text: We've always liked our normally pretty flawless dining experiences here.  But on this particular occasion, when of course I was introducing the restaurant to two friends, the wheels of service largely came off the tracks.  We had reserved a booth that overlooked picture windows facing Strip hotels across the street, but it wasn't ready when we arrived.  We had to wait about 20 minutes for a booth to be cleared, which was no big deal.  But it established a pattern of service being at least two beats behind all night.\n\nFor starters, I ordered Calamari Fritte and Crab & Shrimp Imperial, a special of the day.  I also ordered a cup of Tuscan Sausage & Orzo Soup and a side of Caesar Salad before my entree of Linguine & Clams.  Bread arrived first, which was good and crusty.  But our Iced Teas and soft drinks were not brought forth until 10 minutes after the presentation of bread, EVO, and butter.  And, one soft drink was missing.  So were two of four bread plates and a knife.  \n\nSoon afterward, the appetizers arrived.  Unfortunately, so did both my soup and salad.  Four items were plopped on the table at the same time--all of them mine.  Although jammed up with food, I did my best to race through the appetizers before my soup got cold, and largely succeeded by taking half of each appetizer home.  The Crab & Shrimp Imperial, consisting of Crab-stuffed Lobster with Herb Bread Crumbs and Lobster Cream Sauce over Orzo pasta, was simply excellent.  It was also very filling.  The deep-fried calamari was uncharacteristically undercooked, but still fairly tasty--especially dipped in the Lemon Aioli that was prepared on request.  The accompanying Marinara Sauce was also good and mellow.  \n\nAs before, the Tuscan Sausage & Orzo Soup did not disappoint.  The fennel-flavored soup packed an unusual but welcome taste of mild sausage, fresh tomatoes, celery, and white beans.  The side of Caesar Salad was a generous helping of cool and crisp Romaine greens with Focaccia Croutons and grated Parmesan Cheese.  Linguine & Clams with invisible but tasty White Clam Sauce was a nice pasta dish that boasted both fresh and chopped clams.  But, unfortunately, only 7 fresh clams were present, which not only seemed meager but were far less than I had enjoyed on a previous occasion.  And, I bit down on a small piece of clam shell that was included in the mix.   \n\nGarlic Bread Focaccia was not very garlicky at all.  And, inexplicably, the cheesy Fontina Potatoes that my wife had ordered did not arrive at our table until 20 minutes beyond the third of three promises of \"2 minutes longer\" by our server, just AFTER our packaged leftovers had been handed to us.  Obviously, we didn't want additional starch any more at a point when we were about to leave the premises.  After an apology by our server that seemed sincere, the still steaming potatoes were packaged in a baking tin and presented to us again without charge.\n\nThe quality of ingredients and tastiness of what I ate were mostly sound as always.  And, kudos and an extra 1/2-star to restaurant management for calling to report that my missing Kindle had been found on the floor of our booth, before I raced back to retrieve it right after midnight.  So, 3-1/2 stars on an off night.