text: With fauxTuscan arches accented by whimsical Italian maxims Due Piedi Non Possono Stare In Una ScarpaTwo Feet Cannot Fit In One Shoe and fanciful chandeliers The casinoside Grotto does not promise anything remarkable So it is all the more impressive to discover it offers many common dishes uncommonly well done nnWe got off to a good start with soft Italian bread with garlicked olive oilCalimari Toto promises that you are getting all the octopusauthentically Italianfresh but flavorful pieces of the tentacles and head in a light egg batter that makes it hard to stop eating meatballs come two nearbaseballs to an order a thin crust protecting the piping hot almost patesoft inside which they claim is all flavorful beef chuck though you will suspect more tender veal The Italian Chopped salad balances proscuitto bacon egg with Gorgonzola and provolone cheeses with iceberg lettuce so deftly that the thinsliced grilled chicken breast on top seems unncessary nnChicken and seafood are clearly the strengths here though they also make their own fresh pastasparticularly the Roasted Herb chicken a halfbird rotisseried with rosemary over white oak and nothing less than tender savory perfection nnBut the pizzas deserve equal attention especially considering how few and far between are good pies found in the city Grottos handtossed rustic rounds cooked in a wood burning stove in the middle of the dining room taste just like you would expect from a street cafue in Napolibut maybe a bit better Our margherita hitting the table in a cloud of aroma did not have a chance of survival nnThe garlicky sweet marinara sauce that accompanies many dishes is the kind of recipe you could easily crave fresh simple yet deceptively complete nnA small wine list offers a bakers dozen reds and ten whites by the glass including their own robust chiantiesque Rock N Roll blend totally acceptablennBeware that huge dessert cartit will call you with the signature featherlight wedding cake dense and deadly chocolate mezza notte respectable tiramisu and certainly not least of all a solid New York cheesecake with strawberry cream impressively authenticnnLunch diners get a voyeuristic view of action at The Tank pool deck and a limited selection of their most popular items augmented by some creative panini and an old school Nugget saladnnI think they have good deals on the pizzas during happy hour