Al Di La

To visit Al Di La on a Sunday night is to enter a world where there is no recession. People angle for a good spot in the line out the door, and pepper the host with endless questions about the optimal time for scoring a table. "I'm very sorry, but I don't know what the wait will be at 7." It has been this way for ten years, ever since the little Italian restaurant (arguably the best in Park Slope) opened. The no-reservations policy and cramped communal tables dissuade no one from luxuriating in the wonderful tastes and smells that emanate from chef Anna Klinger's kitchen.

My last dinner at Al Di La had been about five years ago, but I noticed that the menu still listed those delicious malfatti and casunziei, and the hanger steak with arugula that is my companion's favorite. What to order? Rabbit with creamy polenta and olives? Risotto nero? Along came the waiter to make our decision more difficult: anchovy-dressed green salad, homemade spaghetti with lamb ragu, oh, and "there are only two more orders of short ribs." My friend and I started with the special saba-dressed greens, which arrived with fresh rosemary-scented focaccia and a small hunk of buttery Taleggio. The light, sweet, grapey dressing matched the plump cooked white grapes in the focaccia.

I ordered the linguine with clams - simple is beautiful! Lots of minced garlic and the perfect amount of red pepper (my mouth was pleasantly warmed after each bite) made this one of the best versions ever. My friend let me try her spaghetti with lamb ragu - lots of sharp pecorino and pepper livened up the rich, stick-to-your-ribs meat sauce. Our side dish was a bowl of red beets with creamy goat cheese dressing.

We were stuffed, but skipping dessert at Al Di La is a grievous offense. Although the specials included an apricot almond tart, a lime-leaf panna cotta and fig ricotta gelato, I remembered that incredibly buttery warm pear chocolate tart with the big melted dark chocolate chips and the dollop of fresh whipped cream, and that is what I devoured. My friend, who normally doesn't do dessert, finished off a tall glass of large blocks of frozen chocolate-hazelnut fudge (gianduiotto). Two glasses of port, and I wondered why I don't make the trip out to Park Slope more often. (Port makes the R train a little more bearable.)

Al Di La: 248 5th Ave., Brooklyn, (718) 636-8888.