We'd been hearing about Rastrelli's in Clinton, IA for a number of years. We'd heard that their Italian food was very good, but their pizza was the thin crust with the big chunks of Italian sausage that we crave in a good pizza. On one recent Sunday afternoon, Cindy suggested we take a little drive up the river road and find Rastrelli's to have a pizza.
Pete Rastrelli was an Italian immigrant who ended up in Clinton in the late 20's as a candy maker. In the candy shop where he worked he met a daughter of Italian immigrants, Ida. In 1929, they married and ten years later they opened their own candy store - Rastrelli's Revere Candy Shop - in the old Revere Hotel in downtown Clinton. In addition to selling candy, Pete and Ida also had an old-fashioned soda bar that sold homemade ice cream, burgers and sandwiches.
When the Revere Hotel was sold in 1950, Pete and Ida were forced to move to a much smaller location in the Lyons neighborhood area on the north side of Clinton. But they also expanded their menu with spaghetti, chopped steaks and chicken. Their son, Bob Rastrelli, came home from the Navy and was telling his parents about this new food that he had during his travels, something called Pizza. With the candy business struggling, Pete began to learn how to make pizza and traveled to Chicago with a friend to look at different pizzerias and how they conducted business. Armed with enough knowledge on how to make pizza, Pete and Ida changed their business nearly overnight. Suddenly, Rastrelli's Revere Candy Shop became Rastrelli's Pizza Shop. It was an instant hit with the locals in Clinton.
Pete and Ida ended up buying and moving into the old Madden building in 1964, not far from their small shop. They added a number of items to the menu and the business boomed in the expanded location. Rastrelli's is located in the same building today.
The Rastrelli's, with the help of their children, made their own sauces for their Italian dishes and pizzas from scratch. They also ground their own sausage and beef for the pizzas and Italian food. That continues today as Pete and Ida's son, Peter, runs the family business.
One thing I found out is that Clinton's Main Street is nowhere near the downtown area. We were trying to find Main Street, but Cindy thought it was up to the north side. I didn't have Rastrelli's address, but I knew they were on Main Street. I punched in 220 Main in the GPS and it took us up to the north side and literally right to Rastrelli's which is located at 237 Main (see map).
It was about three in the afternoon and there was a number of people in the restaurant. We were seated in a booth in the main dining room and given menus. Our waitress came out with a basket of homemade bread - a Rastrelli's trademark. I had a piece and it was wonderful. So wonderful that I had to have another. I had to stop or I would have gotten full on bread and not been able to have the pizza.
Even though we were going to get pizza, I got to looking at the large amount of pasta dishes they have at Rastrelli's. My stomach took notice at the Pasta Carbonara - they take strips of smoked pork loin and saute them with garlic. Then they add fresh bacon, parsley, cheese, and creamy besciamella sauce served with homemade penne rigate pasta. Ooo, that sounded great. They also make a chicken carbonara instead of the pork carbonara.
Rastrelli's also does steaks, fish, chicken, sandwiches and burgers. They also have a pretty impressive salad bar toward the front of the dining area. I also noticed something on the menu called a Pizzaaaaaaaaaaarelli - it's basically a deep fried calzone stuffed with Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, mozzarella cheese and sauce. I'm not certain how a deep fried calzone would really taste.
But we were going to get pizza, so we ordered up an Italian sausage and pepperoni pizza, a large (14"). Cindy also wanted a tossed house salad, but didn't want to go through the salad bar. She said, "The bread was bad enough. If I go through the salad bar I won't want to have any pizza!" The waitress said she'd bring a small dinner salad out topped with Rastrelli's homemade Italian dressing.
Cindy's salad was not bad and it wasn't long after she finished the pizza showed up at the table. It looked promising. There were big chunks of Italian sausage. There were a lot of pepperoni slices on top. The cheese had caramelized perfectly on top. I couldn't wait to dig in.
From the first bite I was sort of perplexed. Yeah, the crust was crisp, yet chewy. The sauce was, well, sort of bland. It wasn't tangy, it wasn't sweet. It wasn't even all that tomato-y. It was just sort of there. The Italian sausage was also bland. While Cindy said she could taste a hint of fennel in the meat, I got nothing. It was lifeless and flavorless. I was highly disappointed from what I was eating. After being told that Rastrelli's had some of the best thin crust pizza around, I have to say it was average, at best. There was no pizazz to the taste.
Although our waitress was thorough and pleasant, and Rastrelli's was a nice place to eat, I have to say that I was not impressed by their pizza. I was hoping that it would be worth the 45 minute drive up to Clinton from time to time, but I won't be heading to Rastrelli's for their pizza anytime soon.
You liked Van's but didn't like Rastrelli's? You must have had a bad pizza from there. They may not have had the regular cook on a Sunday afternoon. Go through the week or on a Saturday night. I like Van's allright but Rastrelli's is the bomb!
Posted by: Jen B. | February 17, 2010 at 07:50 AM
Like I said - the tomato sauce was bland as was the sausage. If they make their own tomato sauce and sausage at the place, I would think it would be consistent in taste. It wasn't that the pizza was bad, it just didn't have that tangy tomato and fennel Italian sausage taste that I've had in much better pizzas - including Van's. If I could categorize Rastrelli's pizza as anything it would be the most "vanilla" tasting sausage and pepperoni pizza I've had.
Posted by: Will | February 17, 2010 at 07:56 AM
My husband grew up in Camanche and I grew up in DeWitt and we've both been going to Rastrelli's for years before we knew each other. Pizza places have come and gone but Rastrelli's has stuck around. They must be doing something right!
Posted by: Jen B. | February 17, 2010 at 09:08 AM
I grew up in Newton and I thought a place we had there called Zeno's (later Giovanni's) had the best pizza in the world. That is, until I started to travel for a living and could try pizza from all over the place. It's like the same thing here in the Quad Cities - tons of people who grew up eating Harris Pizza still think it's the best they've ever had. I think it's horrible pizza. Everyone has their idea as to what's good and what they like, but if you've read through my blog, especially the pizza entries, you'll see that there is a lot of very good pizza out there. A lot better than Zeno's-Giovanni's in Newton! ;-)
Posted by: Will | February 17, 2010 at 09:30 AM
We don't like Harris either!!! We don't travel as much as you do. It's a little tough with three kids from the ages of 10 to 3. But I do enjoy your blog and hope to be able to visit some of these places someday!
Posted by: Jen B. | February 17, 2010 at 11:19 AM
With all due respect towards your comments about Rastrelli's Pizza,a misconception about the saugage on pizza, is that everyone is using Italian sausage for thir pizza sausage, and that is considered the norm.
Pizza sausage is in itself Pizza sausage. There is a difference, Italian Sausage, is Italian Sausage,which has fennel, sage and other spces.Pizza Sausage, which Rastrelli's uses, is used for Pizza's, this has a proprietary blend of spices, which My Grandpa, and uncles have used it since the 1950's. Please try it again, if you dont like it , call the manager, or better yet,call my Uncle Mike(Peter)Rastrelli, he will take care of you.
Posted by: Rob Rastrelli | December 12, 2012 at 01:45 PM
Next time you are in the Clinton area try Vitale's 1134 Camanche Avenue. Their sausage is head and shoulders better than Rastrelli's. I live on the north end of Clinton but will drive to the other side of town to have Vitale's pizza. The salad bar my not be as elaborate as Restrelli's and you can order garlic bread rather than having free bread but as you pointed out in your review you don't want to fill up on the sides and ruin the main coarse. They may not be as fancy as Restrelli but the prices reflect it as well. I'm not one to associate price with "good" but they do have a two large pizza deal that beats anyone along with flavor.
Posted by: Patrick Johnson | January 01, 2015 at 10:00 AM