Il Valetto

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 Before going there last night to celebrate my wife's birthday, I asked
 my Sicilian barber what the name of the restaurant meant. He had no idea
 (I guess it's been a while since he used this word). One of the
 non-Italian female waitpeople there, however, told me it means, "the
 server."

 This little hole-in-the-wall that you can't get into most nights without
 reservations is located on Forbes in Oakland directly across the street
 from the Exxon station just east of Craig (on your way to CMU from the
 Carnegie). Parking may or may not be available directly in front of the
 restaurant, but there is convenient parking at the Carnegie just down
 the street (some may risk parking behind the National City Bank a few
 doors down).

 I pulled up in front, within a few feet of a fire hydrant, and parked,
 taking my chances that I wouldn't get tagged. It worked out.

 We arrived at 7 to a 2/3-filled room that appears to have a maximum
 seating capacity of 30 or so, packed in like Brislings. Once shoehorned
 into our seats, I got the view of the Exxon station beyond the plain
 glass storefront window. My wife watched the counter and the kitchen
 beyond at the back of the dining room. We brought a bottle of white and
 a bottle of red, so we were covered for any entrée.

 Menus were presented by a young, zaftig, non-Italian waitress dressed in
 black who announced that it was her first night on the job and told us
 about the specials (also on the board outside the front door). We were
 both amused and shocked by the menu which announced that, 1) $1 was to
 be added to the price of each entrée due to a recent price increase, 2)
 3% would be added to the check if you used a credit card, and 3) a small
 but unspecified corkage fee would be applied to bottle opening services.

 The food was very good, but not great. The bread basket contained a
 somewhat limited portion of Italian bread and was accompanied by some
 excellent olive oil for dipping which contained tomatoes and leaves of
 some sort. Worst were the complimentary salads which consisted mostly of
 torn romaine lettuce under a dressing of our choice (we chose the
 vinaigrette with crumbled bleu cheese); rather tasteless overall.

 We had two of the specials: 1) rack of lamb, surrounded by mushrooms and
 cooked to a perfect medium-rare piled on top of a lovely risotto cake
 and accompanied by a plate of crisp, slightly undercooked broccoli
 ($22.95)[I could have done without the totally unnecessary mint jelly
 sprinkled around the plate], and 2) pasta with a spicy red sauce
 containing scallops and shrimp ($24.95). No complaints about these
 dishes except the prices. Bringing our own wine helped keep the tab ($60
 for two) somewhat under control.

 Dessert choices were limited and not made on the premises. We chose a
 caramel apple tart to split which arrived mostly frozen. We ate it that
 way as it cooled our palates after a rather filling meal.

 Summary: I wouldn't rush back to Il Valetto because 1) the place is a
 sardine can with no ambiance at all, and 2) I can have a similar meal of
 equal or better quality for less $$ elsewhere. The menu said it all:
 we're trying to make it here serving good quality entrées, but we're
 having a tough time, so we have to overcharge to minimize the red ink.
 Maybe, if we get into the black some day, we'll work on the décor, or
 even move to a better location.

 See what you think, but don't forget to make a reservation first. For a
 recent Friday night, we were only offered 5:30 or 9 one day before.

 Jim

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 Before going there last night to celebrate my wife's birthday, I asked
 my Sicilian barber what the name of the restaurant meant. He had no idea
 (I guess it's been a while since he used this word). One of the non-Italian
 female waitpeople there, however, told me it means, "the server."
 <p>This little hole-in-the-wall that you can't get into most nights without
 reservations is located on Forbes in Oakland directly across the street
 from the Exxon station just east of Craig (on your way to CMU from the
 Carnegie). Parking may or may not be available directly in front of the
 restaurant, but there is convenient parking at the Carnegie just down the
 street (some may risk parking behind the National City Bank a few doors
 down).
 <p>I pulled up in front, within a few feet of a fire hydrant, and parked,
 taking my chances that I wouldn't get tagged. It worked out.
 <p>We arrived at 7 to a 2/3-filled room that appears to have a maximum
 seating capacity of 30 or so, packed in like Brislings. Once shoehorned
 into our seats, I got the view of the Exxon station beyond the plain glass
 storefront window. My wife watched the counter and the kitchen beyond at
 the back of the dining room. We brought a bottle of white and a bottle
 of red, so we were covered for any entr&eacute;e.
 <p>Menus were presented by a young, zaftig, non-Italian waitress dressed
 in black who announced that it was her first night on the job and told
 us about the specials (also on the board outside the front door). We were
 both amused and shocked by the menu which announced that, 1) $1 was to
 be added to the price of each entr&eacute;e due to a recent price increase,
 2) 3% would be added to the check if you used a credit card, and 3) a small
 but unspecified corkage fee would be applied to bottle opening services.
 <p>The food was very good, but not great. The bread basket contained a
 somewhat limited portion of Italian bread and was accompanied by some excellent
 olive oil for dipping which contained tomatoes and leaves of some sort.
 Worst were the complimentary salads which consisted mostly of torn romaine
 lettuce under a dressing of our choice (we chose the vinaigrette with crumbled
 bleu cheese); rather tasteless overall.
 <p>We had two of the specials: 1) rack of lamb, surrounded by mushrooms
 and cooked to a perfect medium-rare piled on top of a lovely risotto cake
 and accompanied by a plate of crisp, slightly undercooked broccoli ($22.95)[I
 could have done without the totally unnecessary mint jelly sprinkled around
 the plate], and 2) pasta with a spicy red sauce containing scallops and
 shrimp ($24.95). No complaints about these dishes except the prices. Bringing
 our own wine helped keep the tab ($60 for two) somewhat under control.
 <p>Dessert choices were limited and not made on the premises. We chose
 a caramel apple tart to split which arrived mostly frozen. We ate it that
 way as it cooled our palates after a rather filling meal.
 <p>Summary: I wouldn't rush back to Il Valetto because 1) the place is
 a sardine can with no ambiance at all, and 2) I can have a similar meal
 of equal or better quality for less $$ elsewhere. The menu said it all:
 <i>we're trying to make it here serving good quality entr&eacute;es, but
 we're having a tough time, so we have to overcharge to minimize the red
 ink. Maybe, if we get into the black some day, we'll work on the d&eacute;cor,
 or even move to a better location.</i><i></i>
 <p>See what you think, but don't forget to make a reservation first. For
 a recent Friday night, we were only offered 5:30 or 9 one day before.
 <p>Jim</html>

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