A special of rockfish was cooked exactingly, with nicely blistered skin, but it, too, had exhausted its taste potential. Among the shellfish, steamed and grilled versions have been fine, but sauteeing has shriveled the mussels and clams and turned the shrimp and squid to rubber. I've found myself setting them aside and making a meal of the thick, pungent garlic tomato sauce, the garlic wine sauce or the piccata sauce, with its lemon, capers and chopped tomato. If you save room for dessert here, you'll be grateful that you did. The fruit salad is a mix of excellent cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes and juicy, fragrant pineapple, served with a drift of amaretto cream that tastes like lightened sour cream and a sprinkle of pecans.
Bananas also come with cream sauce, flavored with caramel.
The waiters tout the Black Russian banana split and the cranberry cheesecake, but they seem embarrassed to be serving the ubiquitous tiramisu. Then one of them confessed that the most popular dessert is the brownie sundae. After such a dessert I was willing to forgive the restaurant's flaws. Everything about it was pure pleasure. 2001CitySearch Inc. All rights reserved.