Spiazzo - 33 West Portal at Ulloa St., SFCA

   I'm always interested in dining Italian outside of North Beach, especially old school places like the Gold Mirror, Villa d'Este and Villa Romano, just for  simple fare like spaghetti and meatballs, lasagne, veal parm, etc. I had a coupon for $50 at Spiazzo, so I talked Ms. Christine into joining me on a Sunday night. I learned that Spiazzo has been in business for 18 years, which surprised me - I thought it was only a couple of years old. They were nearly full, but we managed to get a table as walk-ins.
  We got the ball rolling with the Misto di Verdura (9.95), a splendid mix of grilled thin slices of eggplant and zucchini, radicchio and roasted red and green bell pepper, served with a little olive oil and fresh chunks of tomato. Add a little black pepper and you've got a tasty plate. Thumbs up here.
   I chose one of the daily specials, the Pollo Imperatore (17.95), a rolled chicken breast stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella and served with a mushroom and Marsala sauce. The sauce was nice and light and not overly sweet, with a lot of shrooms. The meat was just a tad dry but not enough to ruin the dish. The vegetables were freshly sauteed and crisp and only needed a little pepper to make them perfect. The mashed potatoes...well, they were 'interesting'. Actually a blend of potato and carrot with celery juice and a bit of garlic added, I found them to be watery and bland and left the majority on my plate.
   Christine went for the Scampi San Remo (19.95), six nice jumbo prawns in a tomato/garlic sauce. She agreed that the vegetables were great and the potatoes lackluster. The prawns were not overcooked and chewy so she was  a happy camper.
    The dessert list was pretty typical, but then I spotted the Tartuffo (6.5), a fabulous chocolate/hazelnut gelato rolled in powdered chocolate. It was not on the menu, but the owner himself made Christine an Affogato (6.5), that wonderful combo of cold vanilla ice cream served with fresh espresso and topped with whipped cream. These were both outstanding!
    The store is simply appointed, very comfortable and the service was excellent. With a couple of glasses of wine, tax and a $15 tip, our total was $96.57 before the coupon. I have another coupon for $25 which I intend to spend on some pasta, just to see how they fare in that department. The Dog says 4 on the Meter (out of 5).
   To see the menu, go to:www.spiazzoristorante.com