Pasquale’s Pizza & Pasta Cafe

There's pizza in the oven, marinara sauce on the stove and checkered cloths on the tables. Welcome to Pasquale's Pizza & Pasta Cafe, whose owner, Pasquale "Pat" Iorio, takes Italian-American comforts to heart.

BUONGIORNO

What I first took to be ordinary Italian bread turned out to be a house-made treat - crusty, chewy and fragrant. I had a hard time limiting myself to one piece. In fact, I failed.

A thin-crusted personal Margherita pie satisfied four as a starter. The crust had a clean wheaten flavor, its topping bright and fresh. There was vibrancy in a Greek salad made with Romaine, olives, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes and feta in a red-wine vinaigrette. Shrimp oreganata was another plus, the plump shellfish broiled with seasoned crumbs in a white wine-lemon-butter sauce.

Al dente linguine with clam sauce was garlicky but not overly so. A friend asked for a Bolognese sauce rather than the pomodoro combination listed when ordering house-made gnocchi. The semolina dumplings were tender, the mellifluous meat sauce lightened with just a touch of cream. Very good. While I'm not usually a fan of grilled chicken strips in pasta dishes, they didn't undermine a combination of tricolored fusilli, broccoli rabe and cannellini beans in a light roasted garlic sauce. Next time, though, I'd substitute sausage.

Iorio uses boneless breasts in his chicken scarpariello. Although my choice would be bone-in skin-on poultry, the combo I got was a winning one featuring sausage, peppers, onions and tomatoes in a light rosemary-laced broth. Chicken Francaise starred fork-tender cutlets in a citrusy sauce.

House-baked cherry cheesecake was simple but rich.

ARRIVEDERCI

I wasn't nuts about the nutella-topped dessert pizza. Too sweet. Way too sweet.

BOTTOM LINE

Iorio's food isn't designed to rock the boat but rather to give you a smooth sail.