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Caffe' Italia, Meridian street. The restauraunt is in two rooms-- surround the cafe, and are bisected by the piano bar (a TRIP on Friday nights!). The restaurant itself is only open a few nights per week. I have been to the cafe on many occasions, to order their superb, traditional cappuchino, and listen to table after table of Italian men order "Espressi, Campari!" and speak in Italian to each other. However, this was the first time that we had been there for dinner. ________________________ Ordered: Stuffed red pepper appetizer Insalata di casa Homemade gnocchi with red sauce Seafood linguini fra diavolo The red pepper appetizer was great, stuffed with spinach, a mild cheese, and surprisingly, red beans, topped with fresh grated romano. The spicing was subtle, and the pepper was just roasted enough to make it tender and sweet, but not too slippery. Mmmm. The house salad was a little bit boring, made with plum tomatoes, red onions, and I think a romaine. The dressing was a balsamic vinagrette, but emulsified, which is not my favorite. I ordered the seafood linguini (a special). It was made with cherrystones, scallops in a spicy red sauce made with pepperonchini and fantastic arrabiata-type spices. The scallops had a few grains of sand, but were copious, tender, and sweet. The cherrystones were again, copious, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. The sauce was spicy, but not overwhelming, with a lot of garlic (just how I like it!) The gnocchi was homemade (I don't know if it was made there, or at the Italian shop around the corner), but it was, in my opinion, perfect-- just how Uncle Chick and Noni used to make it. The red sauce was a little plain, had some cheese, but Chippy liked it. Ambiance: Thursday must be ladies' night, as there were multiple large groups of older women, all eating together and sharing (work?) stories. A few Eastie-type couples and triples, and later on, a bunch of destination-eaters arrived. The waitstaff were neighborhoody and friendly, and knew what they were doing. We sat in the back room, as there was a private party in the room facing the street. In all areas of the restaurant, there are stylized 'Italian fresco' paintings on the wall, pretty cheesy, but still homey and perfect for the setting. Apparently, Caffe' Italia is known for its veal, but as neither of us eat it, we couldn't try it out. However, the 50s-ish Eastie guy with the gold pinkie ring and a full head of silver hair seemed to think that it was orgasmically good. Overall, highly recommended.