It's hard not to love an independent family restaurant with a good story. Palumbo's Pizzeria co-owner Peggy Palumbo pinged us after their recent opening, writing: "My husband's grandparents immigrated from Montagano, Italy, and settled in [St. Paul neighborhood] Irvine Park. A few years back we visited Montagano and toured the country. We had four teenagers with us, so we ate a lot of pizza. We fell in love with the pizza and the family owned cafes and trattorias. We dreamed of some day opening such a restaurant in St. Paul."

Thus: the newly opened Palumbo's (454 Snelling Av. S., 651-698-0020). The Heavy Table visited last week, and we fell in love with the place. Well, significant parts of the place, which isn't too bad right out of the gates.

Overall, the pizza at Palumbo's works. The crust is chewy and substantial, with a pleasant, almost sourdough-like flavor -- that the restaurant talks up its Caputo 00 pizza flour is a good sign. And while the "Neapolitan" description implies something both thinner and more aggressively scorched with carbon, the version served at Palumbo's is good eating. The restaurant's red sauce is similarly credible, not overly sweet and boasting bright tomato flavor. On the margherita al prosciutto ($8) with melted fresh mozzarella, it made for a tasty, classic pie, although the prosciutto was underpowered.

Also: Check that price. Eight dollars for a tasty large personal pizza that could be split between two light diners is a seriously sweet spot from a value perspective, particularly when compared to similar pies at Pizza Nea (about $12) or Punch Neapolitan Pizza (about $11).

Bland sausage and floppy, underflavored, ham-like "prosciutto" represent two small but important flaws in the Palumbo's game plan. These two weak ingredients both showed up in the calzone di verdure e carne ($9), which had an enormous surplus of bland ricotta and an oddly light, delicate exterior. On the plus side, the calzone didn't in any way resemble the five-pound, East Coast-style grease-bomb calzones many of us have grown to fear and loathe. On the minus side, it was eerily like a Leeann Chin cream cheese wonton hit by an enlargement ray. Bold sausage and robust, flavorful prosciutto would have gone a long way toward cutting through the creamy dullness.

The gelato, however, needs no fixing. Palumbo's offers Ring Mountain Creamery gelato from Eagan, and it's good stuff -- smooth, rich, creamy and deeply flavored. We sampled the pistachio and stracciatella (chocolate chip) flavors, and found both to be drink-the-dregs-out-of-the-bowl delicious. And at $3 a pop for the small size, the value prospect is good here, as well.

Summit Brewing will release its robustly hoppy Silver Anniversary Ale with parties at Liquor Lyle's and Mackenzie's on Monday, Groveland Tap on Tuesday and Sweeney's Saloon next Thursday. The big 25th anniversary celebration is at 7 p.m. July 29 at Tracy's Saloon & Eatery, with food and drink specials and a six-course tasting menu dinner. ($38 advance tickets for dinner; call 651-361-0923.)