Annie owns this place and she's there all the time making certain things are done just right and one of those things is the food. This small local restaurant is not at all what I expected. I was looking for good Italian food to take out and when I reached the door 30 minutes before the opening time it was the owner who let me in. Pleasantly surprised, I was seated, offered water if I'd like to wait and when I told her I was interested in a takeout order to bring food to a friend who just broke her foot, she told me it wouldn't be a problem - and it wasn't. In fact, it was far from it.
She brought me a menu that I swear came from any of a number of Italian restaurants I frequented as a young man living in Brooklyn NY - southern Italian cuisine. She recommended the Brussell sprouts sauteed and dressed in a delicious vinegarette with cashews - awesome. I couldn't decide on main dishes because the choices were sounded so good, but I settled on the Fra Diavolo (or Diablo - potato, potaato), with both shrimp and scallops. A second was the Italian sausage pasta. Home made cannoli and tiramisu topped off the meal along with garlic bread and a parmesan-ladened salad.
Wondering how this would keep with travel to my friends' house, we both were pleasantly surprised that nothing required heating and the tastes were all exquisitely complementary. This reasonably priced diamond in the rough should be on your 'place I need to go for Italian' list. You won't be disappointed. Thank you, Annie, I'll be back.