In 1923 a friend asked her to take over a tango club named for the film star Dolores del Río, and the Pigati family has run it ever since. The second, third and fourth generations still work the room, and it has been a white-tablecloth restaurant from day one. The cooking is 'il grasso,' the rich Northern Italian food of the hills above Bologna, made from scratch. The signature is Veal Del Rio: thin, lightly breaded cutlets of grass-fed veal baked crisp in lemon butter. Chicken piccata over house-made fettuccine is the other order regulars default to. Start with tortellini in brodo or the walnut shrimp, and if the table can't decide, get ravioli four ways.
Then there's the cellar. The Del Rio's collection book runs to thousands of bottles dating back to 1896, with the emphasis on Italy and California. The family bills it as one of the largest wine lists in North America, and it would be hard to argue. Live music fills the room twice a week, the Carl Noble Trio on Wednesdays from 6:30pm and jazz piano on Thursdays from 6pm, and the holiday opera dinners are a North Shore tradition. It's open Tuesday through Saturday from 5pm, with complimentary valet. Ask for Mr. Milton.
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