanilla Soufflé make for THE PERFECT MEAL at Amelia's.

You can find Amelia's at 217 Washington Street in Stoughton, and online at ameliasstoughton.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.