Don Tomasso's Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Upper Sandusky

EDIT: Update, April 2022. Crême brûlée in da house! This is my favorite dessert, bar none. I had held off ordering this, for some strange reason. I shouldn't have. This amazing dessert is part of their regular menu, and very well-priced!

Let me wax poetic about crême brûlée for a moment. A wide, oval serving dish is presented with a perfectly-baked, rich, eggy, wonderfully-textured, natural vanilla, not-too-sweet, delicate custard. Overlaying it is a delightful, caramelized sugar crust, perfectly golden from edge-to-edge, inviting you to crack it with the edge of your small spoon. You do, to be rewarded with that satisfying crunch. Each bite is a blend of heavenly custard and enticing, crispy caramel sugar.

This was my precise experience at Don Tomasso's. This is the best crême brûlée I have eaten since 2005, and it's in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, on the Don's regular menu.

On to my original review:

We saw a glamor shot of the pork Porterhouse steak with Carolina honey mustard sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and stuffed tomato on Facebook and decided to make the twelve mile trip for dinner.

We had a bit of a wait in the well-decorated but unfortunately stuffy waiting area -- they could use more air conditioning in this area. Our hostess called us to our table after thirty minutes.

We ordered drinks and proceeded to order the day's specials which included the panzanella salad as appetizers, and the Porterhouses. The bread left on the table for us was fresh, but cold. The herbed butter used fresh herbs and was bright and flavorful.

After a bit of a wait the panzanella's arrived, and other than having sat for a few minutes too long before being served were a delicious revelation. The char on the bread complemented the exquisitely balanced basil dressing, which married REAL garden tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and fresh mozzarella. The perfect bite was a still crispy crouton, a bit of tomato, a cube of cucumber, and a portion of mozzarella.

After another relaxed wait we were served our side salads with fresh made Don Tomasso's spicy ranch dressing. The salad was a spring mix of greens, more generous wedges of fresh tomatoes from the chef's garden, a sprinkling of cheese, and fresh thinly sliced cucumbers. They disappeared quickly.

A complementary cup of roasted potato soup showcased the brilliance of the chef, with deep roasted potato goodness in every rich, creamy spoonful. A fresh made chip floating on top provided contrasting crunch.

The main course ...

I just ate the best cooked piece of pork I have eaten in six years. It was perfectly seasoned. It was expertly grilled. It was extremely juicy. It rested on the perfect amount of spicy honey mustard sauce. The sauce was just sweet enough, just spicy enough, and just tangy enough to marry the meat.

The stuffed tomato was another one of the chef's own tomatoes, stuffed with light bread crumbs, Parmesan, and herbs. It was slightly sweet, with bright citrus overtones. It was a treat.

The potatoes were perfectly executed, not overwhelmingly garlicked, rich and satisfying, and wonderful for mopping up leftover sauces and juices.

We were too full for dessert when we asked to see the chef to congratulate him on the most satisfying meal of our summer. We happily paid the rather expensive bill, feeling satisfied we got good value for our money, and left our excellent waitress, the owner's daughter, a decent tip.

The meal was so stellar we simply couldn't bring ourselves to deduct a star for longer waits or slight discomfort in the waiting area. IT WAS...

Don't go here for birthday or anniversary celebrations.

We walked away hurt and disappointed. We called ahead and asked if we could bring a birthday cake for 2 or a cupcake and were told, "NO".

We went there for the first time, (only a few tables of customers) assuming they would offer a free slice of cake with a candle or something to celebrate my 40th birthday. That evening, my hubby brought my gift and card, and he made the hostess and waitress both aware it was my special 40th birthday.

The waitress watched me open the gift and commented on the lovely engraved watch my hubby gave me for the big day and wished me a verbal Happy Birthday and a big smile.

When we walked out, the hostess asked how my birthday dinner was, and we told her how disappointed we were that there was no dessert offered, and she gave a sad grimace and agreed!

The food was good as was the bread; however, the butter is as hard as concrete and rips holes in the soft, warm artisan bread.

Changes to the pizza were spot on however since I only ate 1 slice, I was surprised when asked for a pizza box, she expected us to stack the pizza into a small sandwich carry-out box.

My hubby's pasta was in a watery sauce, and the pasta was only at room temperature.

My staff of 15 wanted to go there to celebrate my secretary's birthday until I informed them of our experience and that we can't even bring her a cake or cupcake and that Don Thomasso's won't give anyone giving them business who happens to be celebrating, even as little as a...

Tonight was me and my husband's wedding anniversary dinner and I'm so upset..... we came in at 540 we called ahead and asked if we needed reservations the women om the phone said if we came in right now we could be seated. When we arrived the older lady purple seemed upset when we told her we had just called and was told we could be seated...... when we got our pepsi and mountain dew both were flate(I work at a restaurant and know when the co2 is out) told our waitress and she came back to say "idk they said it was fine" so I got a lemonade instead..... now it's 6:10 and only have gotten our drinks... 6:30 we finally get our appetizer... 10 min later our salads...almost 6:45 finally get our food and I got the chicken parm with fettuccini alfredo I asked for no sauce on the chicken since my 18 month would be eatting it as well... it comes out covered in alfredo sauce and angel hair noodles . At this point we have waited over a hour and didn't want to wait any longer so I left without eatting my food and my husband's food was bland with no flavor ... also wasn't given the bread that was suppose to come with the meal ..... we asked for the check and it took another 15 minutes to get that. We seen our waitress a total of 3 times and once when I had to call her over..... she made sure to take care of her other tables over asking how everything was besides us.... just sad that's how a...