Italian food with an international flair at Masi

Masi owner and Kirkland resident Aniello Cavallaro, and manager and Ile Perrot resident Joey Ruscio opened Masi a little more than a year ago, and on the occasion of our visit - the eve of St. Valentine's Day -- we found it to be a delightful place with good-time ambience that particular Friday night. The warm mix of contemporary and rustic elements is transformed into a veritable dance floor at the end of the meal when a singer, performing both English and Italian staples, takes requests from the crowd. The atmosphere accentuates the restaurant's natural ambience and make for a lively evening, but is of no hindrance to the chefs, Johnny Trocchia and Joe Marano, who offer up a quick and delicious product. Originally from Naples, Marano's secret lies in the mix of traditional Italian specialties he learned growing up, dishes he learned in England, where he studied, and when you factor in his Italian and Quebecois cuisine experience, the result is most refreshing. Marano's prefence for local produce, but the ham and mozzarella di bufala are imported directly from Italy. To start, we first tried some fried calamari, which were tender and delectable, and whose texture was so good it didn't even seem as though it was fried at all, due to its light taste. Moving on to tomatoes mozzarella - usually a simple and hardly original dish, in other forms - surprised us with their succulence. The tomatoes, even at this time of year, were sun-kissed and the delicious mozzarella - no cow's milk here, thanks. Only buffalo milk was used in the creation of this cheese, thank you very much - gave the dish a flavour without equal, in my estimation. For the main course, I opted for the scalopini paillairda ($26), while my host recommended the costela di vitello alla brace ($36), a grilled milk-fed veal cutlet, which were both generous without being copious. The veal scallops were masterful, and melted in my mouth, while the impressively thick veal cutlet, and was perfectly cooked. Both dishes were accompanied by crunchy mixed vegetables, but the veggies can be replaced by a choice of pasta dishes or rice - whatever you're in the mood for. Everythingw as washed down beautifully with a glass of Ruber d'Umbria. Dessert chef Danielle Rousseau then took over, and her tiramisu was so good you'd swear it was a traditional Canadian dish, rather than Italian in origin. Another recommendation: try the mascarpone cheesecake - it's incredible, as was the crme bržlŽe ($6), which reminded me of the crunchy caramel eaten by Audrey Tautou in AmŽlie Poulain. The table d d'h™te is changed every week. For lunch, Masi offers an express special with coffee for $9.95. In the evenings, prices range between $22 and $28. Masi is located at 2871 St. Charles Blvd. in Kirkland and is open from 11:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Sunday is reserved for groups. For more information, contact them at 514-695-2121 or visit Masi online at www.riostorantemasi.com. .