5 /5 John Zadikian: Were blessed with a number of good Italian restaurants in our area, but the hidden gem is Carieras Cucina Italiana. If you havent been there since the Salvatore Scallopini days - and why the heck would you have waited that long? LOL - you really need to go back. For a Tuesday dinner hour, this place was packed, and for good reason. The bread has a nice chew and flavor to it, and is not overly seasoned. The Caesar salad - its worth the upcharge - was flavorful and the lettuce was actually chilled, not room temperature. When it comes to the generously-portioned entrees, we licked our plates clean. I had the manicotti/lasagna combo, and my friends had the chicken parm and lobster fettucine. For dessert, the Lemon Blueberry Mascarpone Cake and the Tiramisu were light and ridiculously delicious. The icing on the cake, if you will, was our server, Melissa. She was fast, friendly, knew the menu inside and out, and helped us make the right choices when it came to our order. She is fantastic and no, she didnt pay me to write this. The next time you need a carb fix, make it Carieras...you wont be sorry.