On the advice of several people I know and restaurant reviews, I decided to try Benvenuto's.

I found it to be very Olive Gardeny and somewhat noisy, though not obnoxiously so. The decor was attatractive, if somewhat given to loud accoustics. The tables were set with cloth (!) napkins, yet the table covering was a sheet of white paper, on which the waitress wrote her name with a crayon. I was impressed that she could write it legibly upside down (she wrote it between us, so that the letters were facing me but away from her). However, when she first started to write, I thought she was writting either "HELP!" or "HELLO". It turned out to be Heidi, rather than a distress call or a greating.

I was given a basket of warm, garlicky bread to dip into olive oil and fresh ground pepper (which, as I learned on Mario Eats Italy, isn't very authentic, though tasty). I am a big fan of baskets of warm bread, so I took advantage of this tasty offering as I awaited my order.

My entree was Portobella Farfalle, with fresh tomatoes and artichoke hearts. It sounded really good, so I was a little disappointed when it arrived. The mushroom and tomato chunks were generous and cooked just right, though the artichoke was hardly in evidence. The seasoning was also appropriate, neither bland nor overpowering. The big let down was the mushy, overcooked farfalle. Nothing kills a pasta dish like soggy pasta.

The portion was quite large, and I was able take home enough for a second meal. The overcooked pasta may has been a fluke (bad things do happen to good kitchens) and I would be willing to return if I were trying to find an eatery for a family or a larger group, but I don't think it will become a regular haunt for me, regardless of its proximity to my home.