Story and photos by Alexa Cutrer
Italian food is usually a dinner decision. Eataliano disagrees.
The new restaurant on Howard Avenue opens at 6:30 a.m. with coffee and fresh pastries, then continues through lunch and dinner. We arrived for lunch and did not hold back: calamari, burrata salad, chicken piccata, chicken Parmesan and tiramisu.
Breakfast hours may have gotten my attention, but our lunch gave me plenty of reasons to return.
CALAMARI FIRST, QUESTIONS LATER
We started with the calamari and burrata salad.
The calamari was crispy, well-seasoned and quickly disappeared from the table. It had plenty of crunch without tasting heavy or greasy, making it an easy appetizer to pass around before the main dishes arrived.
The burrata salad was the perfect contrast. The soft, creamy cheese and fresh ingredients gave us a cooler, lighter bite between pieces of fried calamari. If you are visiting with a group, order both. They balance each other beautifully and give everyone something to pick at while deciding which entrée to claim.
PICCATA OR PARMESAN? ORDER BOTH
For our entrées, we chose two Italian classics: chicken piccata and chicken parmesan.
The chicken piccata had the tangy lemon flavor I want from this dish. The sauce kept each bite flavorful without overwhelming the chicken, and the acidity helped cut through some of the richness of everything else on the table.
The chicken parmesan took us in the opposite direction with crispy breaded chicken, red sauce and melted cheese. It was hearty, cheesy and exactly what you hope to receive when ordering one of the most comforting dishes on any Italian menu.
Choosing between them depends entirely on your mood. Order the piccata when you want something lemony and savory. Choose the parmesan when only red sauce and melted cheese will do. Better yet, bring someone willing to split both.
TIRAMISU IS NOT OPTIONAL
Even after two appetizers and two entrées, we ordered the tiramisu.
It was creamy, coffee-flavored and sweet without being too heavy after such a filling lunch. It was also the dish I kept thinking about after we left.
If tiramisu is your love language, this is your sign to save room. And if everyone at the table says they only want one bite, order more than one.
ONE RESTAURANT, THREE REASONS TO VISIT
Eataliano serves breakfast from 6:30 to 11 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 3 to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
That schedule makes it more than another place to reserve for a night out. You can stop by for coffee and pastries in the morning, grab lunch on Howard Avenue or bring the family for chicken Parmesan and tiramisu at dinner.
We went for lunch, but Eataliano gave us three different reasons to return.
IF YOU GO
Eataliano Restaurant & Bar
1036 Howard Ave., Biloxi
Open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
