While on the way to see a movie at Fairfax Corner, we spotted a large crowd milling around the outside of an unfamiliar building. The brightly-lit sign above the freshly painted, red building read, “Ozzies”: The newest establishment by the Great American Chain Restaurant Company.

The Great American chain restaurants include some of the most delicious and well-known places to eat, such as Silverado, Coastal Flats and Mike’s American Grill. Since we have enjoyed their other restaurants so much in the past, we knew that we had to try it out. Unlike the other Great American restaurants, Ozzie’s Corner Italian, which is named after the famous Ozzies bread rolls, serves Italian cuisine rather than there other American staples.
Before going to Ozzie’s we did our research like any good journalist would and thoroughly studied the menu as though our lives depended on it. On the way there, we discussed our meal options because we wanted our food fast and had no time to waste ordering. We used the call ahead number on our way there, to avoid waiting in the long line that stretched around the corner.

Despite our best efforts, however, the kind hostess apologetically stated that the wait for a table would be two hours. As Ozzies just opened two weeks ago, it is a hot spot for foodies, reviewers and couples alike. We asked if there was another seating option and were delighted to discover that bar seating was available and we were promptly seated within the next five minutes. Although the bar seats were less intimate than a booth might have been, the friendly and excellent serving staff made us feel very comfortable. We also could not help but the notice the amazing décor, which appeared to have arrived straight from Italy. The an enormous painting of Italy was plastered along one of the back walls and the tables all had uniform, yet unique hanging light fixtures, which offered an intimate and calm feeling.

We can happily say that the only disappointment from the entire meal was that the ozzie rolls did not come with the notably bad-for-your-health butter, commonly served at the other Great Americans. We do appreciate the restaurants efforts to keep us heart healthy, however. We ordered the Sunday Skillet Brick Chicken, which was delivered in a pan filled with cannelloni beans, pancetta, spinach, tomatoes and baby meatballs. We highly recommend this dish because it was cooked to perfection and had a very unique, and savory flavor.The other dish we excitedly sampled was the Penne all a Vodka & Smoked Scottish Salmon with vodka tomato cream sauce. Both were excellent choices, though the other items on the menu all looked equally as delicious.

When our waiter asked if we were interested in trying a dessert, we had of course already picked out the items we wanted and quickly ordered cups of Triple Chocolate and Pistachio Gelato, which both came with a piece of chocolate hazelnut biscotti. The gelato was even better than we had imagined. The rich, creamy chocolate contrasted with the crunchy biscotti ended our meal perfectly.
We left the restaurant full and happy, assuring our waiter we would be back very soon. There are so many items left to try and we can’t wait to sample them all.