Last year, Scotto's owners took over the space that used to be Mount Vernon's much-beloved Louie's Bookstore Cafe. But the bookstore was banned to the basement, where it became a miserable shadow of itself before it was put out of its misery. The results are a number of well-described salads, sandwiches, meats and pasta dishes that make selection very tough. Most are representative of the food the Espositos learned to make in the family restaurant in Naples. Courtesy of Italy's Adriatic, or eastern coast, there's also a nice group of dishes with cream sauce.
Pasta outshines everything else here.
For example, two of us cleaned up every last bite of a crab ravioli appetizer and fettuccine entree, but did not come close to finishing our mussels appetizer or prosciutto mozzarella sandwich with bell peppers. Portions aren't skimpy, making Scotto's reasonably priced entrees a good investment. Good service was almost nonexistent when 518 N. Charles St. housed Louie's. Scotto's seems to be striving to overthrow its predecessor's abysmal reputation. Our waiter was attentive and humorous, if not super speedy.