Il Picanto, a New Mission Viejo Italian Dining Option

There's nothing worse than wasting your money on a new restaurant that fails to measure up, especially in these difficult financial times. Thank goodness that wasn't the case during my meal at Il Picanto.

Upon entering this one-month-old eatery it felt a bit more upscale than one might expect from the exterior. With the yellow caution tape adorning the front patio area it appears they might not be ready for business, but, oh yes, they are!

Il Picanto offers indoor and outdoor seating as well as a small bar, complete with a television. So you can entice dad to venture out with the family and he can still catch the game and have a few beers.

It was late afternoon so the restaurant was rather quiet. My daughter Gabrielle and I were greeted by the hostess/waitress, she was very friendly and welcoming. For me, this is important. I hate when the staff gives the impression that they would rather be anywhere else than helping you. That happens in far too many restaurants these days.

Pizzas are their specialty and there are 13 interesting flavor choices ranging from seafood to curry. The menu selections are fairly generous with no less than nine salads to choose from. Appetizers include your standard Italian fare, caprese, bruschetta, and calamari, etc.

In the interest of my budget I was happy to see that il picanto offers a $7.99 lunch special. I was immediately disappointed when I noticed it was only offered Monday through Friday and it was Saturday. Much to my delight, the lunch special was offered to us anyway.

The lunch special is your choice of pizza, pasta or panini and a salad. Gabrielle chose the angel hair with meat sauce and angus meatballs and I opted for the panini with fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil.

I wanted to order a glass of red wine but nothing too heavy for the afternoon or my food selection. Our waitress helped me make an excellent choice. She seemed to know exactly what I wanted.

We chose the carpaccio starter: thinly sliced raw beef with shaved grana, capers and drizzled with lemon olive oil. Gabrielle was slightly nervous that she was about to eat raw beef. I convinced her that it would not disappoint. I knew I was right as I watched her sopping up the remnants with her bread. I found it slightly too lemony but I enjoyed it overall.

The capers were actually caper berries, unlike the beadlike bursts of flavor that I know and love, these were as large as olives. "We just got them in from Italy," our waitress informed us.

Just a tidbit of trivia for my foodie readers, caper berries are the mature fruit that come from the same plant as the caper. I love discovering new food!

Our mixed green salads arrived and the slight sweetness from the balsamic in the dressing was perfect.

Gabrielle's pasta serving was more than generous as she had to box up what she could not finish, and this athletic girl can eat. The sauce was probably one of the best we have had in town and the meatballs were very good as well.

My panini was delicious. It was fresh from the bread to the pesto that was smeared over it to round out the wonderful flavors in this meatless sandwich, and I am no vegetarian.

Dessert is not generally something I order at a restaurant, especially after a late lunch, but we couldn't help ourselves. As we enjoyed our entrees the waitress passed our table with a tall creamy-looking treat for our fellow diners.

We couldn't resist.

"That is a Coupe Denmark," the waitress informed us.

"Oh yes, we're gonna have that too!"

Really, it was only vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream. Big deal, right? But it was. That was the best hot fudge sauce I ever had.

The thoughtful menu and wine choices for adults and a kids menu that offers pizza or pasta choices makes this a great place for diners of all ages. Oh, and dessert is included with kids meals, it's vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce, hmmm.