Venue Review: Tarantini

When Edward and Eliane Tarantini and Eliane's sister, Elaine Lopes, decided to open an Italian restaurant in a location where two Italian restaurants had previously failed, they knew they needed to distinguish their restaurant from its predecessors. And that's precisely what they did, in a big way.

They gave the dining room a makeover, transforming it from bare-tabletop pizzeria to cozy ristorante with soft lighting, black table linens, and romantic landscapes on walls painted in rich hues of chianti and pine. They assembled a solid collection of more than 80 wines, half of them Italian. When Chatham County passed liquor by the drink in May, they promptly added a full bar.

The partners hired chef Absalom Naula, whose two decades of experience includes work at the landmark Sant Ambroeus in New York. Naula developed a menu that's liberally sprinkled with the likes of gnocchi napolitano, chicken fiorentino and zuppa di pesce. Pizza and panini are also offered, as well as the familiar comforts of lasagna and veal marsala. There's a children's menu, too, no doubt an acknowledgement of the suburban restaurant's dependence on Governor's Club and other nearby communities. But the bulk of the offering is in keeping with the casually refined setting.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that Tarantini's star attraction is its New York-style pizza. The brick oven turns out an exemplary thin crust, its bottom crisp all the way to the center (even on an 18-inch pie), though not so crisp as to prevent folding a slice if you're so inclined. In the case of the margherita pizza, that crust is lightly brushed with extra virgin olive oil and homemade sauce, then topped with a colorful mosaic of fresh mozzarella, tomato slices and whole leaves of fresh basil, barely wilted.

That's not to say that the rest of the menu is lacking in pleasant finds, even a few stellar ones. Fried calamari are among the best around, rings and tentacles tender in a textbook-light batter. They're served in generous portion, too, with lemon wedges and a ramekin of warm, tomato-chunky marinara sauce for dipping. The Greek salad, on the other hand, is alarmingly skimpy given its $7 price tag.

An antipasto of sweet Italian sausage and broccoli rabe sautéed in olive oil punctuated with toasty slivers of garlic comes close to the mark. A little easier on the salt, and it's a bull's-eye.

Make that a lot easier on the salt when it comes to grouper pescatore, an entree offering that pairs the fish with littleneck clams and mussels in marinara sauce served over linguine. And while you're at it, make sure that the mussels are as fresh as the fish.

Veal saltimbocca scores with layers of tender scaloppine, prosciutto and melted mozzarella, served over sautéed spinach and an artichoke-studded marsala sauce. It isn't the classic presentation with sage, but it's nonetheless satisfying.

Pastas are al dente as a rule, and are offered in a few variations that are seldom seen hereabouts. Bucatini all' Amatriciana, for instance, which features hollow, spaghetti-like tubes of pasta simmered with pancetta, onions and garlic in marinara sauce. You can substitute whole wheat penne for the pasta in any dish for an additional dollar, though I'm pretty sure the whole wheat doesn't cancel out the fat grams in the Alfredo sauce.

You'd be well-advised to forget about fat grams completely when it comes to dessert. All you need to know is that the classic Italian-style cheesecake is a must. I hear the homemade tiramisu is excellent, too, though I may never be able to confirm it as long as the cheesecake is available.

As it turns out, I needn't have been surprised by the first-rate pizza. Eliane Tarantini and Elaine Lopes grew up in Brazil, where their family owned a pizzeria.

Edward Tarantini, a third-generation Italian who moved to the Triangle from Long Island to study accounting, contributes a lifetime of New York-style pizza-eating expertise. No doubt he had a say in the business plan too, that promises to make Tarantini an enduring success where its predecessors failed. As they say, the third time is the charm.