Ponte Vecchio: Water Under the Bridge

I keep hearing acquaintances and strangers alike saying, "Ponte Vecchio is my Italian restaurant." It's as if it can be claimed, like a high school girlfriend or boy band, despite it truly not being theirs. These are the kind of diners who might request the same table, at the same time, with the same waiter, while eating the same food and staring at the exact same dried flower in the bouquet on the nearby rail. At that point, I suppose, it does become something they can call their own.

Regulars here abound. It must be the room's comfortable tone that leads them to a feeling of faux possession. Tables are cloaked with royal blue linens; a sheet of modest butcher paper sits atop like insurance for the sloppy eater. The cherry wood bar with its run of marble is inviting, as is the dress code. Men in pressed shirts, women in blouses and teens in tee-shirts. A boy just turned 21, he takes his first sip of beer with his family.

No wonder people become regulars; Nancy Cavalli, wife of chef and owner Giannino Cavalli, welcomes you like a long-lost best friend might into his or her home. She stands at the entrance matronly, radiating textbook Italian hospitality. It's as inviting as the menu is diner friendly.

Many of the dishes are archetypal of any red-sauce slinging, meatball-packing Italian restaurant. But you can certainly bypass an easy plate of marinara-sauced cheese ravioli or eggplant parmigian with linguini and cockles. Salt water clams pile atop a generous portion of clam juice and garlic-steeped linguini. The downside: Manually removing all of the clams from their shells becomes a chore for the hungry.

The crust on the veal cutlets tastes floury rather than pan-seared crisp; sauced in a cognac-shitake mushroom cream, it adds a richness that almost offsets the floury defect.

Before the entrees, there is a Waldorf salad that comes glistening with a slightly sweet, dried cherry vinaigrette and speckled with goat cheese dollops, golden raisins and walnuts. Thick apple slices stud the greens and are almost awkward to eat; they are too big for a socially-just bite. Should you use your fingers? Or nibble the slice while it's pierced on the fork's tines?

You may have enjoyed the salad more had Ponte Vecchio's wines-by-the-glass selection been substantial. While there are some fine wines by the bottle such as Opus One 1998 or Michele Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti 2003, the wines by the glass are merely a forgotten, effortless job. The chardonnay is insipid.

Instead, try sipping on their signature Strega di Venezia martini, reminiscent of an orange creamsicle that's laced with the Strega liquor's minty-fennel flavor. The glass is rimmed with orange sugar.

Thinly-sliced medallions of eggplant come lightly charred and layered with smoked mozzarella; it's as if a winter woodburning stove is smoldering on your palate. Overbearing at times, but cozy at others.

Shrimp are encrusted with crushed wonton flakes like a fried tempura dish that you might find at Tombo Hibachi & Sushi just next door. They're nestled on fig and champagne-dressed field greens, complete with parmigian shavings and thick, cross-sectional cuts of tomato. It's an Italian-Asian love child of sorts.

For the amount of diners in the restaurant, Ponte Vecchio was understaffed. There were only two servers, one of whom also played the role of bartender. Although the flaws were noticeable, they were bearable. Water glasses went unfilled, homemade pasta wasn't supplemented for the boxed type upon request, servers were perhaps slightly underinformed.

Wait to flag for your check and order the homemade tiramisu. If you're the type who occasionally starts dinner off with dessert to ensure you'll have room, this might be one of those times. It's a sexy effort, like a black lace gown, silky to the touch. Lady fingers lay bathed in concentrated espresso, layered with mascarpone and a thin skin of cocoa powder. A drizzling of chocolate syrup is the ribbon to tie it all together, though the syrup itself is reminiscent of, say, Hershey's.

Ponte Vecchio is Italian for "old bridge," and the dining experience is merely water under it.

Ponte Vecchio

1275 Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824; (203) 256-1326; www.pvfairfield.com

ATMOSPHERE: Comfortable and inviting with a casual elegance, hold for the slightly chintzy upholstered booths.

SOUND LEVEL: The room is properly acoustically treated; sound level isn't a problem.

RECOMMENDED DISHES: Wonton shrimp, eggplant and smoked mozzarella, Strega di Venezia, tiramisu.

WINE LIST: There are a few gems on the bottle list; however, there is no wine-by-the-glass list, one merely orders a "Merlot," " Cabernet Sauvignon," "Chardonnay," etc.

PRICE RANGE: Appetizers, $4.95 to $10.95; entrees, $14.95 to $23.95.

HOURS: Lunch, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner, Monday through Sunday, 5 to 11 p.m.

RESERVATIONS: Call (203) 256-1326.

CREDIT CARDS: All major cards.