Holy crap, this place really IS really really nice!
I've heard about Gio Rana's via Yelp, but I thought with such a stupid name that there was no way in hell it could really be a nice place. I was wrong! (In my mind I was picturing some kind of douchy East-Side-Marios type place, but I was so off).
Was taken here by someone who is a regular, so we may have been given special treatment, but the service was excellent.
The place was absolutely rammed (Friday night) and there was some loud but fun music. Decor is a la "hipster/italian". Tables are set fairly close together so the place is boisterous,if you like quiet places you will not be a fan of Gio's.
The food here is fairly traditional Italian but served on small plates/tapas style. Most of the appetizers are $10ish and the primi and secondi (pasta and meat dishes) around $15 with $5 side dishes (veg and potatoes, etc)
We tried caprese salad, prosciutto with figs and the grilled calamari (served with capers and tomatoes! OMG) for our appetizers. I had the lamb shank (daily special) and my DC had the pork tenderloin. We had sweet potato mash and a side of beets for veg dishes. Food was all incredibly delicious and served in a very rustic Italian fashion.
Finished off the evening with a tiramisu (yum! super boozy).
I want to go back!!!!!