Kickin' it old school at Il Postino

There's just something about "old-school Italian" restaurants. While the food can sometimes be tired, there are usually tuxedoed men (sorry no women seem to work at these places) who have been waiters at the restaurant for at least thirty years and are all about great service.

That's the vibe at Il Postino on the East side where I met up with Lila last week for a long overdue get together. This was not my first visit to Il Postino; RRR & I took our Dad here for his 70th birthday a few years back so I knew we were in for an amazing meal.

The place was pretty busy for a Wednesday evening, but we were greeted warmly and seated promptly, even without a reservation. As soon as we were seated there were a flurry of servers offering us water, drinks, appetizers and some house treats. Tonight's 'treats' (I'm a little remiss to call them amuse bouche) were some slightly tart zucchini marinated in olive oil along with a chopped seafood salad with calamari and celery in an endive boat. I found the latter to be a bit lackluster but the zucchini was absolutely delicious!

But Il Postino's all about what's not on the menu. We were presented with a minimal menu and then listened intently to the long list of specials recited by one of our many waiters. What was that one in the middle again? We got a repeat performance from our host who came by and we didn't really want to interrupt him (plus I needed to hear them again to help inform my decision!)

We ordered some buffalo mozzarella and prosciutto while we waited for our entrees. The cheese was creamy and rich and while the prosciutto was cut a little thicker than I would prefer, it stood up to the deep flavor and texture of the cheese.

For our main course, I let our waiter help me decide between a few entrees and eventually went with Il Postino's take on zuppa de pesce with monkfish, clams, mussels, calamari and scallops. The portion was so generous and the fish was so fresh that I didn't miss the pasta that was omitted from this dish. It just didn't need it.

Lila went for it with the 3 1/2 lb lobster over pasta and we were both in Italian heaven! As we were enjoying our meal, our waiter began to sing opera to a large party seated behind us. I told you this was old school!

Despite being full, we did manage to find room for dessert and split a delicious piece of tiramisu. I'll argue that my Mom still made the best I ever had, but Il Postino's was far better than any tiramisu I've tasted in quite some time. It is easy to phone it in on this dessert; but the cake was moist but firm and the marscapone rich and creamy. Bravissimo!

The one problem with not having a menu is that you don't really figure out how much you are spending until the bill arrives. The waiters offered to tell us the price if we asked but as Lila and I chatted the night away; there was a bit of a gasp when the bill arrived. Gulp! Oh well, it was worth the splurge!