My allergist’s (who is on speed dial) office is in East Lyme, so I’ve spent a good bit of time whizzing by Il Pomod’Oro on Boston Post Road. And, frankly, I didn’t take it that seriously, as I figured it was likely another basic pizza and red sauce Italian. THEN, my friend Hannah who has rather good taste asked if I had been. Well, that was enough to have me racing over for, yes, WHITE GATE Farm’s baby lettuce salad, tender housemade pillows of gnocchi, an enormously large portion of lemony chicken piccata (three breasts!) served with fresh ribbons of linguine. We loved the spicy sausage with garlicky broccoli rabe and large goblets of wine (two sizes on offer!). Nope, not at all basic red sauce Italian, although you can probably have that, too. The emphasis here is on locally sourced and housemade, which elevates all the classic dishes. The place is casual and family friendly, with lots of porch seating, and the brilliant red tomato pizza oven will definitely entertain the tots. Avoiding gluten? There’s an entire menu just for you. Our server was sweet and diligent, offering up some homemade limoncello at the finish. But we were delightfully done in, with dinner for the following night in hand, too.

ilpomodoroitalianrestaurant.com

117 Boston Post Road, East Lyme