The nose knows. Seriously, you can smell the bread immediately. And the sauce. I am not your pasta lover, but I gotta say, I am when I'm here.
They seem a bit unprepared for patrons to have to wait for a table. You just sort of mill about. So, of course, we started with a whiskey sour, which was ok, not great.
Seated within 10 minutes, our server was terrific and attentive. The bread was amazing. Not-so-small perfect carb clouds. Followed by generous salads and soup, a la carte. We had three pasta dishes and one calzone. The small calzone was plate sized, perfect as a single meal. The pasta bowls were substantial and very flavorful.
Gotta say, I won the meal round. The Puttanesca sauce is amazing. Black olives, capers, anchovies and some invisible hot pepper zing added some heat. Its my absolute favorite sauce, definitely not for the delicate palate.
While none of us had pizza, the shiny, hulking red-glass-tiled oven is a beautiful monster in a windowed room of her own. We agreed that we really need to try her pizza... and soon!