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| - Meh. I've experienced better.
Okay, I have huge issues with what most Italian cuisine out there poses to be. Don't give me a meal that anyone can make with a decent understanding of how their kitchen and a grocery store work... and then do like a 400% mark-up on the price. Worse still, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find a place that use fresh ingredients and makes things from scratch. Otherwise, last I checked, a box of pasta and a can of tomatoes were pretty darn cheap.
In another words, I crave authenticity and value (I know: those two don't always play well with each other), and as usual, this Italian left me disappointed. This place came highly recommended to me as good, fairly priced Italian food. The chicken cannelloni were talked up so much, that three, out of the five of us, ordered it. For $12 a plate, I expect more than just two standard cannelloni (even if just a side salad or something), especially if the chicken was pretty dry -- if I were to guess, a consequence of prefabrication. Yet to its credit, the bechamel sauce had perfect consistency and wasn't too rich. Luckily the bread, oil, and balsamic were gratis so I could at least get my fill.
Looking at the menu, I will say the prices aren't as bad as most culprits, yet the quality could be taken up a notch to meet them. Also, the ambiance deserves a note. Italian places usually goes in one of two directions: a Tuscan kitchen motif or a Sicilian mafia motif. While the former tends to be more intimate, the latter, like this establishment, tends to be classier. The booths have ample leg as well as elbow room. I would call the lighting romantic without being too dim. The hostess was delightfully bubbly. Service by the waitress was spot on without any deficiencies or commendations of note. Despite my trepidations, I might find myself here again.
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