Tuscano's Italian Grill on South Willow Street is a twofer: standard sandwiches and pizzas and routine Italian fare for lunch and take-out, along with a dinner menu with more robust cuisine for those looking for a full Italian meal. We had heard of Tuscano's from management and customers, and decided to get over our resistance to South Willow commercial strip plazas and give it a go.

Atmosphere 15/20

We've developed low expectations for take-out style Italian restaurants. Tuscano's, seeking to fill a more comfortable niche, has a nice decor steeped in Italian accents, and a low-light atmosphere that gives one sufficient insulation from the South Willow Street setting. It's comfortable and nearly plush, but at certain angles is dominated by a huge mirrored wall that makes the place look much larger than it really is. Still, not a bad setting for a meal.

Menu 17/20

Although pizza and a few sandwiches dominate part of the menu, Tuscano's goes fairly deep into Italian specialties unusual in any small restaurant.

In retrospect, we were disappointed we did not try the Manicotti (lunch: $8.50, dinner: $11.50-$12.50), homemade pasta rolls filled with ricotto cheese or with spinach, with alfredo or marinara sauce; or the Portabello Mushroom Ravioli ($12.95); or the spicy Spaghetti Putanesca ($10.95) with jalapeno peppers and garlic; or the Gnocci ($11.95), a dish of potato pasta dumplings with meat sauce. Those dishes, along with nicely-priced children's selections and more than a dozen well-known Italian standards, make up a menu with many good choices.

Appetizers 18/20

Breadsticks, sauteed mushrooms, Italian sausages and meatballs and minestrone make a varied appetizer menu, but we opted for a large Antipasto Italian Salad For Two, a steal at $8.50 and certainly large enough to feed two for dinner (perhaps with bread and an appetizer). Our salad was, indeed, mountainously heaped on a large plate, nicely mixed with a standard oil and vinegar dressing, with varied greens interlaced with salami, provolone cheese, pepperoni, olives, tomatoes, sliced onion and pepperoncini. Pickled white anchovies would have made it a hands-down winner.

Entrees 13/20

Our Gourmet: Veal Parmesan ($14.95) is a personal favorite, and I nearly always try that on a first visit to an Italian restaurant. Tuscano's was acceptable, if slightly overcooked, and the marinara sauce and cheese on top was also good, but pretty standard. The accompanying rigatoni with marinara and cheese was less than topnotch: It was piping hot, giving the impression it was reheated just before serving, and the pasta-sauce-cheese combination was nothing out of the ordinary. The veal was thick, but tender, and nicely lightly breaded, but again, nothing extraordinary. 6/10

The Dining Companion: Chicken Marsala on the specials menu ($11.99) was an interesting mix of carrots, mushrooms and potatoes with two large, tender slices of chicken breast, swimming in a thin and light marsala wine sauce. Very tasty, but also a very salty sauce, although the potatoes and carrots stood up to it very well. The mushrooms were overcooked and overwhelmed in the dish, but accompanied by a nice side of angel hair pasta with marinara sauce I give the dish passing marks, if not a high recommendation. 7/10

All the rest 14/20

OG: For variety and prices, Tuscano's rates about medium on OG's scale. Our full meal with a half-liter of house Burgundy ($7.95) and 20 percent tip came to just under $60, and there was enough Chicken Marsala left over for a solid lunch that weekend. 7/10

TDC: It's quiet and comfortable inside Tuscano's, providing a welcome escape from the traffic of South Willow and the bustle of most nearby eating establishments. The service is friendly and we enjoyed relaxing and taking our time with the menu. It was not crowded on this Thursday night, a relief after fighting the seasonal shopping crowds everywhere else. And to top it off, we now know of a bonus lunch spot with quality food at reasonable prices, even for pizza and sandwiches — and tiramisu or Spumoni for dessert.

Total: 77/100