Italian Restaurant

The red-and-white checkered tablecloth is set, warm light flickering as candle wax bubbles slowly down an empty Chianti bottle. From the kitchen come the tantalizing aromas of Italian spices. With the romantic atmosphere in place, mandolins begin to play as Dean Martin sings about the moon hitting your eye like a big pizza pie: "That's Amore" sets the stage for multiple courses that range from the festive (Rosemary Clooney's "Mambo Italiano") to the sweetly spiritual ("Santa Lucia," from the immortal Luciano Pavarotti). For extra flavor, we've stirred in Mario Lanza and "Funiculì Funiculà."

There's plenty of room at the table — pull up a chair and experience more Italian favorites in our Next Steps section.

Let Dino stir the pasta for you as he invokes the romance of old Italy with "Arrivederci Roma" and "In Napoli." Eat, drink, and be merry with Patrizio Buanne and his swingin' accordion on "Luna Mezz 'O Mare" and Louis Prima — proud to be music's #1 goomba — with his deliciously fun medley of "Just a Gigolo" and "I Ain't Got Nobody." Just try to hold back the tears as Claudio Villa croons a nostalgic ballad for his "Mamma" — the lyrics are in Italian, but the message is truly universal.

In our Deep Cuts section we'll take you straight into the heart of Italia, where the mood — and the food — is as authentic and thrilling (and filling) as anything ever set before you.

Hey, paisan, have another glass of wine while soft guitars play and Matteo Salvatore — the great balladeer from southern Puglia — serves up "Lu Limone." Venice-bred Patty Pravo (a.k.a. Nicoletta Strambelli) makes an offer of amore with "Pazza Idea," and Al Martino — one of the great Italian-American crooners — stirs up a big pot of romance with the "wine-colored days kissed by the sun" of "Speak Softly Love." And no Italian meal would be complete without a helping of the piano-playing singer-songwriter Paulo Conte, who gives us the sprightly "Azzurro."

From the antipasto to the cannoli, an Italian meal should be a total, sensory experience. Music is an essential entrée, whether it's Italian-American interpreters like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Tony Bennett or the homegrown Italian stars like Ornella Vanoni (from Milan), Matteo Salvatore, or Vinicio Capossela (born in Germany but raised, from an early age, in Italy, and now one of the country's biggest singing celebrities). There are dozens of ways to set the mood — from Nino Rota's haunting "The Godfather – Waltz" to Bobby Rydell's celebratory "Volare" — but after dessert, the effect is always the same: Everything was so good, you just can't wait till the next time you can tuck in your napkin and have it all again.