We honestly don’t like to come down hard on family-run restaurants, especially ones with photos of Old-World grandparents prominently featured—not that we’re worried about malocchio, mind you. But this is the restaurant, among many run by members of the family, that has, well, airs—among them the mural of Italian rogues that dominates the upstairs balcony. If you’ve got airs, and prices to match, well, just saying…

Airs are apparent in the sauces that come with an appetizer of fried ravioli. Ricotta-filled pasta is tender but very buttery and bland, and pesto sauce is too creamy to balance the fat, leaving the marinara to shoulder the load. The buttery garlic-like bread that will arrive unbidden is best left in its basket. We’d ask for dressing on the side for the automatic salad of the usual mixed greens; it will otherwise come drenched.

The main-dish section of the menu provides a snapshot of current Italian-American cooking, with primavera played against meatballs. But wait: the meatballs, while not super-light, are actually quite good, and the meat-filled ravioli that accompany a single popletta on one plate worth a few calories. Too bad the red sauce is more strident than savory. “Tortellini Shrimp Primavera” counts on a light and creamy Alfredo for lubrication—and a lot of salt added at the table for flavor. The usual vegetable suspects, including undercooked green beans, are fresh enough, the few shrimp decent, but the parts don’t add up to much. Scusa, nonna.