Wood-fired, Roman-style pizza is slightly different from Neapolitan thin-crust, says Gruppo di Amici owner Phaedra Divras, but your non-Italian palate may not notice. What you will notice is that the pies don't come larger than 12 inches ($11-$14), making a pizza delight perfectly sized for one.

But there's no need to shoot for just one taste. A gruppo of three or four can cover half the pizza menu, trading a slice of 4-Formaggi (gorgonzola, swiss, fontina, Holland) for a bit of the Capricciosa (tomato, olives, mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, egg and artichokes).

It's what Divras and business partner Lori Alderete would like to see anyhow. Their vision was to have a place simply to "bring people together" from the every nook of the community. And though the beer and wine list is a global one, the food is straight-up autentico Italiano, made from homemade ingredients (no canned goods).

The restaurant goes beyond the pie, offering antipastis like garlic and white wine sauteed mussels, insalate tossed with buffalo mozzarella and more than ample piatti di mezzo (entrees) like six-layer spinach lasagna and wood-fired Cornish hens. Expect sweet standard like tiramisu.

The best time to bring some amici in a gruppo would be midweek: Tuesday offers half-priced glasses of wine, Wednesday pours $5 martinis and bottles go for half-price on Thursday.

Centerstage Reviewer: Gavin Paul