***** Zuccarelli’s Italian Kitchen, 4595 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409, (561) 686-7739.

Got a -good Italian joint for you…Zuccarelli’s Italian Kitchen in West Palm Beach.

How did Jeff Eats find this one?

Michael D’Amore told me about the joint. If you “search” Michael D’Amore on Jeff Eats–you’ll find a number of “stories” about this fabulous vocalist!

To make a long story short, a couple of months ago D’Amore (who performs at Zuccarelli’s) told me about the joint and raved about the food–so the other night, Jeff Eats, Mrs. Jeff Eats and another couple gave the restaurant a shot.

Jeff Eats’ thinking on the “recommendation”–D’Amore, a legendary South-Jersey lounge performer–has eaten/performed in more Italian joints than there are Chins in a Chinese phonebook–so I figured that he might just know what he was talking about (see how scientific this food reviewing gig is?)

For what it’s worth, D’Amore was spot on…dishes “tried”–margherita pizza, baked clams, fried calamari, veal parmigiana, chicken marsala, shrimp scampi, meat lasagna… the food was really good. If I had to “do” a pecking order–lasagna, pizza, clams, veal parmigiana, shrimp scampi, chicken marsala, calamari–trust me, it was all good -but I know that some of you guys like “reviews” all tied-up with nice bows–so there you go!

On the price front, “neighborhood red sauce joint prices”–

On the service front, not good news here-the food was slow getting out of the kitchen and the word “attentive” never entered the service equation. Hey Zuccarelli’s! trust me- it isn’t the customers job to “chase” the waitress down for water-soda refills! Let’s put it this way, even as a kid Jeff Eats-wasn’t much into playing “hide and seek.”

For you historians out there, Zuccarelli’s has been around for something like 32-years…it’s a casual joint-with both indoor/outdoor patio seating. The restaurant also has “live” entertainment–so when you check www.zuccarellis.com for menu/prices/photos you may also want to take a look at its entertainment schedule.

Zuccarelli’s is open Monday-Saturday 11am-10pm, Sunday 4pm-10pm.