The original La Tosca in Osprey has, in less than two years, established itself as a local favorite. Now chef Gianluca Di Costanzo is sharing the love with a second La Tosca, this one way north in a Lakewood Ranch shopping center. It’s a welcome addition to the emerging dining scene in this thriving made-from-scratch suburb.

White tablecloths are the order of the day in the cozy dining room, where attentive waiters come and go in ankle-length gray aprons. Murals in niches evoke Italian vistas. The black ceiling over the bar twinkles with imitation stars. Behind the bar is a wood-burning brick pizza oven.

The fare is heavily weighted toward artfully executed comfort food. Gnocchi, those darling little potato dumplings, dressed simply and deliciously in tomatoes and basil, are among 14 tempting pasta offerings. Chicken scallopine sautéed in marsala sauce with mushrooms is one of seven secondi piatti (second courses) with meat or fish. Fettucine with cream sauce can be had on the side. Finish up, if you like, with gelato or sorbet.

You get the picture: good, unfussy food drawn from several regions of Italy. The chef describes the style as both rustic and contemporary. I call it heartwarming and satisfying.

Whenever I spot fried calamari on a promising menu I order it, always hoping that I will find someone who prepares the dish as simply and flawlessly as Pedro Sevilla, a gifted Spanish chef I met when he was cooking in Tucson several years ago. Di Costanzo comes as close as anyone I’ve found recently.

His calamari fritte appetizer ($7.99) treats squid as delicately as it deserves, barely breading it, flash frying it in light oil and serving it with a fresh lemon wedge, which is all the saucing good calamari really needs. A ramekin of warm marinara is provided for hard-core dippers. The portion is generous enough for two.

Colette chose another classic starter, mozzarella e pomodoro ($6.99), which pairs slices of fresh mozzarella with generous slices of tomato and garnishes them with fresh basil. Simple and good.

As at the original La Tosca, the crowning glory among meat courses at Lakewood Ranch is Di Costanzo’s signature dish, agnello all’abbruzzese ($22.95). This lightly tomato-sauced wonder, upon which Colette’s eye fell immediately, braises to exquisite tenderness a generous, meaty lamb shank and serves it atop an earthy Parmesan risotto with peas and mushrooms. Colette purred as she dispatched it.

The menu offers one of my all-time favorites, too, one I don’t see often enough these days. Tubular cannelloni pasta, properly stuffed and baked, makes me giddy. La Tosca’s version ($13.99) comes to table hot and savory, redolent of Parmesan, Gorgonzola, fontina and Swiss cheeses plus garlic. Just right.

We could have gone the gelato route for dessert and been happy with it, but that wouldn’t have given the kitchen much to do. Instead, Colette went for the tiramisu ($5.99) and I chose the chocolate soufflé ($6.95). The tiramisu is the genuine article, fragrant with espresso and marsala and creamy rich with mascarpone. The soufflé is really a molten chocolate cake, but it’s a good one.

La Tosca
1837 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. (at S.R. 64), Lakewood Ranch
(941) 714-0120
Lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; dinner 5-10:30 p.m. seven days
V, MC, AMEX, Discover
Handicapped accessible
Ample lot parking