Madisono's Gelato at Pompilios Italian Restaurant in Newport

Yesterday, we suffered the loss of an entire pork loin, which had gone bad in our refrigerator. Not overly dismayed, I thought it was a perfect reason to go out to dinner with the family. Whenever we eat out, we make it a point to patronize a restaurant that carries Madisono's Gelato and sorbet. My wife and I hadn't eaten at Pompilio's Italian Restaurant since before we were married and living in Newport (before it was cool) so the visit was long overdue.

Soda is served in bottles which thrilled our son.

Comfortable and casual with the old-school Italian eatery decor.

We were charmed by the entire experience and can't wait to get back again! The decor is old-school Italian eatery with tables covered in red and white checkered linens under white butcher paper. The walls are tastefully faux painted with the look of chipping old plaster the color of amber and brick "revealed" underneath. Since Pompilio's is in Kentucky, we were greeted with the old "smoking or non-smoking" question. That right there is a throwback for Ohioans, isn't it? The smoking section and bar is on the right where the wonderful old black and white tiled floors are. You might remember those floors from the movie Rain Man when Charlie Babbitt drops the toothpicks on the floor and does his autistic savant counting for Tom Cruise's character. Bring back memories?

We were greeted warmly by the owner who chatted with us a few minutes before getting back into the very busy workflow. The service was exceptional and not in the hoity-toity kind of exceptional way. Our server was a young guy with arms covered in tattoos bearing his children's names and he expertly assisted us and our kids through the ordering process. He was very attentive without hovering  which is the best kind of service in my opinion, and kept our special requests sorted with ease. We loved all the food, especially the fried calamari (which both repulsed and mesmerized our kids--two were even brave enough to try it), caprese panini and my wife and daughter claimed the onion rings the best they'd ever had. My wife has evaluated onion rings from many, many restaurants so this is a sound recommendation.

And the Madisono's Gelato? Pompilio's serves 2 custom flavors that you won't find anywhere else: Spumoni (pistachio, chocolate and vanilla), Blueberry and Double Chocolate. Make sure you save room for dessert since you can't them anywhere else! Pompilio's has been serving delicious Italian food for over 79 years and is located on East 6th Street in Newport, Kentucky. It also has a great outside dining area with Bocce Club tournaments in the summer.