So I had heard a lot about "the new Italian" place in downtown San Mateo. Honestly, I nearly blew it off due to the fact that it's one of several in a city block. However, a cat's gotta eat, so off I went to enjoy dinner before Music in The Park last Thursday night. With the exception of the, er, interesting choice and too-loud volume of their music selection, Acqua Pazza is so far making friends with San Mateo. The staff encourages a slow-it-down, Euro-style approach to dining. And the price is right -- their modestly-priced menu makes me feel that I've been taken advantage of at other area establishments (now I'm not mentioning any names, but the one near Trag's Market immediately comes to mind). While the caprese panini was nothing earth-shattering, it provided a nice dinner that set up for a post-meal cabernet/cheese fest at the park. Suprisingly, the portions are a hair small, but given that we're a society of maximus consumus, AcquaPazza may be able to retrain us. As for restraint, if you can pass on the light and tasty tiramisu, well, good luck with that. Molto bene!