On the surface, Sopranos Italian Kitchen looks to be just another suburban upscale franchise-style outpost. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll discover that this hospitable and carefully crafted eatery may well rank as destination dining.

It's well known that chef JP Samuelson (formerly of Solera and jP American Bistro) is a serious cook, and his skill came through in three of the four dishes we ordered during a recent visit. We tried the spaghetti and meatballs ($13 for lunch, $17 for dinner) because at this preposterous price, it seemed likely to be the restaurant's Waterloo. But no. This was a good rendition of spaghetti and meatballs. In fact, this was a great rendition of spaghetti and meatballs. The fresh housemade noodles were a toothsome, satisfying delight. The sauce had a real depth of flavor (herbal, funky cheese, a bit of heat) that made it scrape-off-the-plate tasty, and the meatballs had a savory lightness.

An appetizer called piadina ($11) sounded like a straightforward flatbread-and-ham-type deal, but the bread element turned out to be fried and crispy as the dickens, and kissed with liquid honey. With the saltiness of the prosciutto and restrained creamy funkiness of the accompanying blue cheese, the piadina managed to be familiar yet exotic, balanced yet a bit provocative.

We ordered a sausage and pepper grinder ($11) expecting a bulletproof hit; surprisingly it was a flyweight loser. Insubstantial bread, low-wattage sausage and a lack of heat made it more suited to Subway than a serious Italian joint. The giardiniera on the side, though, was zippy and flavorful, and helped step the sandwich up. A bit.

Dessert undid any bad feelings. The tiramisu torte ($8) had real cocoa depth without being chocolate-syrupy or overly sweet, and various textures (including a crispy thin chocolate layer) gave this sometimes pudding-like trifle some backbone. An accompanying piece of candied cocoa nibs was a graceful, novel touch, lending a sophisticated bonus hit of chocolate and more satisfying crunch.

The service was almost absurdly gracious. A hostess ran up to open the door for us on the way in; our waiter was chatty and informative without being obsequious; and the manager popped by to welcome and check up on us. This hospitality may wear off as the novelty of opening subsides, but right now the staff seems to be 100 percent on the same extremely welcoming page. The decor deserves comment, too: Chic and lush light fixtures and wall treatments were like an Italian interpretation of the interior at Barrio.

Beyond the grinder, my only beef with Sopranos Italian Kitchen is the name. Is there really any reason, at this point in time, to be naming Italian restaurants in ways that allude to organized crime organizations or mob-related entertainment? Blot that from your mind and give Samuelson's venture a shot. He has pulled off something interesting here.

The churn

Authors Jenny Breen and Susan Thurston will be at the University of Minnesota Bookstore (Coffman Memorial Union) at 4 p.m. Wednesday to talk about their new book, "Cooking Up the Good Life: Creative Recipes for the Family Table." The book's recipes highlight healthy ways to enjoy seasonal ingredients.

• The Heavy Table team writes about food and drink in the Upper Midwest five days a week, twice a day, at www.heavytable.com.