New owners expand menu's Italian entrees

Since Prima Pizza Pasta changed ownership in February, the Parmer Lane restaurant's menu has grown to include additional entrees and specials to give customers more Italian plates to ponder.

The owners and chefs at Prima Pizza Pasta, Fitim Vejsa and Bitim Ibrahimi, do all the preparation and cooking for the restaurant and said dishes are inspired by traditional Italian foods with a touch of the owners' own flavors.

Vejsa worked as a chef at the restaurant before coming on as co-owner. He said that he wanted to make Prima Pizza Pasta a restaurant that focuses more on the wide variety of Italian eats as opposed to mostly pizza.

"Italian food is more like a passion than a job," Vejsa said.

Customers can still choose from a variety of pizza options, but the restaurant now includes specials such as veal or lobster ravioli and chicken rollatini. The rollatini is rolled with ham, mozzarella and asparagus, served with linguine pasta, a cognac cream sauce, diced shrimp, mushrooms, onions and sun-dried tomatoes.

Prima Pizza Pasta offers weekly specials, including salmon with a white lemon sauce and served with spinach, asparagus and carrots on the side. Monthly specials are usually offered the first Friday of the month and include items such as the lamb or veal shank, Vejsa said.

Daniel Griffith is a weekly customer at the restaurant and said the staff are friendly and professional. One of his favorite dishes is the buffalo chicken pizza.

The eatery offers fresh garlic rolls, pizza dough and sauce daily. Vejsa said the restaurant does not use any frozen foods or ingredients, and one house specialty is the homemade marinara sauce, which simmers for about seven to eight hours before it is ready. The restaurant also makes homemade pastas, pesto and more.

Popular Prima pizzas

White spinach ($11–$14): Sauteed spinach with feta or ricotta cheese

The Butcher ($15–$17): Pepperoni, Italian sausage, hamburger, Canadian bacon, bacon bits

Barbecue chicken ($12–$15): Grilled chicken, barbecue sauce, red onions

Neopolitan ($11–$14): Fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, fresh basil, chopped fresh garlic

Su'Prima ($13–$15): Pepperoni, Canadian bacon, hamburger, mushrooms, onions, olives, bell peppers

A sampling of specialties

House specials are served with a side salad and garlic rolls.

Veal rollatini ($18): Veal rolled with salami, mozzarella cheese and asparagus, chef special sauce and linguine

Chicken dijonaire ($12): Chicken breast with a Dijon cream sauce, shallots and vegetables

Frute de Mare ($17): Fresh mussels, clams and shrimp, linguine, choice of red or white sauce

Timi's Special ($20): Fresh mussels, clams, chopped baby clams, shrimp, calamari and grilled tilapia served with a lemon white wine sauce and linguine

Entrees Italiano

Chicken cacciatore ($12): Chicken breast sauteed with mushrooms, bell peppers and onions with red sauce

Eggplant rollatini ($13): Breaded eggplant with ricotta cheese, red sauce and mozzarella cheese

Sausage and peppers parmigiana ($12): Sauteed Italian sausage, bell peppers, marinara, mozzarella cheese

Prima Pizza Pasta

6001 W. Parmer Lane, Ste. 400

512-258-5700, www.prima-pizza-pasta.com