Personal attention is Georgie's specialty

February 10, 2008

Georgie Ds Place

499 Main St., Stoneham
Monday through Saturday, 5-10 p.m. for dinner
Major credit cards accepted
Handicapped accessible
781-481-9300; georgiedsplace.com

The night did not begin well. A group of gregarious wine-tasters was holding hostage the main dining room of Georgie Ds Place, so we were seated in the bland outpost of the front room, with uninspired decor more typical of a pizza joint than a place for a relaxed dinner.

True, we knew about the wine-tasting when we made our reservations. But the cozy front room we had pictured started out far from cozy, and we gazed longingly at the elegant, saffron-colored dining room. It was a bitterly cold night, and every time the door opened we were blasted with cold air.

Then the waitress brought a glass of wine, but the outside of the glass, apparently straight from the dishwasher, was dripping with water. A dish of olive oil arrived and sat, waiting for bread.

After the last of the wine-tasters clomped in, the door to Main Street stayed blissfully shut and the temperature began to rise. A half-hour after we arrived, I finally shed my winter coat. The chef came out to greet diners at the table beside us. "Georgie!" cried one of the women, and gave him a hug.

George DiAngelis and Eddie Lombardo opened the restaurant last year on a busy corner in Stoneham. (Parking can be scarce, but the restaurant offers free valet parking Friday and Saturday nights.)

The two men had met years ago when they owned restaurants across the street from each other in Beverly. They joined forces to open E&G's, a less formal restaurant in Stoneham, and when they wanted something a little more creative, they opened Georgie Ds.

The food runs from traditional Italian dishes, like chicken piccata ($17) and veal marsala ($19), to more original creations, such as Eddie's pork chop ($17), cooked with a fennel, polenta, and tangerine stuffing; or shrimp serrino ($18), sauteed shrimp stuffed with chili peppers and jalapenos.

We ordered an appetizer of carifi carrosa ($10), artichokes with prosciutto and mozzarella cheese, drizzled with a trace of balsamic vinegar.

The menu encourages diners to request variations on meals: "Still can't decide?" the menu asks. "Ask Georgie D to create a dish for you!"

We decided instead, after consulting our waitress, to tweak one of the dishes on the menu. We ordered veal Roberto ($17), with shrimp substituted for the veal, a lovingly prepared dish where the sweetness of baby peas balanced the salty prosciutto.

Since the meatless offerings were a bit sparse, our waitress quizzed my vegetarian husband on his tastes and then delivered a dish of eggplant parmesan.

Even with all that creating in the kitchen, DiAngelis makes time to socialize. The chef, with "Georgie" stitched on his white coat, came by our table twice to see how our meal was. (OK, it was a little weird when he peered through the latticework separating our table from the kitchen, to ask my husband, yet another time, how he liked his eggplant. But it's hard to fault his exuberance.)

We ended with the tiramisu, made in-house, a perfect, mascarpone-rich version of the classic dessert - artful enough to banish any lingering memories of the night's icy start.

KATHLEEN BURGE