THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Italianissimo

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Italianissimo Restaurant Review:

Owner/chef Kent Betts lavishes a lot of love on his suburban strip-mall restaurant. It’s apparent in his cooking, in the perky efficiency of his staff and on the happy faces of his customers, who are mostly, one suspects, from the neighborhood. They come here to celebrate or just to eat, at tables draped in white linen, set on a checkerboard tile floor. They can splurge on smoked salmon, osso buco Milanese and $100 wines, or make do with great pizza and beer. We can more than make do with dishes like lasagne made with fresh pasta layered with meaty Bolognese and béchamel; lovely, light gnocchi; tender calamari steaks sautéed with butter, lemon and capers; or lamb tenderloin in port wine sauce with fresh mushrooms. Desserts, including the gelato, are homemade. If you’re as tired of tiramisu as we are, try the airy chocolate mousse.