R.I.P.: Joe Tarrentino's
First off, this isn't the more famous Tarrentino's on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. In fact, the bigger, more famous Tarrentino's once sued the smaller Joe Tarrentino's in South Lake Tahoe for use of the name.
But hey, what was Joe supposed to call his place? Alioto's? Joe won that case, but time eventually took it's toll and Joe Tarentino's eventually closed.
Tarrentino's was the first "real" restaurant that I remember going to. It wasn't a Denny's or a Dairy Queen. There was a maitre d' (usually Joe himself or one of his daughters). Joe and family were friends of my parents (well, I'm guessing they were friends of most of the year-round residents in South Tahoe), and Tarrentino's was where we went for a "nice" dinner when we weren't going to a restaurant in one of the casinos (in those days, just Harrah's, Harvey's, and the Sahara Tahoe).
The place always struck me as dark, but maybe that was the style. Big banquet style booths (we always seemed to sit in a booth).
And the food? It was Italian (in case you haven't guessed). I probably usually got spaghetti or maybe ravioli. But what I remember where the antipasto plates. Carrots, olives, little gherkins, the usual. And the bread, with little pats of butter! Nothing really special, but the kind of things that said "restaurant" to me then and probably still does to this day.
So Joe, thanks for the memories and for the pasta!
Meal: Dinner
Rating: N/A
Date Closed: ?
Address: South Lake Tahoe, CA
Website: N/A
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