"6"^^ . "6"^^ . . . . "4"^^ . "Arrivederci, a southern Italian enclave in the midst of a strip mall in the desert, can boast the rare designation of a dining choice that was not a compromise candidate between members of my family. Granted, I might have just been weak from the travel, but I was enthusiastic to satiate a hunger difficult to address in my homeland.\n\nI was not disappointed with what we found. An owner who greets patrons with \"buena sera!\" in a thoroughly non-corporate, warm, mood-lit setting is always a good sign. Many patrons who respond back in Italian and conduct themselves like they're at their second home are an even better sign, even if the restaurant was a bit empty.\n\nThe true test, of course, is the food. No amount of show or neighborhood family feel could compensate for a massive kitchen deficiency. Fortunately, it wasn't required:\n\n- Bread: Uninteresting... except I could drink the accompanying pesto and oil mix.\n- Minestrone (~$5): The lowlight. A case of nothing ventured, nothing gained. Skip it.\n- Gnocchi in pink vodka sauce with salmon (~$19): Let's just say I was highly looking forward to the leftovers as two separate snacks. \n- \"Choco\"misu (~$7): Much hullabaloo is made about the addition of the ingredient, but it really just came off as above average tiramisu.\n- Cannoli (~$5): Always ridiculously unhealthy, but here it's made properly with ricotta and the texture is spot on enough to justify it.\n\nArrivederci is an excellent \"corner\" restaurant in a land lacking a bit in both deviance and corners. More importantly, it clearly passes the \"would survive in NJ as-is\" test. There is nothing left to say."^^ . "2011-01-03T00:00:00"^^ . "8"^^ .