Li'l Rizzo's Italian Restaurant

Enjoy live music at the Lake of the Ozarks when you dine at Li'l Rizzo's on Horseshoe Bend. Me & Jim will be joining us every weekend for the 2015 season. Check out the schedule below and make plans to come visit the best Italian restaurant at the Lake of the Ozarks soon! About Me & Jim  "Me and Jim" play instrumental renditions of rock music from the 60'S and 70's. They use vintage guitars and sometimes mandolin, performing familiar tunes at conversational volume. "Jim," that is Jim Biggs, has performed in concert with such big names as Chuck Berry, Barbara Mandrel, and Barbara Fairchild. Jim played the Hotel Circuit pickin' country and rock music during the 70's and 80's all across the country. He owns a pile of vintage guitars, mostly Les Pauls, and has been known to bring several of them to the shows and switch guitars as they become too hot to handle! As for "Me," Frank Phelps grew up playing rock music and p...

When talking about Italian food, pasta is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Pasta is really the dish that unifies the whole of the nation. However, if you think that food is prepared the same way everywhere in Italy, you're wrong. In fact, there are only a few Italian dishes that are considered "national." Each region of Italy has its own typical food and recipes. Although Italy can be broken down into 20 different regions, you will find some common cooking trends allowing the division of Italy into 3 different gastronomic areas: North, Center and South. Our Lake of the Ozarks Italian restaurant brings you these regional differences from LifeInItaly.com . North In northern Italy, tradition revolves around hot soups, like minestrone and vegetables like radicchio, and is based on dishes that are rich in fat. Cheese, truffle, polenta, risotti and game are the most popular of ingredients. Potatoes are also used a lot and are the main ingredient of a famous nor...

At Li'l Rizzo's , it's not all about the pizza and pasta. We offer delicious sandwiches and burgers at our Lake of the Ozarks restaurant as well. Try one of these mouthwatering subs or sandwiches next time you're here! Tuscan Chicken Sandwich Tender marinated chicken breast smothered in melted provel and served on a ciabotta bun with pesto mayonaise, lettuce, tomato and red onion. Hot Italian Sub  Italian roast beef, smoked turkey and pastrami served hot on a ciabotta bun with our house dressing, melted provel and green onions. Chicken Parmigiana Sandwich Hand-breaded chicken tender topped with cheese and marinara sauce. Meatball Sandwich Our homemade meatball served on a hoagie with meat sauce and melted cheese. Hamburger An 8 oz. ground chuck burger. Add cheese for additional charge. Rizzo Burger  Bacon, sauteed mushrooms and onions topped with melted provel cheese. Sausage & Peppers Sandwich Italian sausage, sauteed onions,...

April 7th is National Beer Day! Today commemorates the day that beer was once again allowed to be legally manufactured and sold, after the long, dry prohibition. In honor of the holiday, the BEST sports bar at the Lake of the Ozarks has gathered some facts about beer. Enjoy! Random Beer Facts 1.  Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the United States. As a country, we consume 205.8 million barrels per year, or about 20 gallons per person per year. 2. According to the Brewers Association, as of 2014, there were 3,418 craft brewers in the United States, an increase of nearly 20% over the year before. 3. Arthur Guinness II, the father of Guinness stout, altered the family beer recipe to include unmalted roasted barley instead of black malt because it wasn't subject to tax. This made it affordable for the Guinness family and also made the beer's taste distinctive. 4. The first beer cans were produced in 1935. 5. The most expensive state to buy beer in is T...

After a hard day's work, there's nothing better than kicking back and relaxing with your friends and a few cold ones! Happy Hour provides a time to relax and take your mind off the stress of day to day tasks. Let's take a look at the History of Happy Hour and then join us at Li'l Rizzo's for the BEST Happy Hour at the Lake of the Ozarks ! The History of "Happy Hour" The term "Happy Hour" actually originated right here in the United States. Back in the 1920's, the term was slang for the scheduled time of on-ship performances when the sailors were a little "happy" from drinking. Due to the prohibition, the act of drinking before dinnertime began around the same time on shore. Friends would gather for illegal cocktail hours before going out for dinner because restaurants could not serve alcohol. The term became more mainstream when an article featuring military life was released in 1959 in the Saturday Evening Post. Over time,...

Today, March 26th, is actually Make Up Your Own Holiday Day. So Li'l Rizzo's is declaring National Li'l Rizzo's World Famous House Salad Day ! Anyone that has tried our amazing salads will tell you, it's definitely worthy of it's own holiday. It didn't get the title of "World Famous" for nothing. Our Lake of the Ozarks Italian restaurant just wouldn't be the same without it! What Makes Our Salad So Special?  At L i'l Rizzo's , we use only the freshest quality ingredients. To make our "world famous" salad, we start with crispy iceberg and romaine lettuce. Next we mix in some diced red peppers and green onions. Then comes both provel and parmesan cheeses. Finally we toss the mixture in our delicious house dressing! You can enjoy our salad on the side of your meal or as the meal itself. You can even add some chicken if you like. Our salads come in small, medium or large. Take it to-go or dine-in at either of our Lake ...

It's National Ravioli Day and Li'l Rizzo's Italian Restaurant offers some of the BEST Italian food at the Lake of the Ozarks . In honor of this day, we would like to explain more about "ravioli" and a few of the most common types you'll see in Italian restaurants at Lake of the Ozarks and across the country. What is Ravioli?  The word "ravioli" refers to all kinds of filled Italian pasta where a thin layer of dough wraps around a filling. Ravioli are either boiled and dished out with sauce, or served in broth. The pasta layer, generally egg-based and rolled into a thin sheet, serves as more than an enclosure - it overextends around the filling and binds with the sauces or the broth. Common fillings may include meat, cheese, vegetables and vary greatly between the countless regional recipes. Special types of deep fried sweet ravioli also exist - a long known tradition. Types of Ravioli Ravioli gets its shapes, names, and fillings based upon...