Now, That's Italian

In a town teeming with Italian restaurants, Via Sforza is at the top of the category. It might not be the fanciest or offer the most inventive food, but it's solid, reliable, and consistently good.

I've been eating here for years and have yet to try a dish that fell short. (This excludes the house chardonnay, however, which should be avoided at all costs.) The Insalata Gorgonzola ($9) is a favorite, with its large pile of crisp fresh greens, including the tiniest baby arugula I've ever seen. Mounded on top is a very generous crumble of the blue cheese. They've fine-turned the balance of sweet and tart and it all comes together just right. The Principe salad ($9) is a clean and simple one, with just endive, arugula and radicchio.

The pastas here are always a solid choice. On my last visit, I tried the special risotto with tomato, garlic, and bay scallops. Unlike lots of Italian pasta courses, this one wasn't laden down with cups of heavy cream and butter. While the portions are in general, very large, the risotto was satisfying without producing a Thanksgiving coma effect.

Their Secondi course is much more inventive than the usual chicken parm and veal scaloppini. They feature Gamberi Claudio ($25), a baked jumbo shrimp with pancetta and spinach, Tilapia Siciliano ($22) with eggplant, onions and capers and a Costoletta Valdostana ($31), a veal chop with prosciutto in a white wine sauce. We tried the Pollo Cognetta ($21), a chicken breast topped with ham, mozzarella and mushrooms in a wine sauce with garlic and rosemary. The two chicken breasts were tender and pounded flat. Half the risotto dish followed by half the savory chicken was a more than satisfying perfect meal. 

Via Sforza has been putting out solid wood-fired pizza long before Rizutto's and Julian's started pondering the wonders of brick ovens. Their pies are thin-crusted and topped with gourmet combos like prosciutto and arugula ($10) or shrimp and asparagus ($12). (While it's not on the menu, they'll even make you a custom Euro meat lover's pizza with an assortment of prosciutto, sausage, pepperoni, and pancetta.) The pizza, like their entire menu, is consistently top notch.

I'm a sucker for anything chocolate, but even non-chocophiles have to admit that Via Sforza's Torta al Cioccolato ($8) is a strong way to finish the meal. The cake is served warm and is a bit gooey in the middle –whoever first came up with that idea should be canonized –with whipped cream and a ramekin of zabaglione. It definitely beat out the Cannoli ($4), which tasted as if it were lacking a key ingredient and definitely had us wondering if every bite was worth the calories. (It didn't, we decided.) If you insist on ordering something chocolate-free, the Crème Brulee and Tiramisu (both $7) are strong alternatives.

Via Sforza's warm and comforting décor fits with the casual food. The walls are painted a soft, earthy neutral and are decorated with copper pots and strands of garlic. Rough wood beams and rustic fixtures complete the look. Nothing -- from the attentive and speedy service to the mood – is uptight here. If you're looking for a quieter place to eat than the rather noisy main room, ask for one of the tables in the rear alcove. It's intimate and much calmer.

There's one other thing that endears me to Via Sforza: if, say, your 7-year-old just happens to take ill there and suddenly loses his lunch on his salad plate, the staff will be most accommodating, whisking the plate away discreetly and without attitude. This is all completely hypothetical, of course. But good to know – just in case.

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Via Sforza

243 Post Road West

203/454-4444

www.viasforza.com

Hours:

Mon.-Fri.:

Lunch: 12 pm – 3 pm

Dinner: 5 pm – 10 pm

Sat.:

Lunch: 12 pm – 3 pm

Dinner: 4 pm – 10:30 pm

Sun.:

Dinner: 1 pm – 9:30 pm

Take out available.

Major credit cards accepted