Restaurateur Augusto Conte has the magic touch. Currently the owner of four Charlotte restaurants, Conte has a fabulous lineup that includes solid ahitters Toscana Italian Restaurant, Luce Restaurant and Bar, Coco Osteria and Il Posto Osteria. Open not quite two years, Il Posto -- or "the place," in Italian -- is coming into its own.

Il Posto began as a carbon copy of Conte's Coco Osteria. "Same wife, new dress," Conte remarked just after Il Posto opened. The casual concept at Coco had been such a grand success Uptown that Conte decided to give it a try in SouthPark. With his more upscale Toscana less than a mile away at Specialty Shops on the Park, Phillips Place seemed to be the perfect locale for more of the same fine Italian fare with a scaleddown price structure and slightly less formal atmosphere. Osterias or trattorias, as these casual Italian dining spots are sometimes called, are Tuscany's answer to a neighborhood bistro. The concept is perfect for the chic Phillips Place shopping area.

Dining designs
A short but sweet osteria-style menu made Il Posto a hit from the start. The restaurant's small dining spaces, with seating upstairs, on the main level and, in suitable weather, outside on the patio, are always crowded. As Il Posto's popularity grew, Conte and staff realized that the restaurant's small kitchen often became overwhelmed with orders. They feared the kitchen would begin to sacrifice quality to produce quantity. Steadfast in his efforts to keep Il Posto's quality on par with that of his other restaurants, Conte recently made radical changes, all of them for the better.

During summer months, the restaurant does not use the upstairs dining room, enabling outdoor patrons to be easily reseated on the upper level in case of an unexpected storm. Conte, chef David Lopez and executive chef Gabriele Grigolon revamped the menu to include a wider variety of entrées and nightly specials. A menu that began like Coco's, heavy on pasta and with just a few heartier main courses, is now more in keeping with Toscana's menu, with several chicken, veal, beef and seafood entrées part of the nightly lineup. Prices are slightly higher than they were when the restaurant opened but still fall into the reasonably priced realm of an osteria.

The new formula seems to work well. Il Posto is still crowded, but the wine and food are first rate and the service is top notch.

No need for noise
To me, the Il Posto experience has just two detractors from the fine food and contemporary interiors. One is a large, unsightly air conditioning unit in the corner of the upstairs dining room. The unit sits directly next to one of the dining tables and creates a great deal of noise as it runs through its cycle. In addition, sounds from the bustling open kitchen and the buzz of chatting patrons bounce off the hard surfaces upstairs and down to create a din that diminishes the dining experience.

Not unique to Il Posto, this phenomenon occurs in many restaurants and public places done in concrete, glass and metal. The design of the space could be explained away as urban tone and atmosphere, but I still find it an annoying problem easily remedied with softer surfaces like fabrics and carpeting. Weather permitting, I recommend sitting outside on the patio.

On the savory side
At lunch enjoy hearty salads such as the insalata alla tagliata di manzo, a fresh arugula salad with grilled flank steak, shaved Parmesan and balsamic dressing; insalata di pollo, a grilled chicken breast with baby spinach salad, roasted peppers, walnuts, gorgonzola dolce and balsamic dressing; and insalata al finocchietto e salmone, mixed organic greens, cherry tomatoes, grilled salmon and a fresh dill vinaigrette. Rounding out the selections are the simpler insalata caprese, with its fresh imported buffalo mozzarella and locally grown tomatoes, and a smaller house salad of organic greens dressed in a lighter balsamic vinaigrette. The lunch menu also features a variety of grilled Italian sandwiches (panini) and pasta dishes.

Don't miss the homemade ravioli alla florentina, stuffed with buffalo ricotta, spinach and nutmeg, served lightly napped with melted butter, sage and Parmesan; or the gnocchi di patate alla pomarola, small, handmade potato dumplings served in fresh tomato sauce with Parmesan cheese and buffalo mozzarella. The chicken, beef or fish dishes make a heartier plate, whereas a generous appetizer of Italian cheeses or thinsliced, cured Italian meats paired with a basket of warm bread can constitute a lighter meal.

The dinner menu carries the same cheese and meat starters and many of the same pasta dishes, as well as a selection of soups and salads. The menu begins to depart from familiar lunch fare with its risotto del giorno that changes daily, as the name suggests.

Heartier dinner entrées you?ll want to try include a grilled-to-order ribeye served with baby arugula, olive oil and balsamic vinegar; saltimbocca alla Sorrentina, a rich baked veal scaloppini topped with imported prosciutto crudo and mozzarella finished with a fresh tomato sauce and pecorino cheese; and rombo al rosmarina e limone, a fork-tender halibut filet sautéed with lemon, white wine and rosemary. Side dishes include baby spinach sautéed in olive oil, oven-roasted potatoes with pecorino cheese, and tender spring asparagus baked in butter and Parmesan.

Sweet ending
The dessert menu changes nightly. If they're available, try the delightful ricotta cheesecake, the rich chocolate mousse or the creamy panna cotta. By far the most impressive offering when it is available is the homemade gelato, made each day from scratch by Il Posto's general manager, Sante Proietti.

When Il Posto opened, Proietti came to Charlotte to work with Conte, his good friend of 20 years. Although Proietti modestly describes himself as the guy who makes the ice cream and watches the door, he keeps things at Il Posto running smoothly -- sometimes a daunting task when Phillips Place is hopping and the crowds converge.

Well-known Charlotte restaurant critic, food writer, cooking instructor and connoisseur of food and wine, Heidi Edidin writes "The Charlotte Weekly: Culinary Corner," a restaurant review or food feature that appears weekly. Contact Heidi with questions and restaurant, food or story ideas by email at heidi@thecharlotteweekly.com.

This article first appeared in "The Charlotte Weekly" on August 4, 2006. "The Charlotte Weekly" is a free, locally owned, independent newspaper that's "About the Community, For the Community," available every Thursday in North and South Charlotte and Uptown.

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