When we think about Italian food, what we often mean is Italian-American: red sauce, the Sunday gravy, perhaps chicken parm, perfected in New York and New Jersey and spread far and wide. Roman-born restaurateur Gianni Cinelli will take diners back to the old country with his latest project, Osteria G, which opens this week in the former Little Hen space in Apex.

Osteria G is modeled on the seasonal dishes and simple pastas of Central Italy. In the Italian hierarchy of restaurants, the osteria is the simplest and least formal, though in recent years has become something of a misnomer or a wink as fine dining spots have adopted the name.