Verdi offers great food, view and intimacy, even at lunch

Located on Bowling Green’s Fountain Square, Verdi is a quiet getaway for dining.

The smallish restaurant provides white cloth-covered tables placed in such a way as to offer privacy for conversation, and perhaps a little because of the low lighting, even at lunch.

But you may spend more time talking about the food than anything else, trying to discern the ingredients in the menu items, many of which are old family recipes.

Take the meatballs for instance. The luncheon portion was served atop a fluffy bed of from-scratch mashed potatoes. The two nearly tennis-ball-size meatballs were made only of ground beef shoulder with spices – a recipe that’s been in the Osmanovic family for years. They were heavily drizzled with a delicately flavored brown beef gravy. And did I mention – they were delectable.

But wait, I forgot about the stuffed eggs we started the meal with. I must say that I previously thought I hated deviled eggs; perhaps I need to make sure that the next time I try them they are made from a Bosnian recipe. The appetizer portion of two eggs was stuffed with a mixture of mostly egg yolks whipped with a bit of mayonnaise, spices and the secret ingredient – sausage. They were raised in the small serving dish by a portion of mixed greens and radicchio and topped with parsley and paprika.

The Verdi sampler entree provided a variety of flavors for a second-timer to the restaurant. The plate had small links of beef seasoned with Balkan spices, chicken souvlakia on a skewer with grilled zucchini, squash and green pepper, all of which tasted pleasantly sweet. The plate also contained grilled chicken strips, wild rice and another stuffed egg. The menu said there would be celery sticks and ranch sauce for dipping as well, but it was absent from the plate. I think that actually might have detracted from the meal, which really would have been large enough for two to share.

We were full, but forced ourselves to indulge in dessert. For lunch, there were two selections – crepes filled with Bavarian creme or a Bavarian cake, a yellow cake topped with Bavarian creme. We opted for the crepes. Two bites were all I could handle because of the richness of the creme, the sweetness of the caramel sauce and the powdered sugar on top. A serious sweetaholic would have left the table smiling.

The dinner menu sounds very appealing, with such items as German bratwurst, wiener schnitzel, steak, shrimp and pizza, which also can be served at lunch.

The building that houses Verdi has a storied food history, starting as the Dixie Cafe in 1914. That restaurant was a staple for southcentral Kentucky until 1974. In the ’50s, it was about the only place in the region to get pizza, according to a local historian.

Constructed by Peter Thomas sometime between 1860 and 1877, the building also has been a saddlery shop, men’s furnishings store with 10,000 ties and a number of other restaurants providing flavors of the Orient and Italy.

Now Verdi serves up a mixture of dishes, with Bosnian, Greek and German accents.

Verdi restaurant

Fountain Square

Hours: Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon. through Thurs. and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fri. through Sat.

Specialties: Family-tested recipes

Cuisine: European

Libation situation: Full bar

Smoking: Bar only

Prices: Lunch from $6.99 to $9.99 and dinner from $7.99 to $19.99.

– New restaurants are given an six-week grace period. Comments can be sent to Managing Editor Mike Alexieff by telephone at 783-3235 or by e-mail at malexieff@bgdailynews.com.