When I visited Tuscano’s Pizza & Pasta in Yucaipa shortly after the Italian eatery opened, I must confess that I was underwhelmed. Everything was drowning in cheese, the pizza dough was limp and lacking crispness and the pasta was cooked well past al dente.

What a difference a year makes! They have really gotten their act together and the overall impression is one of a family run east coast Italian osteria that will bring back fond culinary memories if you grew up in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.