The classic Caesar and the arugula, red onion and shaved Parmesan were also everything they should be.

Current starters include skewers of grilled chicken set over arugula; beef carpaccio with arugula and shaved Parmesan, and baked goat cheese over mixed greens.

Next, forgo the neon-orange cheese slices and replace them with a more interesting, lower-fat alternative shaved Parmesan, reduced-fat Swiss, or just a sprinkling of feta, for example.

The most mundane of the entrees was rigatoni with cubes of spicy Italian sausage, white beans, tomato, basil and shaved Parmesan, but even it had robust appeal.

Starters on the current menu include lightly breaded baked clams; carpaccio with arugula and shaved Parmesan; roasted sweet peppers with anchovies, and prosciutto with melon.

Mushrooms cooked in the pan after the sausage make a great garnish for the stew, and so would grated or shaved Parmesan.

Another worthy cold starter is the plate of paper-thin carpaccio topped with an arugula salad, shaved Parmesan and tiny black olives.

Just before serving, set the lamb, potatoes, artichokes, black olives and shaved Parmesan on the buffet.

It was drizzled with a warm balsamic dressing and featured crisp pancetta and shaved Parmesan.

We ordered salads (arugula with lemon and shaved Parmesan, and a Caesar ) and shared one of the mozzarella cheese pizzas, called "stone baked pies."