Ari Feinstein
Google
Tesoro is a relatively unassuming restaurant, with simple decor, non-flamboyant menus, and waiters who are not pretentious salespeople. That is because Tesoro is one of the very few Italian restaurants in the United States that focuses on the quality of the food. I just traveled all over Italy recently and Tesoro in many ways is an authentic Italian dining experience. The only "Americanized" aspect of the meal was that the portion sizes are bigger than what you would find in Italy--which, combined with the very modest prices--means customers are getting a great deal.
The waiter was extremely friendly, knowledgeable, funny, and candid about the restaurant. He had a great personality and exuded a lot of the passion for quality food that I saw in Italy. As far as the food, it was all great. What stood out the most was the pizza. The biggest problem with American pizza is that the tomatoes are low quality. They may come from parts of the U.S. that simply do not have the right climate for tomatoes, or they may come from cans and are mixed with other ingredients to create an artificial freshness, etc. Tesoro gets their tomatoes from Italy. They are fresh and sweet and impart a refreshing and vibrant taste that beautifully harmonizes with the rest of the pizza. All they do is mix in some salt and olive oil.
Frankly, Tesoro should have 5 stars. The fact that the rating at this time is closer to 4 stars suggests to me that many who have eaten there do not know what high quality Italian food is.