Carnivore, with all due respect, I think your list does a disservice to the Home Cooks you've mentioned.
Italian food is all about the quality and freshness of the products used. Its about entering a restaurant or market without preconceived notions and accompanying expectations of what should be available to you. Its about going in and finding out what's good tonight. Precious little of Italian cuisine has to do with pasta and a sauce. So-called Italian restaurants do a disservice to the cuisine they purport to represent by having only "Greatest Hits" i.e Spaghetti and Meatballs and Chicken Parm, rendered by "chefs" as stale, untalented and creatively challenged as their Win-Co and Trader Joe's products.
Gina99 and Carnivore, if you want good Italian food, I suggest a trip to Whole Foods for some fresh pasta, some San Marzano tomatoes, a visit to the olive bar and whatever else strikes your fancy at that moment. With a small investment in time, a smaller amount of skill and a little bit of "give a damn" care, only the dimmest home cook CANNOT create something better tasting and certainly more Italian than in any of the restaurants mentioned.
Carnivore, we are in agreement about Granito's, although the fact you have visited three times makes me believe you are either incredibly fair or a confirmed masochist. Going to Granito's is like hitting a skunk with your car. Your sorrow and remorse that this has happened is genuine, but there is no way you are prepared for the stink and mess that follows.
Again, to summarize:
1) Your house
2) A friend's house
3) A drive to Napa or S.F.
4) The olive bar at Whole Foods
5) A hunk of salami and some sour dough from Safeway
6) So-called Italian restaurants in Folsom
7) Quik-E-Mart
8) Granito's
Welcome Meyer, very interesting first post - I like it. I come from a Sicilian family and know exactly what you are talking about. Grandma's and Mom's home cooking were 1000x's better then ANY restaurant out there. My wife and I do our best to keep the home cooking tradition going - we just made a ton of really fantastic Baked Ziti with meatballs the other day, all home made.... Granito's/Macaroni Grill and even Visconti's ain't got nothing on our home cooking, we just go out because sometimes we like to take a break from the kitchen work.
Just for the record, the truly best Italian foods I've ever had were found in Chicago (outstanding and affordable) and San Francisco (outstanding but very expensive)
