![]() Il Forno has them-moist, creamy, imported buffalo-milk mozzarella, ripe tomato that tasted like it was just pulled from the vine, and fresh basil. You don't need a degree from a culinary institute to put this together properly. There's nothing remotely complex about it-fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, a touch of basil, all drizzled with olive oil. You achieve certainty once you've sampled the appetizers.Ĭaprese is a reliable test of a kitchen's commitment to quality. You get an immediate inkling from the bread, a fresh, crusty loaf. This is a practiced, assured kitchen, one that sweats the details. The labeling may be suspect, but the food itself isn't. Tiramisu and creme brulee, meanwhile, are about as trendy as Nehru jackets and beehive hairdos. Since when are appetizers like carpaccio, caprese, steamed mussels and fried calamari contemporary? What's hip about pasta al pesto or linguini with clam sauce? The only way you might imagine veal marsala, pollo alla Milanese and seafood stew are cutting-edge entrees is if you've just awakened from a 30-year nap. Whoever labeled the menu "contemporary Italian cuisine," however, stretches credulity almost past the breaking point. Whoever designed Il Forno knows something about casual, understated elegance. The three small dining areas offer intimacy and a refuge from the usual restaurant clatter. Eye-catching prints and piped-in jazz and classical music furnish tasteful visual and aural background. This place is striking, all gleaming, burnished cherry wood (you'll want to run your hands across it) and sleek, shiny mirrors. The restaurant's strip-mall setting doesn't do justice to one of the smartest-looking interiors in town. However, noting the $10 appetizers and $20-plus entrees, I'd advise God, and everyone else, to make sure they come with sufficient funds. ![]() ![]() The fare here is consistently first-rate, and, at times, almost divine. Should He stop in at swanky Il Forno, the proprietor can await the Day of Judgment with perfect confidence. Well, I'd say that God must love going out to Italian restaurants, at least when He visits the Valley. Someone once said God must love poor people-after all, He made so many of them. Hours: Dinner, 5 to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
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