Entrées average $27, and supper comes à la carte, although your artfully arranged plate will arrive with a broiled tomato or some other colorful veggie and perhaps a tasty clump of fried onion shards. And the bread, either sourdough rolls or toothsome multi-grain small baguettes, is a treat; it's served with bowls of olive tapanade, salmon spread and both sweetened and unsweetened butter.

Potato is extra; and if you choose the au gratin, know that the ramekin is plenty generous enough to share. That goes for all the Zak's portions, which are American-sized and doggie-bag appropriate. The steaks are of fine quality and prepared just the way you order them. We were especially impressed with the filet mignon coated with a spicy mustard infusion. Expect traditional Caesar salad, French onion soup and a flavorful red seafood chowder for first courses, as well as Zak's specialty ground beef dumplings, steamed mussels, shrimp cocktail or crab cakes. Besides leisurely dinners in pleasant surroundings, Zak's does lunch for an average price of $14, although the burger is $9. Many dinner items appear on the luncheon menu.

There are some interesting features to Zak's. No vintages next to the wines on the wine list. No pepper on the table. The salt shaker stands alone; and the only way you'll get pepper is to allow your server to wield one of those massive wooden grinders. The person who seats you will thoughtfully match napkin color to attire so your clothes won't show lint.

Also, there are no steak knives. The omission is meant to convey the tenderness of the product; and indeed we used dinner knives without complaint. Finally, Zak's logo chargers (bordered in deep burgundy) are left on the table for the proper amount of time -through the entrée course and then whisked away for the dessert course. Many restaurants don't know what to do with chargers, but Zak's does.

Lori Perkins accomplished the interior redesign, creating an environment of comfort with grown-up luxury touches. Besides the two intimate dining areas downstairs, there are two cozy upper-level enclaves, one with banquettes. The other, smaller room is just right for a family celebration-private, sophisticated and snug.

Zak's Steak House

1213 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota

906-7300

Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday

Dinner: nightly from 5-9:30 p.m. and until 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday

Reservations strongly suggested

Credit cards

Parking: valet, street or at the bank across the street

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Tuscan Times

A site that used to house a budget beef house has been transformed into something straight out of the Italian hill country by the same father-and-son duo that brought you the thriving Sugar Loaf restaurant and bakery. The newest Sarasota enterprise by Peter and James Liakakos is Reggiano's, a comfortable and handsome 265-seat restaurant and lounge plus an al fresco patio that seats 40 near a fountain. It's all done in a relaxed Tuscan mode with tile roof, the right amount of wrought-iron trim and a welcoming Mediterranean paint color on a building designed by architect George Palermo.

Inside, a long, open kitchen clad in copper, Italian ceramic tiles and brick dominates the space. The kitchen houses the pizza ovens, plus enough grill space for several cooks to put on a show and keep the orders coming on schedule. Raised booths hug the perimeter of the room and are sheltered by vine-covered pergolas for privacy. More booths and tables fill the center; and there's a bar area complete with TV for those who need to know the scores while they eat or drink.

Faux finish artist Vanessa Finelli has given a pleasant Old World treatment to the interior walls; and muralist Connie Buckler contributed vignettes consistent with life and good times of the Mediterranean region. The floor tiles were imported from central Italy.

The lunch and dinner menu focuses on excellent thin-crust pizzas (about $9), wood-fried steaks and chicken, wood-grilled seafood, and pork and pasta favorites such as fettuccine Alfredo, penne with chicken and broccoli, tortellini, linguine with clam sauce, manicotti, chicken parmigiana, or a plate of classic spaghetti with either meatballs or Bolognese meat sauce. No fusion fuss, no surprise ingredients-in itself a nice surprise. Entrées average $11 and most include either a house or Caesar salad or a cup of soup. The cabbage-rich minestrone is particularly tasty and a change from what you're used to at the chain restaurants.

The mostly Cal-Italia wine list is a work in progress but already has enough in the reasonable $20-$60 range to pair well with everything on the menu. Nothing wrong with a Chianti Classico at $26, which we liked just fine with our pasta and meat dishes. The young waitstaff, in bistro aprons and neckties, is neat-looking and eager to please, making a meal at Reggiano's a no-hassle good time-with a doggie bag as a bonus, because the recipes may be Italian but the portions are American big.