We took the boy up to Hamden CT to visit Quinnipiac Univ. and had lunch at Luce. The first thing to say is that the wine list is fantastic. About 40 pages long, with a whole page of Gaja, 6 years of Ridge MonteBello available (the '94 was $125) and well priced. The food was wonderful.

I started with Traditional Dru-Cured meats, prosciutto, soppessata and mortadella served with provolone Auricchio, fresh bocconcini mozzarella and grilled eggplant. For my entree I had Ucelletti Ticinese, veal rolled with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, pignoli nuts, Gorgonzola cheese, in a fresh tomato and wild mushroom cognac sauce. It was sublime. My son started with mini crabcakes with a dijon sauce then had the Rissotto Pescatore, morsels of shrimp, scallops, calamari, lobster and Mediterranean clams simmered in a light tomato stock with Arborio rice. My wife had the Insalata di Spinaci, baby spinach salad with crispy pancetta, walnuts, caramelized onions, Gorgonzola, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. She then had the Bucatini Calabrese, over-sized spaghetti, thinly sliced eggplant in a pomodoro ragout, topped with dry ricotta chese and bsil.

Since it was lunch, we only ordered a half bottle of wine, but at $19, the 2004 Merryvale Chard was very good. Service was excellent and efficient and the restaurant is very pleasent, formal but not fussy.