One bite of the sliced filet mignon that accompanied my chopped salad at Sofia was all it took for me to feel a pang of regret. Impeccably seared, juicy and flavorful, the appetizer-size portion was so tasty that I wondered if I had made a mistake by not ordering it as an entree.

Such dilemmas arose frequently on my visits to the five month-old Italian steakhouse in Englewood. If I ate too many of the hard-to-resist fried artichokes, crunchy and garnished with Parmesan slivers and lemon juice, would I have room for the sweet and meaty mussels swimming in a garlicky, zippy fra diavolo sauce?

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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/