Islander Dining: Lo Duca's the best kept secret on Marco

Wait, there's even more sauce on the pasta -- for a few weeks (until they get their liquor license) it's B.Y.O.B. at this tiny, rustic trattoria located at 1095 Bald Eagle Drive.

Listen up now! When I arrived there Nov. 8 with guests in tow, I patted myself on the back for calling earlier in the day to make dinner reservations for 7:30. Tiny is the operative word here (I counted seven tables, seating from two to six people), but it's also delightful and vibrant. I loved the red-and- white checkered floor and the tables covered with multihued oilcloth -- as well as the eclectic wineglasses (supplied if you B.Y.O.B.) and the glow of candlelight reflected on the delightful wall mural map that depicted the island of "Sicilia."

If you didn't catch my hint, it's wise to make reservations, considering the minimal seating.

However, there's nothing diminutive about Lo Duca's menu, which offers an excellent variety of dishes representing the best from the Southern Italian kitchen. Who wouldn't delight in appetizers like mussels Arregenata -- plump, coral hued morsels nestled in the shell with a coverlet of crisp piquant crumbs? Just wonderful, and next time I'd like to try the similarly prepared clams.

Ditto and handclaps for our piping-hot, made-from-scratch pizza topped with piquant tomato sauce and cheese with a choice of 11 toppings. We chose savory meatballs and mushrooms (fresh, incidentally) to embellish this heavenly, obviously hand-tossed crust! It's also obviously one the restaurant's more popular take-out creations, for I spied several large, flat boxes of same -- as well as a few square white food containers -- carried to patrons waiting by the door. I should mention that after sampling the mussels, the two tots in our group were content to feast on the pizza along with a bit of salad from the adults' dinners.

OK, that was for starters.

Now for the main courses, which took some thoughtful decision-making.

To backtrack, before we entered the restaurant, posted by the front door, on a little board, were three intriguing specials: a veal Marsala, a roasted half- chicken dish and the stuffed grouper creation subsequently ordered by my friend for her dinner.

What a delightful and scrumptious surprise it was!

The plump grouper fillet was stuffed with a savory melange of crabmeat, crumbs and broccoli, and baked in a tangy lemon, butter and white wine broth that also sauced the accompanying bowl of perfectly cooked linguini. An inspired combination by the chef!

I was similarly impressed with my eggplant rollatine -- two impressively ample mounds consisting of nice thick, perfectly cooked eggplant slices layered with an extremely tasty (I've run out of adjectives here) mix of wonderful cheeses and fresh and creamy ricotta. The piquant pillows were then topped with an ample serving of fresh tomato sauce, a savory blanket of more cheese and baked to a golden finish in a generous-sized au gratin dish.

Did I tell you that our cheerful server, Ursula, brought us a basket of warm, crusty bread slices and butter as soon as we were seated -- and then some more later, which was just the thing for sopping up the last bit of savory sauces? Lest I forget, all pizzas and subs are available for both lunch and dinner, while dinners are served with bread and salad (a nice mix of greens, cucumber rounds and tomato wedges with a choice of dressing).

I chose the house Italian vinaigrette, superbly whisked to order by the very efficient Ursula, who shared server duties with cheerful, charming and helpful Aubrey.

There now, I can truthfully say every memorable meal deserves a memorable dessert, and Aubrey resourcefully found us the last serving of dessert on the premises: a perfect square of exquisite, velvety-creamed Tiramisu. She also confided that the chef's secret recipe cannoli were heavenly and to die for. Unfortunately, we weren't given the opportunity to prove her right.

Maybe next time!

Jenine C. Ouillette is a retired features editor of the Key West Citizen, and a former food writer and restaurant reviewer for The Citizen and Solares Hill Newspaper, as well as other publications in the Keys and mainland Florida.