Luigi's Ristorante in Dubois, Pennsylvania - Fantastico!

Bearing out its fine reputation, when I told my cousin from St. Marys we planned to have dinner at an Italian place in Dubois, she said, "Oh, Luigi's?"

Our aim when cabin camping is to embrace nature in a rustic setting and cook our own meals, but on our recent escape to Parker Dam State Park in Clearfield County, husband Ron and I discovered Luigi's Ristorante in historic downtown Dubois. Luigi's is located at 32 N. Brady Street in a century old building formerly housing Troutman's Department Store. One is immediately awed upon entering by the lofty ornate tin ceiling, and entranced by the eclectic collection of hundreds of family, friend and celebrity photos and local memorabilia that grace the walls.

Arriving at four on a Sunday afternoon with no reservation, we were led through the softly lit main dining room to the enclosed veranda. The late afternoon sunlight shone through side and ceiling windows, giving the impression of dining on the terrazzo of an Italian vineyard manse. Grape vine replicas dangled from the rafters and were delicately muralled on the yellow-beige walls designed to resemble stucco.

Our smiling and competent server Dwayne took our order promptly. The freshly baked bread and Wedding Soup proved to be, as my first generation Italian husband proclaimed, as good as his mother's. (Okay, that's high praise, fellas.) The salad was fresh and crisp, including a mixture of greens and julienned carrots. My stuffed mushrooms caps were topped with a filling of ground pepperoni, cheese and breadcrumbs, and were so good I immediately proclaimed this our "new place" when in the area, without having tasted anything else. Not caring for pepperoni, I wouldn't have ordered this appetizer if I'd known, but I found the taste to be more reminiscent of a bread and sausage stuffing and I loved it.

My main course of Lobster Ravioli with Tomato Alfredo sauce and a side of Shrimp Scampi was just this side of heaven. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and seasoned and by far the best shrimp scampi I've ever had. The ravioli was al dente with visible pieces of lobster and the delectable pink sauce the perfect accompaniment.

My husband had the clams with red sauce and I don't know why because he's never happy when he orders red sauce out. His angel hair pasta was perfectly al dente, the clams were abundant, but he felt they used a bit too much oregano in the sauce. I sampled it, it did have a bit of a bite, but was obviously homemade, fresh and tasty. I've decided that oregano in red sauce to an Italian is a subjective issue. Nothing will ever compare to Mama's, so he should just not order it (and next time he tries, I'm going to slap him). Stick to the white sauce, dear.

Just as we pondered dessert, a woman was seated nearby whose perfume overpowered the aftertaste of our dinner and choked my breathing passages. I took our server aside, explained the problem and he promptly moved us to a corner of the main room where we thoroughly enjoyed our coffee and tiramisu while more fully examining the walls and tin ceiling. I was pleasantly surprised at the generous cup of cappuccino, and the tiramisu's creamy mascarpone and lady fingers were the perfect finale to our meal.

Luigi's prices are surprising reasonable for authentic, homemade cuisine. My Lobster Ravioli was $16.25, the generous side of scampi $5. Ron's clams in red sauce over angel hair was $11.25, chosen from their " build your own pasta dish" section. The stuffed mushrooms were $5.50, the Italian Wedding soup $3.25. The Tiramisu was well worth the $4.25, as was the $3.95 for the substantial cup of cappuccino.

Luigi's House Specialties range from $9.50 for Polenta, to $11.50 to $15.50 for entrees such as Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken or Eggplant Parmigiana, Cod Romano or Portabella Ravioli. Lemon Basil Salmon or Veal Parmigiana go for $17.25-$17.50. Spaghetti, manicotti, cavatelli and lasagna range from $7.25 to $13.50, most served with meatballs. Luigi's Delmonico steak, filet mignon and steak/scampi combo selections are priced from $18.45-$23.95. Luigi's light and low carb "Tuscany Collection" features grilled chicken, vegetables or shrimp scampi served atop "vegetable spaghetti" (julienned carrots, zucchini and yellow summer squash), and ranges from $10.25 to $15.50.

Luigi's serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., and offers daily specials. Mondays they are closed. Reservations are recommended on weekends and for groups (call 814-375-9113). Visit it their website here to see a full menu.

We plan to make Luigi's a regular stop whenever we are near Dubois! See you in September, Dwayne.