Antipasti Misto -- described as "prosciutto di Parma, fresh mozzarella and a selection of Garden Vegetables, grilled olive oil and herbs -- arrived as hearts of palm, thin prosciutto slices and roasted red peppers alas with only a scant amount of salted, fresh mozzarella. Soups such as Tortellini en Brodo and Scracciatella Fiorentina featured a rich (albeit sometimes overly cheesed up) chicken broth. San Marino turned Stracciatella into a hearty soup with large egg scrambles and quite a bit of cooked fresh spinach leaves.
Salads were hand tossed. Caesar came as crisp, chilled, chopped romaine hearts and seriously garlicked croutons. Baby arugula sported a couple of spoonfuls of softened goat cheese and meaty walnut halves.
Fish selections such as Branzino, salmon and a red snapper-shrimp combination were fresh and uncomplicated by heavy saucing. But steaks, New Zealand lamb chops and veal chops were prepared exceptionally well and, in our experience, always with perfect temperatures. For instance, steak was "choice" -- it was offered as a juicy rib cut or New York strip --flavored slightly with rosemary and served with stellar fried potatoes. "Capuci Guarniti" was a hearty winter dish focused on cannellini beans and three stubby, lean sausages tasting ever so mildly of eucalyptus from accompanying bay leaves.