I had been warned that the portions were large. Bill’s ribs overlapped his plate on both sides, and he said they were fantastic, Gloria’s Tenderloin was also delicious and very generous, as was my Chicken Marsala. Russ was able to finish his steak, but the rest of us had toget a box to take home. We all agree that our meals were all that our friends claimed them to be. I don’t believe dessert was on the menu; but there is a little ice cream parlor with special home made ice cream from Tampa, but there was no way we could have checked it out.

There is more going on at the Supper Club than eating. There is a large lounge in the back. On Wednesdays and Thursdays there is a piano dinner music and about once a month they have a dinner-show package on Sunday. I also understand they plan to have wine tasting in the future. At this time, Sundays are for only dinner-show packages and private parties.

Please note they have placed an ad in this issue of the the News & Views, which has a coupon to introduce Meadowcrest residents to the Supper Club.

Submitted by Mary Carter

Much like the “Alice’s Restaurant” of folk music fame, you can get just about anything you want at The Supper Club in Crystal River, one of the newest gourmet dining establishments in Citrus County.

Not only will diners find spectacular appetizers and entrees created by Chef Rick Pleskovich in the spacious dining area that seats 86, but also a separate wine tasting room, huge lounge with live entertainment in the rear of the building and off to the side, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor complete with a soda fountain, comfortable seating and Internet access.

The Supper Club, on State Road 44 just a couple of miles east of U.S. 19 in Crystal River, is a veritable kaleidoscope of fine food and wines, a variety of dinner shows, ice cream treats in the Sweet Spot parlor, and a private room for civic and club groups.

Owner of the new restaurant is Joann DiBella, who operates the club with her husband, Joe. Chef Rick Pleskovich is an Inverness native and worked in the chiropractic field before he became a cook extraordinaire. He is assisted in the kitchen by Jean Dominique and Brock Myrvik, a culinary arts student at the Withlacoochee Training Institute in Inverness.

“We worked on refining the menu since last July,” noted Joe DiBella, who described many dinners prepared for friends and family at their home as the menu came together and was finally deemed scrumptious enough to offer to patrons.

All that preparation and testing is evident in such dishes as Crab Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms (each portabella as large as a saucer); Crisp Spring Rolls hand-made with a jumbo shrimp in each bite amid finely shredded cabbage, carrots and scallions, accompanied by a sweet Thai chili sauce, Seared Tuna with Hummus on Crostini, Fried Calamari and Ravioli, and Tomato and Mozzarella with fresh basil and olive oil.

Steak lovers will be happy to know that all the steaks at The Supper Club are 100 percent Angus beef, which is aged a minimum of 27 days, according to Joe DiBella. Other beef entrees are Beef Tenderloin Medallions lightly smoked and napped with a black pepper molasses glaze, filet mignon, rib-eye and grilled New York strip.

An early favorite with customers, Pleskovich said, is his special Pork Tenderloin with Cherry Almond Glaze. It is truly a work of nuanced culinary art — lightly smoked medallions perfectly complemented by the cherries and almond sauce. Another favorite is Chef Nick’s Slow Smoked Ribs, extra meaty, and fork-tender baby back ribs — a 2-pound rack per serving — with the chef’s “secret sauce” served on the side.

Also in demand is the Chilean Sea Bass, 8 ounces of lightly seasoned and broiled fish plated with the chef’s signature Orange Buerre Blanc, a creation, he said, that has patrons asking for the recipe.
Almost everyone’s Florida favorite finfish is grouper, and at The Supper Club it is grilled with a pecan crust and drizzled with a hazelnut cream sauce. Among the pasta dishes are Stuffed Shells with Sausage Fennel Sauce and Lobster Ravioli in Seafood Cream Sauce. Other chicken and seafood entrees complete the menu and all are served with a loaf of warm bread, house salad, vegetable du jour and potato or rice.

Joann DiBella is excited about the separate Sweet Spot ice cream emporium. She said the ice cream is totally homemade by Old Meeting House Ice Cream in Tampa, right down to the toasted nuts and freshly baked brownies and other ingredients that go into each delicious bite. Sodas, sundaes and shakes are available, too, and soon a variety of specialty coffees will be offered.

The DiBellas, natives of Staten Island, N.Y., and their children, Jessica, 13, and Christopher, 12, moved to this area about seven years ago. Her previous experience in the food business included a luncheonette and catering service.

Servers at The Supper Club are friendly and helpful and a suggested wine is noted on the menu with each entree. Appetizers range in price from $6 to $12. Entrees range from $15 for the Fettuccini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken, to $27 for the 16-ounce rib-eye steak and all portions are generous.
Entertainment includes piano dinner music on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Complete dinner show packages for the April and May calendar are “Tony & Rachel’s Comedy Wedding” on April 27 and “Murder with Extra Cheese” on June 1.

The Supper Club is closed Monday and Tuesday. Restaurant hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The lounge remains open until 2 a.m. and there is a separate bar menu for hungry imbibers. For information and reservations, call 436-4189.

Here are three recipes from the repertoire of Chef Pleskovich:

Linguine with Clam Sauce

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
7 to 8 anchovy fillets
2 tablespoons thyme
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup clam juice
1 (15-ounce) can fancy clams
1/2 pound of fresh middleneck clams, steamed
Zest of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat; add pepper flakes, garlic, anchovies and cook until anchovies melt into oil. Add thyme and white wine and reduce for 1 minute. Add clam juice, clams and lemon zest. Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Top each dish with 1/2 pound of fresh steamed middleneck clams. Cook linguine according to package directions. Serve clams and clam sauce over linguine.

Chicken Marsala

4 chicken breasts, skinless and deboned
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon Emeril’s Essence
2 cups dry marsala wine
1 stick butter
Extra virgin olive oil and butter for frying
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
1 cup fresh mushrooms

Cut chicken breasts into medallions. Combine flour and Essence. Dredge chicken medallions in flour mixture. Fry in butter mixed with olive oil until golden brown. Remove chicken and set aside. Add marsala, salt and pepper to hot pan and reduce by 70 percent. Stir in butter, several tablespoons at a time, until sauce is creamy. Turn off heat. Add sauteed mushrooms and chicken medallions to sauce and toss until well coated.

Fetuccini Alfredo with Grilled Chicken

3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 pound fettucini
1 cup Balsamic vinaigrette

Prick chicken with a fork and place in a zippered plastic bag with balsamic vinaigrette for 3 to 4 hours, turning every hour. Grill chicken and boil fettuccini according to package directions.

Saute shallots in extra virgin olive oil until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add heavy cream and stir until it starts to simmer. Turn off heat and add grated Parmesan. Stir until incorporated. Add cooked and drained fettuccini and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pasta water. Toss until noodles are covered in sauce.

Divide fettuccini among servings dishes and top with grilled chicken breasts. Sprinkle tops with finely chopped fresh parsley for garnish.

A restaurant on State Road 44 east of Crystal River that has been through numerous personalities in the past couple of decades will soon live again.

The new owners have named the restaurant The Supper Club. It’s west of Manatee Lanes, and through the years it has been J.D. Cricket’s, The Prime Minister, and Villa Maria. At one point a controversial Tampa radio shock jock had it for a short time. It has been closed for the past few years.

Whatever its past permutations, the new owners, Joe and Joann Dibella plan on a totally new personality for the restaurant and the attached lounge. The restaurant will be fine dining and won’t specialize in any one kind of food. The menu could probably be termed traditional, the owners said.

Or, a good way to describe it could be Continental with maybe a slight Italian twist, said Joe Dibella, who is working hard to open the restaurant by the beginning of the year. The couple would like to have it open by New Year’s Eve, but they are awaiting some final permits and aren’t sure if that will be possible.

The menu will be more sophisticated than the mom-and-pop restaurant, but it won’t be white glove either, said Joann Dibella. She said the meals will average between $15 and $25. Dinner seating will be between 75 and 85.

One of the chef’s specialties will be beef and pork tenderloin with his signature hint of smoke flavor with peppercorn coatings and glazes, she said. There will be steaks, pasta dishes and some seafood, such as grouper, swordfish, tuna and linguini and clams.

“It’s going to be very nice portions,” Dibella said.

She said the chef will have various appetizers, as well as bar foods for the lounge, like cheese fries and wings, but also some specialties like his own unique spring rolls, Ahi Tuna and stuffed portabella mushrooms.

The inside of the restaurant has undergone renovation, as has the front of the building. There will still be a good-sized waiting area with the bar at the entrance. There will be two dining rooms with a kind of Tuscan motif, Dibella said, and a third area set off by a glass wall that will afford privacy and be available for groups. There will also be a separate wine tasting room for such events.

In the beginning, the restaurant will serve only dinner, and it will open at 4 p.m., with the last serving at 10 p.m. It will be closed on Mondays and likely also on Tuesdays, Dibella said.

The restaurant was built to give close, easy access to the spacious lounge at the back of the building. Dibella said the lounge will have D.J. and live music — but stressed it won’t be the wild rock and roll that characterized it in one of its last incarnations. “There won’t be techno, rap or crazy rock and roll,” she said.
She said the lounge, which they haven’t named yet, will cater to the 35-and-older group. In addition to D.J. music, the lounge will have groups like The Saints, an oldies group from this region, and will have some jazz, blues and piano — and maybe a little classic rock. The lounge will be open until 2 a.m. Until the kitchen closes, dinner will be served in the lounge also, she said. After that, bar food will be available from a smaller kitchen.

She said there will be some special nights scheduled, such as a karaoke night for families.
Dibella grew up in the restaurant business in Connecticut and she and her husband had a restaurant in Staten Island before coming to Citrus County eight years ago. She said she has been looking for some time for the right place. She thinks she and her husband have found it.

“It’s a perfect location and a perfect setup,” she said of the facility. “I’m excited about it.”

Dibella said the restaurant would announce its opening as soon as the last permit was approved.