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| - Had an opportunity to visit on a beautiful Friday night - 70 degree's, clear skies, truly a perfect Southern Spring night.
First impressions - this was the old Firenza's, and the new owners haven't changed it much. There is still a bar inside and small patio outside. Overall, however, the atmosphere is more casual and inviting now - the updated decor reminds me of "red sauce" Italian restaurants in the Northeast (think Pomodoro in Boston or even Mia Francesca's in Chicago) We were seated fairly quickly (big plus!) outside.
Menu: The menu has a lot of the Italian standards (Penne with Vodka sauce, eggplant rollatini, Chicken Marsala, Calamari) but also some items that are unique (stuffed mushrooms with ricotta and spinach, a fettucine alfredo with shrimp and sun-dried tomato). We ordered the Rudy's salad (greens with a Gorgonzola honey dressing), the calamari, and for our entrees we chose the eggplant rollatini and the frutti de mare.
Overall quality of the food was very good - fresh ingredients, well prepared. While nothing we ordered was very complex, the chef did a very good job of maximizing the freshness and simplicity of the dishes. Some of the small touches we like - the calamari came with shoestring zucchini sticks that were also lightly breaded. The rollatini was excellent, a decedent dish oozing with cheese (only odd thing is it came with a random medley of veggies).
Wine list: not exceptional, but a good selection of offerings and reasonably priced by the bottle (per glass costs are a bit high)
Service: no complaints - our waiter was professional, unobtrusive, and timely.
Value: thumbs up. We had two entrees a salad, appetizer and a good bottle of wine for under $100.
Overall, this is now on our list to return to! In particular we want to try the Gnocchi Thursday's, which we have heard are fantastic!
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