Marzano Italian Restaurant

Where:  516 Garfield St. S. Parkland, 253.537.4191

Hours: Lunch: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and dinner: 4-8:30 p.m., 4-9 p.m. Saturday

Cuisine: Italian and Italian inspired Northwest seafood, salad, pizza, pastas

Scene: Comfy, elegant, relaxed

Drinkies: Extensive wine list - domestic and Italian, beer, Italian sodas, Lavazza espresso, Seattle's Best coffee, and interesting sodas

Prices: $7-$23 (average $16)

ANNOUNCER: At the end of the block and looking onto Pacific Lutheran University, Marzano Italian Restaurant has been exuding gastro-charm for more than 20 years. A feel of Old World meets new radiates from one room opening onto another to create a sense of intimate dining though other diners are just feet away. Candles, soft music, and polite, unobtrusive staff provide an effortlessly classy experience. One might note Marzano is not known for health food, and that's not meant as a bad thing. Meat, cheese, rich sauces, truly decadent desserts - almost all of which are made in-house - excellent wine pairings, interesting ingredients, variety, and creativity - all are parlayed into an approachable, affordable menu overall. These are the things the Parkland restaurant is known for.

JAKE: That's it. I've found my new home. I want to live at Marzano. It used to be a house, right? The delicious scents, the amber lighting, the muted voices of staff, the very ease in which I felt myself slide the minute we walked in and were greeted so warmly - this is how my life should be.

JASON: Because you are really an Italian count in a villa in Turin, right? Sigh. You sound like you have a romance novel trapped inside you desperate to break free. On the night you were swept away by interior design and the smell of garlic, a gorgonzola tart was enjoyed to kick off the dining experience.

JAKE: Gorgonzola cheese is a divine thing alone and was made better by the addition of rosemary and a buttery crust. Pear chutney made fresh in-house and lightly toasted walnuts topped it. My heart palpitated at the thought of how very rich the little dish.

JASON: If they had a bar, I think I may have liked adding vodka shots to my rhubarb dry soda - but alas, beer and wine only. The heart stopper on the menu is the fettuccine Alfredo. Heavy cream, how much do I love thee? Al dente noodles lay in a thick bath of it that tasted like Asiago or Romano, but our server said the sauce is purely Parmesan. Oh, and butter. Just the right side of salty for me, I twirled my fork and wrapped up great mouth-stuffing bites. I didn't care that the Alfredo dripped from my face right back to my plate. How could I when I could feel my heart slowing deliciously with every tasty bite? As it cooled, the sauce became so substantial I spread it on bread.

JAKE: Something is wrong with you. Vodka shots? Oh, wait, your wife banished you to drink Corona in the garage again; you must have broken something, and now you want to act out. I get it. Anyway, farfalle marine is fancy talk for seafood pasta. Sautéed black tiger prawns danced with large sea scallops amid al dente bowtie noodles. All were tender and yet firm. I wanted to shout it to the heavens because there's nothing worse than overcooked seafood, and that's so easy to do when mixed with a pasta dish. Yellow and red bell peppers were chopped quite fine before being cooked down into a sauce with garlic, curry and a mild amount of coconut milk and brandy. My dish was the exact opposite of Jason's. And don't let the word curry fool you into thinking this is a creamy coconut curry number. Instead, it tasted light and healthy with complex flavorful sauce and texture from what appeared to be broccoli rabe.

JASON: The dessert was an affair of show and tell provided by our cute as a button server. And though the restaurant had technically closed 30 minutes prior, she still patiently presented a platter loaded with tarts, torts, crème brûlée, cakes and tiramisu. Chocolate chose us. A semi dense flourless chocolate cake was drizzled with an earthy berry sauce and these amazing huge pecans that tasted like they'd been soaked in a sugared balsamic glaze before being toasted. I would have eaten an entire sack.

JAKE: Well done, Marzano. Well done.