text: Aria is typically not the type of establishment I would frequent It seems like the type of place that people who think they are sophisticated go to feel like they are sophisticated As I am fond of saying when I see tables VIP reserved at the booty clubs here in Charlotte This is not New York CitynnDespite the Gattaca style ambiance that this troglodyte normally does not associate with Italian joints the food was awesome It does happen every so often that my ingrained arbitrary judgmental prejudices are incorrectnnThis was a restaurant week visit and Aria gets automatic kudos for offering practically the full menu instead of paring the choices down to three or four almost popular optionsnnI did play it traditional with my meal sticking to classic staples The fried calamari was fresh light and crispy not greasy or oily at all with plenty of tentacles which are the best part For my main entree I had the linguine and clams like some kind of mafioso Fresh clams in the she will and plenty of them served on a bed of al dente linguine and understated white wine clam sauce The portion size thankfully is not overwhelming nor skimpy All finished off with an amazing cheesecake perhaps one of the best deserts I have ever had and I am not a huge fan of cheesecake Aria could be worth an end of the evening stop simply for desert And I really do not believe in desert it takes up too much stomach space that I need for meal gorgingnnThis three course dinner was not heavy at all like a lot of Italian food sitting in your gut some sort of fart bomb ready to go offnnI did not get a drink but the table next me ordered some refreshing looking cocktails I am comfortable enough with myself to drink pink The wine selection is extensive It is supposed to be it is an Italian restaurantnnIf I had a special lady I would take her here Yeah it is that nice