My new Italian Connection in Reno

Yelp! to the rescue again.  I was in Reno, needed dinner, and my previous favorite Italian eatery had closed its doors.  Thankfully, Sardina's was on the list.  It meets all my criteria for a delicious and interesting meal:  1. reputation for good food; 2. Reputation for having an intimate atmosphere; and 3. having crappy interior decor, making it a dive.  This picture is my appetizer, a fontina (or was it gouda), prosciutto and carmelized onion quesadilla.  It was delicious.
This is the salad.  Not spectacular, but the dressing tasted good.  In fact, it reminded me of my mother in law's homemade dressing that is universally loved.
This is the bread.  I give Sardinas a pass in this department because the bread was tasty and a dive has to have some low-budget offerings or it isn't really a dive.
Now this was a pleasant surprise.  Black Cherry Cream Soda by your friend and mine, Henry Wienhard.  I never see this stuff.  It was delicious and I am always impressed by a restaurant that has some diverse non-alcoholic beverages to offer.

For some reason, the pics of the main entree and dessert didn't make it on here.  I'll look for them and add them later if they haven't gone the way of the mate to many of my socks (i.e. into the ether).  The entree was a creamy pasta baked with chicken and lots of cheese.  As I recall, it had a nice sage-y flavor and was very good.  The dessert was a creme brulee.  It was absolutely done properly and after this meal, I was a very happy camper.

Looking back over this meal, I wonder why I loved it so much.  I realize now, that it was the restaurant, not the food.  The food is good.  At times, it is really good.  But the attitude of this little restaurant was what wins me over.  It is small, simple and somewhat tacky.  However, the owner is waiting tables, explaining the dishes and talking about the baseball game on the tv with everyone.  Even more, he is really talking to people, not just "working the tables" like some do.  I felt like I had eaten at a friend's house, and maybe I have.