Since the Indians didn’t clinch earlier in the week, our anniversary dinner was changed to lunch so we could watch the game with our friends. We chose Dante for the big occasion.

I’d never been to Lockkeepers so I’m not sure where it stopped and Dante started. But overall, we both really liked the décor, especially all the rich wood and arts-and-crafts styling (you can tell a lot of money and time went into this). The space has a traditional foundation, which makes for a cozy atmosphere. They aren’t trying too hard with the design and that’s what makes it a great space.

Where they could have tried a bit harder was with the music. Knowing chef Dante Boccuzzi is quite the music fanatic, I was expecting the selection to be as great as the food. You expect to hear the theme song from “Hill Street Blues” in the doctor’s office, not while sharing prosciutto. Whoever got in first that morning must have turned on the easy listening station and forgot to adjust once service started. At least two favorable songs turned up in the rotation, “Girl from Ipanema” and a John Coltrane tune. I suppose that’s more the type of music I was expecting to hear, with a little blues mixed in.

But if eating at Dante means you fall victim to elevator music that’s played too loud overall, it’s well worth it. This guy has lived up to the hype and now I know how it feels to eat like Robert De Niro (one of chef Boccuzzi’s former clients). We started off with the prosciutto board, which features three different types of the Italian ham, followed by sweet corn and shrimp chowder, four tastes of pasta, dessert and a half bottle of wine served in a miniature decanter.

Aside from the music, the only other item that was disappointing was the prosciutto. It was still good, and I give Boccuzzi credit for curing it himself (apparently you can see this yourself if you head upstairs to the wine room), but only one of the three offerings would count as great. After sharing salumi with Gina Batali (sister of TV chef Mario Batali), the bar is set pretty high. So I almost feel bad for saying we were a bit disappointed because I’m still shocked we were able to experience that.

We both had the soup and it was packed with flavor. The sweet corn and shrimp really work well together and overall make this a very satisfying dish. I think my husband would have ordered another bowl if we didn’t have a lot of pasta heading our way.

The pasta menu is structured so that you can order a taste ($4), starter ($8) or the main attraction ($14). The server shared that the taste gives you a nice feeling for the dish and by ordering several you can really try the best of what Dante has to offer. We tried four tastes: the soft potato and chive gnocchi, spaghetti with ragu Bolognese, tagliatelle carbonara with a five-hour poached egg and cavatelli with 48-hour braised beef short rib.

There is part of me that is hesitant to share just how good the pasta tastings were. I’m nervous that this is too good to be true and the next time we go in, the tastings will be no longer available. For $4, you could easily make a meal out of just one (with an appetizer). I was expecting literally a small taste and was surprised to see that we in fact had too much pasta between the two of us. Our favorites were the spaghetti with ragu, carbonara and definitely the braised short rib — simply outstanding. Next time I just want that dish all to myself. The gnocchi itself didn’t have a lot of flavor but the sauce was enjoyable with corn and pancetta. All the pasta is hand-made — and you can really tell with each bite, especially the tagliatelle. There is nothing like hand-made pastas.

At this point, I had no desire for dessert but still couldn’t resist looking at the menu. If I was going to force myself another bite, the tapioca and sorbets sounded tempting. But my vote is always trumped by my husband’s. He says since I always pick the restaurant, dessert is his choice, which always ends up being chocolate of some sorts. It’s not that I don’t like chocolate, I do, it’s just that I like to try other options, or even just have cheese. But this time, Jamie made the right call. We shared the chocolate peanut butter bar (I’m sure that’s not the exact name, but you get the picture). This was one of the best desserts ever. It really was perfect. The only other time we had dessert that was this good was at Theory before it closed (I was never crazy about their food, except for the desserts). In fact, I wonder if the pastry chef at Dante is the same person that was at Theory because these desserts are almost identical.

When you call to make reservations, the person asks if you are coming in for anything special or just to experience (easy thing to do and nice touch on their part). I shared it was our anniversary. Right before the pastas came out, our server, who was in fact the best server we’ve ever had anywhere, offered us more wine since it was our anniversary. He said they normally offer dessert, but we needed more wine to enjoy the pastas. We were drinking the Chatter Creek from Washington — fantastic blend.

One final thought. If you go to Dante, and you really should, avoid the breadsticks at all costs. Not only do they offer you a choice of four breads, but then you have this simple but tempting display of breadsticks in arm’s reach. If you ever visited Battuto, the breadsticks at Dante are pretty similar, which means they are highly addictive. Do yourself a favor and don’t even try one because as tasty as they are, they are no match for what’s next, and you’ll need to save all the room you can.

Wow. East Fourth Street has really come a long way. The last time I checked in on this area’s progress was in the spring during dinner at Lola. What a difference a few seasons can make.

The night was ideal for perusing the various establishments — perfect fall weather. People were sitting outside everywhere you looked, from Zocalo to Corner Alley to Pickwick to Wonder Bar, which was our final destination. The street, while still a work in progress, reminded me of a section in Philadelphia’s Old City District. To me, seeing people eating and drinking outside all along the street, thanks to new patios and open-air restaurants, is a big part of this neighborhood’s charm and atmosphere.

After people watching and checking out the area’s overall progress, we decided to grab a light dinner at Wonder Bar, the new jazz and tapas spot.

The intimate space itself is really nice. I love old buildings that have been transformed but manage to maintain the charm of its history. The tray ceiling is a perfect example. It’s very ornate with a lot of molding and overall Victorian design. I also enjoyed the open kitchen with huge windows as a backdrop showing the brick side of the neighboring building and fire escape. Free art.

When given a beautiful space as a starting point, the possibilities are endless. And while Wonder Bar is off to a good start, you can’t help but feel as though they stopped halfway through and left many details unfinished. For probably less than $3,500, they could finish the interior design and give it a better vibe overall. For example, there isn’t anything on the walls except one lonely mirror. Why not carry the mirror theme throughout and display really ornate, vintage-looking mirrors along the walls — maybe 3 or 4 on each side. And the large mirror above the bar should not be left as is, but rather framed. Little touches like that could really make a difference.

The kitchen itself is wide open, which significantly adds to the atmosphere. The smells coming from that corner hit you as soon as you walk in, so I was eager to order and sample the creations of Chef Michael Walsh. I started off with a glass of Col des Vents Rouge, which I enjoyed, and we shared the sweet corn chowder, butternut squash gratin (which the chef sent over), prosciutto wrapped shrimp (both specials), the honey bourbon glazed pork ribs and chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

The soup was rather tasty. The consistency was not very heavy or even what you’d expect in a chowder, but instead rather brothlike. Regardless, it was good and flavorful. The gratin was a unique dish, with a caramel-corn streusel on top — a perfect fall pairing. This dish was pretty good overall. I liked all the tastes, especially the sweet and crunchy streusel, but was a little let down that the butternut squash was not that noticeable. The ribs, perhaps our favorite of the small plates, were sticky, sweet, a bit smoky and cooked perfectly. A decent sized portion, too, for tapas. Finally, the shrimp. This dish overall was disappointing. As a self-proclaimed prosciutto fanatic, I was disappointed by the overall lack of flavor. The presentation was nice, but the prosciutto was bland, the shrimp tough and the truffle-tomato glaze tasted like nothing more than ketchup. In theory it sounded great, but just didn’t deliver.

What did deliver, and then some, were the chocolate chip cookies. At first, we hesitated to pay $7 for three lonely cookies. That’s it — just the cookies. Not a glass of milk or a scoop of ice cream anywhere in sight. But as soon as we saw the cookies go into the oven, that wonderful, homemade smell took over the entire restaurant. That intense smell alone caused people to stop talking, look around and flag down the nearest server.

The cookies were thick and oversized. After one bite, I realized my hands would need assistance. The inside is still gooey and dough-like, and the rich chocolate can easily get everywhere, so a fork is a much-needed tool. This made me think of the Seinfeld episode when George started eating candy bars with a knife and fork and witnessing this odd behavior from others. After eating these perfect cookies (which I’d happily pay $7 for again) I have a feeling the whole fork thing will catch on quickly here too.

One final thought on the place. Before we headed out for the evening, I checked out Wonder Bar’s Web site. While I can appreciate the owners being excited about the opening and wanting to share pictures, I’m not sure if they realize those very pictures are obstructing half the site. You can’t see the phone number or read half the copy — some significant information I’m sure they would want in plain view. Makes you wonder.

Speaking of Mexican food, my friend recently tried Zocalo and wasn’t impressed. I have’t been there, and honestly wasn’t planning to ever give it a try. But, if it’s on your list, here is her review:

YUCK! The first thing I ordered was a pomegranate margarita. That was good. The atmosphere was really cool, but it was super loud. We ordered the queso fundido as an appetizer – one of my favorite things since I’m a cheese-aholic. I love the queso when it’s super gooey and you have to cut it with a knife. This cheese was like soup and had absolutely zero flavor. The first thing we did was add salt and pepper. There was barely any sausage and no jalapenos (like the menu said would be on top). The chips were good. They make them fresh on site. The salsa came in a tiny dish and was really spicy, but had a lot of chipotle in it and I’m just not a fan of smoky anything. So I ordered the fish special because, a) it was grouper and b) it was to come with grilled peppers, onions, olives and capers. Well the vegetables were just this side of raw, there was about one sliced black olive and NO capers! Capers are one of my favorite things. Plus, I’m looking at the plate and there is a green spice sprinkled over everything. One taste and it’s oregano! Am I new or do you think that is totally weird for Mexican? The fish had no taste except that damn oregano so I didn’t eat it. I had a huge side of rice because I told them no beans and I swear it was Zataran’s. So, maybe a nice place for margaritas, but not for food. And I never have something that I actually don’t eat, so for me it was a big deal.