For over a decade, when anybody famous came to town they came to Il Giardino. This was a fact brought home to us as my husband reminisced about when in the late eighties a visiting Jimmy Buffet did an impromptu set after dinning at Il Giardino. I guess there's no question whether Jimmy enjoyed his meal.

Equally impressive to me is the night twelve years ago when my husband and I had our first date there. The food was great then and it's still great now. Few restaurants can boast that kind of consistency in both food and service. I suppose because a good many of the staff that were there on both those special night are still their now.

From lovely Carrie at the bar, to Rich the head waiter who came over to carefully explain the subtleties of flavor of many offerings from their prize winning wine list, to Jimmy our waiter for the evening. A great many of the Il Giardino Staff has been in service there for over a decade.

The familiar faces and hands offering knowledgeable, stylish, and friendly service have made Il Giardino regulars both come back themselves and bring there out of town guests. It's a restaurant you can count on to be good.

Of course, much of that credit has to go to head chef Felix Paulino, also a thirteen-year veteran of the restaurant. As usual he was in high form the night of our visit. Coming for a late supper after a movie, our friends and we decided to get a sampling of things and share.

We began with a relatively new addition to the menu, the mesculin salad. The entrees (other than the pasta dishes) range in price from $14.95 - $28.95. These entrees include a small dinner salad. The larger mescaline salad is not one of the included salads, but is well worth the extra. An absolute taste sensation it has an incredible variety of exotic lettuces and greens topped with magnificent honey-balsamic vinaigrette and thinly sliced fresh Parmesan.

Our two appetizers were old favorites, a crisp lightly breaded and fried calamari served with marinara, and homemade Buffalo Mozzarella served with roasted peppers, capers, and black olives. Both were wonderful.

Next we shared an absolutely outstanding Flounder Francese with thick, perfectly prepared flounder filets in a delicate lemon butter sauce. As well, we had Filetti di Pollo Funghi e Piselli, a filet of chicken with mushrooms and peas in a light sauce. Also good, but I would more highly recommend three other favorites, Pollo alla Sorentina (chicken filet layered with spinach, zucchini, proscuitto ham, fresh mozzarella with a white wine sauce), Polo alla Carciofo (chicken filet with fennel, baby artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, and a whit wine brown sauce), or Salmone Il Giardino (sautéed Salmon with whit wine, lemon, garlic, and herbs).

Our pasta choice was the wonderful rich and creamy Fettucine Alfredo. Pastas are divine at IL Giardino and generally our choice when we come in for a light supper. A few of our particular favorite are Capellini Primavera, Penne all Vodka, Rigatoni al Filetto di Pomodoro, and Cappelini Al Salmone, (salmon chunks in a tomato cream sauce, my favorite). Pastas run from $10.95 up, with most under $15.00 with the exception of the higher priced seafood extravaganzas, often with fresh lobster.

Often we come for the popular two for one entree on Sunday evenings and get out for under $25.00. Another light fare/price option is the weeknight twilight specials (5-6:45 p.m.) with entrees starting at $6.95. All entrees are accompanied by delicious brick oven baked foccocia bread.

Deserts are so scrumptious at Il Giardino they're hard to pass up. The light flaky Napolean with cream filling or the classic Tiramisu are personal favorites. Great espresso and cappuccino topped the night, leaving us waddling home. Il Giardino has a fully stocked bar and live piano music from Thursday through Sunday nights. Their extensive wine list is always being updated and expanded. If you want superb wine for a reasonably price recommendations would include;

Atlas Peak San Giovese, or the Ruffino Chardonay/Pinot Grigio blend.

If you want to pull the stops out and splurge, this list can accommodate your tastes. On the high end Rich raved about Felsins Fontalloro Super Tuscan 1988, 100% San Giovese grape, which was such perfection he swore it was well worth its $100.00 price. Other wines mentioned were Fess Parker Reserve, Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, and Merryvale Reserve Cabernet.

Even more impressive than the wine list was Rich's knowledge of each wine's unique finish. Luckily, he trains the staff in wines, so you should be able to count on your waiter to guide you in accommodating both palate and pocketbook, including many fine wines offered by the glass for those who don't drink much but still want quality.

Now with their new enclosed patio open year round, Il Giardino can host parties ranging from ten to eighty guests. From start to finish, Il Giardino has yet to let me down.