Best of Tucson 1996: Best Italian

Best Italian

Caruso's Restaurant
434 N. Fourth Ave.

READERS' PICK: This midtown standby was a local favorite long before "nouvelle cuisine" and "Southwest fusion" became part of the vernacular. There's nothing pretentious about Caruso's: It's the meat-and-potatoes version of Southern Italian cooking. Here in the rustic confines of the busy dining room you'll find all your favorites: hearty spaghetti and meatballs, real-cream fettuccine alfredo, and saucy meat or cheese ravioli. And there's no point in trying to resist their toasty garlic bread, a wonder of sourdough, butter and garlic clove. Caruso's doubles as a comfortable casual family establishment and special occasion restaurant, with a lovely patio perfect for those mild fall evenings. They also carry a fine selection of red wines.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Sure, it's in a strip mall, but it's a classy strip mall. And once you're through the door at Vivace, 4811 E. Grant Road, you might as well have stumbled in off some uptown New York City street to find yourself in a classy Italian bistro. We've never had a bad plate of pasta in this spare-but-chic setting, and the fish soup is still the best around. This is one of the places where Tucson's top folks go for relaxing, informal dining. Shouldn't you be among them?

STAFF PICK: Who would've suspected that some of the best Italian food outside the Mediterranean would be found in a strip mall way out on East Broadway? Don't let the neighboring pizza joint and pastry shop fool you: Gavi, 7865 E. Broadway, is world-class in every sense of the word. The queue of customers seems to agree with what we've discovered: Food this terrific is worth a wait. Gavi's pasta is made on site and comes in an impressive variety of shapes and fillings. A plate of spaghetti takes on new significance here, where the tomato sauce is tangy, robust and subtly blended with oregano, garlic, basil and onion. While truly wonderful, pasta is not the only highlight of Gavi's menu. Here you can find chicken, veal and pork prepared in a variety of taste-tempting ways, as well as daily specials which one evening included a large bowl of steamed mussels. Though usually packed to the rafters, the service is friendly and efficient and the prices modest considering the quality of the food, which rivals the fanciest restaurants in town at half the cost.