Calo Pizzeria Restaurant
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For 40 years CALO PIZZERIA RESTAURANT was a comfortable Italian place beloved for its total lack of chic. But the neighborhood–Andersonville–has been changing, and Calo’s making an effort to fit in with slick new neighbors like Jin Ju, La Tache, and Hama Matsu. A recent extreme makeover includes wood floors instead of the old wall-to-wall floral carpeting, black-and-gray upholstery on the booths instead of red vinyl, and some new windows. The two dining rooms are both nonsmoking now, though smoking’s still allowed at the bar, which has been gussied up with hanging light fixtures and five televisions. Most of the friendly old waitresses are still there, but their ranks have been diluted by a younger set of servers. The neighborhood regulars seem to have vanished; the new, more fashionable crowd matches the decor. About the only thing that’s stayed the same is the menu, though the food seems to be executed with more care these days. The mussels appetizer consists of more than a dozen plump mollusks bathed in a creamy wine sauce, and a salmon alla forno special was nicely cooked and served piping hot, topped with crispy onion strands and a creamy dill sauce. Pastas and pizza continue to be big sellers; also on the menu are steaks, chops, and seafood–fried calamari, jumbo fried shrimp, and sauteed orange roughy. The entrees still come in enormous portions, with soup, salad, and pasta or garlic-roasted potatoes, and the prices are still low–for now.
