White tablecloths are the order of the day in the cozy dining room, where attentive waiters come and go in ankle-length gray aprons. Murals in niches evoke Italian vistas. The black ceiling over the bar twinkles with imitation stars. Behind the bar is a wood-burning brick pizza oven.

The fare is heavily weighted toward artfully executed comfort food. Gnocchi, those darling little potato dumplings, dressed simply and deliciously in tomatoes and basil, are among 14 tempting pasta offerings. Chicken scallopine sautéed in marsala sauce with mushrooms is one of seven secondi piatti (second courses) with meat or fish. Fettucine with cream sauce can be had on the side. Finish up, if you like, with gelato or sorbet.

You get the picture: good, unfussy food drawn from several regions of Italy. The chef describes the style as both rustic and contemporary. I call it heartwarming and satisfying.

Whenever I spot fried calamari on a promising menu I order it, always hoping that I will find someone who prepares the dish as simply and flawlessly as Pedro Sevilla, a gifted Spanish chef I met when he was cooking in Tucson several years ago. Di Costanzo comes as close as anyone I’ve found recently.

His calamari fritte appetizer ($7.99) treats squid as delicately as it deserves, barely breading it, flash frying it in light oil and serving it with a fresh lemon wedge, which is all the saucing good calamari really needs. A ramekin of warm marinara is provided for hard-core dippers. The portion is generous enough for two.

Colette chose another classic starter, mozzarella e pomodoro ($6.99), which pairs slices of fresh mozzarella with generous slices of tomato and garnishes them with fresh basil. Simple and good.

As at the original La Tosca, the crowning glory among meat courses at Lakewood Ranch is Di Costanzo’s signature dish, agnello all’abbruzzese ($22.95). This lightly tomato-sauced wonder, upon which Colette’s eye fell immediately, braises to exquisite tenderness a generous, meaty lamb shank and serves it atop an earthy Parmesan risotto with peas and mushrooms. Colette purred as she dispatched it.

The menu offers one of my all-time favorites, too, one I don’t see often enough these days. Tubular cannelloni pasta, properly stuffed and baked, makes me giddy. La Tosca’s version ($13.99) comes to table hot and savory, redolent of Parmesan, Gorgonzola, fontina and Swiss cheeses plus garlic. Just right.

We could have gone the gelato route for dessert and been happy with it, but that wouldn’t have given the kitchen much to do. Instead, Colette went for the tiramisu ($5.99) and I chose the chocolate soufflé ($6.95). The tiramisu is the genuine article, fragrant with espresso and marsala and creamy rich with mascarpone. The soufflé is really a molten chocolate cake, but it’s a good one.

La Tosca
1837 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. (at S.R. 64), Lakewood Ranch
(941) 714-0120
Lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; dinner 5-10:30 p.m. seven days
V, MC, AMEX, Discover
Handicapped accessible
Ample lot parking

Goal!

Polo Grill and Bar, chef Tommy Klauber’s latest venture, has moved into the space briefly occupied by the ill-fated Fred’s at Lakewood Ranch. Despite a wait staff that’s stretched a bit thin, Polo Grill is up and running and full of promise.

The main dining room looks much as it did in the space’s previous incarnation: the open kitchen at the back, the glass-walled wine room, well-spaced tables and those quirky, colorful light fixtures. The noise level can rise when the big, high-ceilinged room is full, but the hubbub is convivial, lending the place a pleasant buzz. The bar on the other side of the wine room seems a pretty cheerful place, too. And there are plenty of outdoor tables for fine weather.

The menu can best be described as American bistro in style. Starters run from down-home mini blue crab cakes to Gaucho beef empanadas. The dinner menu spans cultures as well, with Brick House chicken marinated in lemongrass and soy sharing the list with a honking big grilled rib eye accompanied by white truffle Parmesan frites. And I’m pleased to report that the menu offers several tempting sandwiches, too, in case that’s the mood you’re in. It’s always good to have choices.

Colette and I began our evening at table with two winners from the starters list. She chose spicy shrimp rolls ($10), asserted by the rice vinegar-based Vietnamese dipping sauce called nuoc cham and cooled by fresh cucumber and shredded carrot. I went for tuna tartar wonton tacos ($13), crisp little cradles for diced, marinated sashimi-grade fish topped with sakimole, a wonderful twist on guacamole featuring avocado, lemon and lime juice, cilantro and…sake! This recommended first course is an import from Pattigeorge’s on Longboat Key, another Klauber restaurant.