Around $20-$25 per person for dinner

Open since 1989, this staple of Palo Alto and Silicon Valley has experienced diminished quality in recent years, although it still has some redeeming qualities. Owned by a public company, Il Fornaio is a chain of restaurants throughout California that strive to create authentic, regional Italian food. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, although breakfast is more traditional American with omelets and muffins. The lunch and dinner menus are much more focused on the Italian theme. For appetizers, we recommend the buffalo carpaccio and all of the pizzas, which are cracker thin and oven baked. Try to avoid the calamari. It's a bit limp and floury, and the batter isn't crunchy enough. Some of the entrees we recommend include the Conchiglie Al Pollo (try ordering extra spicy), as well as the Linguini al mare. There is almost always a risotto dish on the menu that is usually quite tasty. Il Fornaio always features a separate regional menu focusing on the cuisine from the different regions of Italy. These dishes are usually good bets, and are often better than the dishes of the main menu. For dessert, make sure to try the café affogato, a simple mix of ice cream and espresso. If you're bold, you'll take the edge off with a drink from the Grappa selections, but brace yourself, it's nasty. Il Fornaio is still the same hip joint whose clientele features Silicon Valley big shots, but the consistency of the food has worsened considerably in recent years. You can still get a good meal with decent service, it just takes some proper ordering.