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| - Recently I've found myself patronizing Bellevue a little more, namely because I've bought a house in the area, and have been checking out some of the mom and pops along the little strip of Mayberry RFD that is the quaint main street. Luigi's is one of those little mom and pops that offers standard basic Italian in a comfortable setting. It's a little kitchy, red-white-and-green, with Dino and Frankie tunes playing in the background.
I've stopped in on several occasions now for dinner, with various friends, and the food has been consistent...it's good...satisfying. Not over-the-top gourmet, or even in the remotest sense 'pretentious'. It's just a good ol' night out for some pasta or lasagna, with a side salad, garlic bread and conversation with your pals.
The portions are ample, the prices are reasonable, the flavors won't knock your socks off and make you think you've died and gone to Sicily, but they won't make you cringe at having given your money to a profiteering Chef Boyardee either. The service is decent, kind of point blank, not rude, nor over the top friendly.
The crowd can fluctuate between 'Oh my god, I'm surrounded by Hillbillies' to 'the local gathering at Mayberry', but that seems to be the norm for most places in da burgh.
I've not had the pizza, which apparently get raves, because frankly I only think of pizza as coming in a box to my front door when I'm too lazy to do any cooking at home. But I've had three or four of the pasta dishes, and they come in a generous portion, with a side salad and an order of garlic toast. They taste fine, fill you up, and don't break your bank.
And for a local neighborhood joint, that's exactly what I'd hope for. A place you can go to find a dependable and reasonable meal, on a semi-regular basis, in a comfortable setting, with no frills or pretense.
And that is exactly what Luigi's is.
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