We were able to get in without a reservation.  The entrance has a beautiful fountain and covered, bricked walkway leading up to what used to be a house.  It’s been coverted well—definitely is the quaint osteria I’ve heard it called before with a fireplace in the center of the room.  The staff were quiet—low key and smiling.

I ordered the millefoglie as an appetizer—a filo dough pouch filled with goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and walnuts in a vermouth cream sauce.  There were three to the plate and they were excellent.  It’s a unique mix of flavors that I’m already craving again.  My companion thought the Caesar salad was fine in flavor, however, he was surprised and not to thrilled that it was served full-leaf style.

I didn’t recognize the wine list, but Chris, our fabulous and knowledgeable waiter, brought out samples for us and we didn’t even ask for them—unusually great service.  Unfortunately, I didn’t care for any of the wines offered (I’ve likely got an immature pallet) but my companion ordered chianti that he enjoyed very much.

For dinner, I had the Ravioli d’ Zucca—butternut squash filled pasta in a browned butter and sage sauce surrounding a “tremble” of sauteed spinach and goat cheese.  As with the appetizer I’d ordered, the main dish’s combination of flavors was really good. I order similar dishes anytime I get the chance and Girardi’s is definitely one of the best.  It costs a few dollars more than the normal $11-12 in most restaurants, but I justified it by reminding myself I wasn’t paying for parking or driving far to get it.

My companion had the special of the night—I can’t remember the details beyond that it was a cut of beef with mashed potatoes and vegetables and he liked it very much.

For desert, I had the Affogato, 5 small scoops of gourmet ice cream in a tall sundae dish lined with chocolate.  They pour a fresh shot (or 2 if you ask) of espresso over the ice cream and serve it with biscotti for crumbling over the top.  It was awesome!  It looked pretty too.

The lunch menu offered similar fair and gourmet pizzas at a great price considering the ingredients and the time needed to prepare such fare.

This wasn’t the first time I’d been to Girardi’s—I’d gone in the past with my hearing impaired grandmother.  The waitress at that time lowered her pitch and innunciated (rather than talk louder like most places) while looking directly at grandma so she could order for herself.  In the last year, they also added some neat ceiling stuff to cut down on noise even more.  It worked.

The service at Girardi’s is great—they have very low turn over and Patrick Girardi, the owner, is easily accessable. The restrooms were very clean and they had dark wood furniture cabinets in them and disposable decorated cloth napkins.  Elegance!

I heard they’re going to have some sort of music program after standard dinner hours starting soon. I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

The Caesar Salad was, while not a 10, certainly quite good, and not replete with too much white gloppy stuff. 

My dinner companion had a huge chunk of salmon with pasta and vegetables and proclaimed it to be excellent as well. 

The wine list was full, with several excellent selections by the glass.  Girardi's also has an excellent dessert menu with a selection of six different sorbets...the lemon was great. 

The weather was nice, so we sat outside...perhaps a bit too much street traffic noise, but there's nothing to be done about that.

Food: A. Ambiance: A. Attitude: A-. Parking: Plenty of curbside parking. Service: A. Value:  A-...perhaps just a tad spendy, but with food this good, who cares?