Olive and Lemon Restaurant & Grill

Award-winning filmmakers, broadcasters, designers, and food lovers congregate nightly in this celebrity roost. The signature dish is sauteed olives and lemons, both fruits from antiquity. Swipe a chunk of fresh bread through the warm oil and you are in for a taste thrill. The reputation of the owners, Marlene and Giancarlo Carlevale (Trattoria Giancarlo on College, College Street Bar), draws the crowds. But reputation cannot camouflage the blinding sun and heat that comes in through the windows in summer and the icy blasts from the door in winter. Second-timers ask for a table near the bar. Still, the food is wonderful. Dishes are restrained yet brim with exuberance. Plump grilled sardines are glorious; organic arugula in a lemony vinaigrette is sheer perfection. The back-to-basics spaghetti and meatballs is a winner, as is the crusty glazed whole-wheat rigatoni tossed with olives, pine nuts, and basil. Daily grilled fish and meats don't disappoint - desserts, however, do.