Restaurant Review: Primi Piatti serves up Italy, by way of Riverside

Carbonara. Alfredo. Puttanesca. Piccata.

While Italy is too far for a weekend getaway, you can track down these popular Italian dishes near Riverside's Park and King streets intersection. Neighboring a sushi restaurant, comic book store and antique shops, Primi Piatti's minimal décor is as unassuming as its nondescript façade. Its simple, unfussy menu features appetizers, entrees, pastas and desserts.

The restaurant has been around for nearly a decade, and for good reason: the food is delicious. That said, portions err on the smaller side considering the prices. None of us had leftovers, or so much as a crumb remaining on our plates.

To start, we shared a plate of calamari fritti ($10), served with a truffle marinara sauce, and a large caprese salad ($9). The calamari had a nice, light breading and, while we didn't pick up much of the truffle flavor from the marinara, we did enjoy it. As for the caprese - it felt pricey for four slices of tomato stacked with the usual accompaniments: fresh mozzarella, basil, balsamic and extra virgin olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Next up were our entrees, which are served atop a nest of angel hair pasta.

The chicken piccata ($23) was tender and full of flavor; I enjoyed how the pasta was draped in the lemony, buttery white wine sauce and dotted with a sprinkling of salty capers. A few asparagus stalks and baby carrots accompanied the dish. We also had the grouper francaise ($32), which was similar in flavor to the piccata.

The lobster ravioli ($24) from the pasta selections was a favorite. How can you not devour five pockets of lobster-stuffed ravioli surrounded by a rich sea of sun-dried tomato cream sauce and topped with a few shreds of fresh basil?

Primi Piatti's wine list is small, but features vino ranging from a $5-per-glass Tierra Del Feugo merlot to a $79-per-bottle Tezza Amarone della Valpoicella. A few beer offerings are also available.

Throughout the course of the meal, our server poured still water from a glass Aqua Panna bottle on the table. He'd bring a new bottle after he topped everyone's water glass off without any mention, and would continue refilling. After dinner, we split the bill down the middle, handing over our credit cards to our server. The next day, I looked at my receipt and was aghast to find three charges for $4.50 each, which were half of $9 bottles of Aqua Panna water (these sell for less than $2 in the store). We would have never agreed to share a $9 bottle of water - which was more than the cost of a beer or glass of wine - let alone four bottles of $9 water! It was also not listed on the menu.

For dessert, we split a square of tiramisu ($8), which was small but tasty. Each velvety bite was filled with layers of silky-smooth mascarpone cheese, espresso soaked lady finger cookies and cocoa powder. Delizioso!

Caron Streibich is an avid food-lover who will review restaurants every other week in the Dining section. Follow her dining adventures at facebook.com/caroneats and #caroneats on Instagram.