La Veranda, new Italian in Hockessin

The gamberi and scallops in blush sauce. (Credit: Jessica Bratton)

We dare you to go into Lantana Square and come out hungry. There's creative American cuisine at Dome, sandwiches and such at Over Coffee Cafe, Chinese food at The Crownery and even ice cream at Friendly's.

Now, thanks to La Veranda, there's Italian in the mix. The owners of Cafe La Terrazza on Kirkwood Highway have opened this new spot, in a storefront that once occupied Capriotti's.

The juxtaposition of the white tablecloths and pizza ovens in the open kitchen was a little jarring as we walked in, but the back dining room doesn't overlook anything pizza-related -- just the restaurant's outdoor patio.

It's a comfortable dining room, though with tile floors and a tray ceiling, a little on the loud side. However, it was not so noisy that we couldn't hear one of the employees offer us a complimentary slice of tomato pie.

Traditional tomato pie is a thick, foccacia-like dough, topped with a thick tomato sauce. Their tomato pie had the garlicky tomato sauce, but instead of a thick crust underneath, was served on a thin, crisp pizza crust. That's the kind of crust I like with my pizza, and made me want to go back and try a pie.

Along with the complimentary tomato pie, we tried their chopped antipasto ($9.99) and bruschetta ($5.99) as our appetizers.

The tomatoes on the bruschetta were ripe and sweet, as expected at the height of tomato season, mixed with garlic and chopped black olives and piled on top of bread that was just slightly crisp. It was the just the right level of bread crispness, because it didn't shatter when you bit into it and was still crunchy enough to support the topping. Our table was divided on the inclusion of black olives in the bruschetta -- as a black olive hater, I fell in the anti camp -- but it also had its fans.

A huge plate of antipasto came piled high with lettuce, red onions, black olives, sweet peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, ham, salami and provolone cheese -- enough for an entire meal.

All three of our entrees were equally giant in size. I am still unsure what it is about Italian restaurants that make them feel that they need to give such a large quantity of food, but it is nice to leave a place knowing that you will not need to cook lunch or dinner for at least three days.

A massive bowl of spaghetti came drenched in their meat sauce ($9.99), a tomato sauce thick with ground beef. The sauce was neither sweet nor spicy, with lots of tomato flavor. I prefer my sauce to be slightly more spiced, something remedied with a few shakes of crushed red pepper.

The pollo caprese ($14.99) came with two pieces of chicken in a white wine garlic sauce, with fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. It also came with a side of pasta, that arrived at the table with red sauce on it. Next time I'd order the side of pasta without the sauce, so I could dip it in the white wine sauce.

The highlight of the meal, however, was the gamberi and scallops ($16.99). Fettuccini was cooked to a nice al dente, and swimming in a light, creamy blush sauce. While more seafood is always better, there were a decent number of shrimp and scallops in the dish. The sun-dried tomatoes scattered throughout added a little extra, appreciated sweetness.

All of the pasta dishes are available on their takeout menu also, so you can enjoy it in the restaurant, or at your own kitchen table.

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