[Lakegeezer]

With there with my wife tonight and found the North End OK, but with plenty of room for improvement. First of all, our waiter told us twice that he would be "right with us", but it was an uncomfortably long time with the menu. The wine situation is great. We ordered 1/2 carafe of the house wine for $12 and it was very good. The salads included with our dinner came right after the wine. I was taught by a French co-worker, many years ago, that you never go from a vinegar based salad dressing to a sip of wine. You always eat bread in between to cut the vinegar taste. The French know these things. We had been served no bread. When I asked for some, we were told it was $3 bucks, to keep the prices down. They don't serve just bread, but a basket of six rolls pre-dipped in oil and covered with garlic. Good, but a bit of a grease bomb. I'd rather pay a buck and get plain bread to eat with my salad and wine, but that was not an option. Then came the meals. My wife had the eggplant parm. It was pretty good, but the fry fat wasn't quite hot enough and the eggplant had absorbed a bit too much grease. I had the chicken piccatta. The chicken was cooked well but the piccatta sauce seemed like it had been thickened with flour or corn starch rather than a proper reduction. The spaghetti sauce is very good, but the pasta was overcooked and waterlogged. The facility has always had a problem with noise bouncing off the walls rather than being absorbed. It’s a bit better than I remember, but still a lot of echo. Dinner for two with ½ carafe was about $40. The prices on the menu are good and there are other things to try. I’ll try The North End again, but after they have a bit more time to tweak things.