Lamberti's Cucina in Prices Corner

One was your standard tomato pie with oregano and basil, the other a garlic pie with thinly sliced onions. At the bottom of the basket were a few crescent rolls, but the isosceles treats kept calling.

Soon after we ordered a bottle of the Smoking Loon Pinot Noir ($24) to go with our meal, the appetizer portion arrived in the form of two rather large plates of panzarotti ($7.50) and bruschetta ($4.50).

If you're a fan of softer, chewier bread with your bruschetta, you're in luck. The spongy bread was soaked with tasty bruschetta drippings of tomato, olive oil and what tasted like white wine. The topping was plentiful, with tomatoes, onions and seasonings.

The panzarotti was described as potato croquettes with mozzarella cheese on the menu, rather than the standard crusty and doughy panzarotti with which we're more familiar. But no matter, they were fluffy and tasty, with marinara for dipping.

For dinner, the shrimp scampi ($23) was a hit. Different sizes of scallops and shrimp were littered throughout the plate of cappelini, which had been tossed in a blush white wine sauce with garlic and tomatoes.

As mentioned earlier, good veal is important at an Italian restaurant, so I decided to go with the classic veal saltimbocca ($18), which came dressed in a white wine and garlic sauce with fresh sage and mushrooms, and was topped with prosciutto and melted mozzarella.

The dish was solid, but maybe could have done without the sage, which gave it a slightly peppery flavor that felt unnecessary. But the paillard of veal was immense, the prosciutto cured nicely and the mozz, melty.

Being gluttons for pizza punishment, we ordered one of their wood-fired pies, the ghiottone ($10), with roasted red peppers, tomatoes and grilled chicken covering the dough.

In the end, however, the only punishment was a full stomach, solid service and a bread basket of reasons to return to Lamberti's, no matter what location we chooose.

Insider tip: If the ghiottone pizza sounded interesting, they've got a number of tasty wood-fired inspirations we plan on going back for, including the vongole ($10), with clams, chopped garlic, olive oil, herbs and hot peppers with tomato chunks and mozzarella.

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