No passport necessary to Il Giardino

I'd never have guessed I'd need a reservation for dinner at 7 on a Monday night in August, but I'm glad we made the call.

We arrived at Il Giardino a few minutes early and were promptly seated at one of the last available tables by the perky hostess.

The busy wait staff scurried to take care of the crowd:

a large birthday party, a business dinner, a young family of four flush with the sun of the day in T-shirts and flip-flops.

We sat in the atrium, in the center of the activity. A 20-year-old giant ficus tree wrapped in tiny white lights loomed overhead, and a fire danced in the wood-burning pizza oven in the corner. Sinatra played softly through the speakers. A thick glass divider etched with breezy fronds separated the dining area from the roomy yet intimate bar.

"Would you like to hear about our specials?" inquired Scott, an 11-year veteran of the wait staff. We were already drooling, watching the plates being delivered to surrounding tables, and yes, by all means.

We ordered an appetizer special of tender homemade mozzarella ($12) with roasted red peppers, garlic cloves, capers, olives and fresh basil served with a crusty-warm-from-the-oven focaccia ($5) and drizzles of two house oils, garlic and roasted red pepper. It was a meal in itself: garlicky, warm and wonderful.

Our house salads of crunchy romaine, olives (with pits), a grape tomato and fat cucumber slices arrived. The waiter dressed them with a bit of the house Italian basil vinaigrette, gave the pepper mill a few turns and then sprinkled some grated Parmesan on top. Simple and divine.

Our entrees arrived at a leisurely pace. The Cheese Eggplant Special ($17) brought a generous arrangement of sauteed eggplant layered with marinara sauce, mozzarella, grated Parmesan and parsley. It was light, fresh and clean on the palate.

The Pollo alla Sorrentina ($18) and its side of linguine ($4) was the favorite, served piping hot and sprinkled with more Parmesan. The chicken breast was juicy, and the accompanying spinach, zucchini, prosciutto and mozzarella was a lemony delight.

We watched with anticipation as the wait staff carved monstrous slices of the house specials - cheesecake, dense chocolate layer cake and fluffy napoleon - from the dessert island. Our server said the giant tray of napoleon ($7 a slice) is sometimes gone by 8 p.m. We were glad we scored a piece and were thrilled with the airy, flaky pastry/cool vanilla custard/whipped cream/powdered sugar-covered cloud. We savored it slowly with mugs of intensely rich coffee ($2.50).

My purse doesn't allow for a trip to Italy this summer, but I can enjoy its flavors right here in my hometown.

Grazie, Il Giardino, for your warm, friendly service and excellent fare.

Judy Cowling,

jcowling3@cox.net