Out Of the Calzone Zone

 The menu at is so authentically Italian, you would almost expect the sounds of cars passing over the slush on Main Street to be a passel of Sicilian grandmothers stomping grapes in the back room. Little surprise then that my dining companion and I had trouble understanding how such an upscale and well-thought-out establishment could plant itself in East Haven.

But having owned Tolli's Apizza Restaurant since 1954, Anthony Paluzo's father and uncle had already established a strong foothold among local diners, and last October he opened La Pergola inside the same building at 408-410 Main St.

A much more expensive and sophisticated take on the ethnic cuisine that studs the shoreline and New Haven areas, indeed the entire Northeast, the food at La Pergola tastes like a dream because to the Paluzo family it represents one. It's doing old standards right and with a purity of selection that caters to a more urban crowd. Think of the place as a truly Mediterranean escape, the culinary equivalent of a fine, white-sanded beach among the stretches of a roughly pebbled, sometimes polluted Long Island Sound coastline.

“They (the Paluzos) decided they wanted to do something else that doesn't exist in East Haven. It was their chance to do something more upscale and Mediterranean,” manager Luigi Luciani said.

Certainly I got the sense that there was a "Field of Dreams" mentality behind the effort as I pored over selections from multiple menus of wines, desserts, entrees, a raw bar and daily specials parced into categories such as risotto of the day and soup of the day. A separate prix fixe menu makes unpacking all the choices a bit easier. So does a daily wine dinner menu. Sunday brunch is a no-brainer, though. Buffet “stations” include everything from croissants and assorted fruits and vegetables to roast pork loin.

Little touches such as the whipped herb butter served with three different kinds of bread and the choice of Brandt Farms beef, a sustainable and organic producer based in California, for entrees make La Pergola all-out extraordinary for the area. All desserts are prepared in house as well as some of the sausages. The liquor menu includes no fewer than 11 martinis. There is even an entire list devoted to single malt scotches.

The portions are generous without being the tacky smorgasbord mounds you would get at, say, Vinny Testa's, which makes the presentation -- simply arranged dishes decked with just the right amount of sauce and fresh herbs -- seem all that much more artful.

Rather than gush over the more expensive selections in an effort to upsell us, our server, Holly Schurk, had credible things to say about wine and food pairings. The place is lucky to have her; she grew up in a family with an extensive wine collection and can explain why a Cabernet with a more robust, dry heart complements the hardier steak and eggs on the brunch menu.

“Anything your heart desires is on this menu,” said Shurk, and she can help you find it.

For instance, she saved me from ordering my tuna steak medium rather than rare, a native Texan's reflex since seafood is never so fresh or skillfully prepared in my hometown. The tuna steak was fleshy and succulent and melted right over my tongue. Equally tender was the bed of broccoli rabe it was draped over and the pile of whipped sweet potatoes on the side. Scads of cheap takeout dinners and frozen meals had taught me that tuna and broccoli rabe were both supposed to be a bit chewy, but the chefs at La Pergola begged to differ, demonstrably. Even the meal's one fault, a tad too much oil in the stuffed oysters, exuded a gusto that is rare and somewhat touching.

It was also with Schurk's recommendation that I ended the meal with the local twist on a classic Italian dessert: tiramisu. An original recipe by Guiseppina Paluzo, wife of owner Anthony Paluzo, the layered, soaked pastry was cozy without being teeth-suckingly sweet, exactly what you want after a meal that could only be described as decadent.

You don't have to be a savant to appreciate La Pergola, but you should be prepared to stretch your budget and your palette.

Prix fixe dinners are from $19.99 to $39.99, depending on the number of courses. Entrees range from about $25 to $40.

Hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.