Spalti is one of those neighborhood restaurants that improves with time. In recent years, Philliph Bulutogli has upgraded his Italian eatery by adding a full bar, installing air conditioning, and, most importantly, improving what's on the plate.

Bulutogli began his career working in Italian restaurants as a busboy, dishwasher and waiter. He opened Spalti in 1991, after attending hotel/restaurant management school where he honed his skills as a businessman and restaurateur.

Spalti is spacious by California Avenue standards, and the interior is both soothing and contemporary with sponged terra cotta walls, candlelit linen-covered tables, large abstract lithographs adorning the walls, and an inviting street-side patio. Additionally, there is a private back patio attached to a banquet room that seats 40.

It was tempting to overindulge on the warm yeasty house-made bread that was served with a revved-up dish of herbed olive oil while we studied the menu. Discipline was the best policy, though, and the early abstinence was worth the short wait for our appetizers.

Each item on the menu was described in a straightforward manner but few adjectives were employed to enhance the appeal of the dishes. While there is nothing wrong with simplicity, I thought many of the plates were actually better constructed, with better ingredients, than I supposed by just reading the details on the menu. It was a happy surprise, although perhaps a slight disservice to the restaurant.

Every day there is a supplementary menu with specials for every course. Recently, the mouthwatering special soup was crab and corn chowder ($4.95 cup, $6.50 bowl). The creamy seasoned soup was chunky with fresh sweet crabmeat and kernels of corn, thickened with potato and dotted with snipped chives.

Another tasty appetizer special was carchiofi ($9.95), an artichoke stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella, dressed with creme fraiche. It was hearty and almost too rich to start off a meal. The artichoke had been trimmed down to a few leaves and the heart and was blanketed with the creamy cheese and ham.

Regular menu starters were tasty and large-portioned. Grigliata al fungi ($8.95) featured grilled portobello mushrooms topped with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, arugula, toasted pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese.

Grigliata di polenta ($7.95) was another plentiful offering. Grilled polenta was topped with pungent creamy and crumbled blue cheese and sauteed mushrooms. It was a filling appetizer.

Spalti makes many of its own pastas daily: mezzaluna, triangoli, ravioli and gnocchi. The mezzaluna ($13.95) was stuffed with chicken, veal and fennel and dressed in vodka cream sauce studded with pancetta. The half-moon-shaped pasta was the perfect container for the anise-accented meat filling.

Ravioli con granchio ($17.95) were stuffed with fresh Dungeness crab meat, layered with a champagne cream sauce, and topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, capers and green onions. This was my favored dish. The sauce was subtle enough to allow the crab to soar, and the capers and green onions gave the dish an unexpected balance and cut some of the richness.

One evening, I ordered the special risotto del giorno ($17.95). The Arborio rice was perfect: moist and creamy, cooked a tad al dente, so that grains of rice were not totally creamed together. Chunks of fresh salmon, capers, asparagus, artichoke and bits of tomato were layered over the risotto. A drizzle of subtle white wine sauce completed the luscious dish.

Osso buco ($20.95) was a fall-off-the-bone tender veal shank beneath a blizzard of porcini mushrooms, carrots, celery and onions, bound in a rich marinara sauce. It was comfort food at its finest.

I was slightly disappointed with the pollo carciofi ($15.95), which I ordered for lunch one day. The sauteed breast of chicken was supposed to come with artichoke hearts, mushrooms and a touch of white truffle oil. Instead of the artichokes, my plate had spinach, carrots and asparagus; no explanation was offered even after I asked the waitress. The chicken was good but not what I expected. The white truffle oil added little to the flavor profile.

The wine list was appealing and the prices rational. The menu was about two-thirds California, one-third Italian. Lovely wines from Chianti, Piedmont and Valpolicella, Super Tuscans and Brunellos were priced $24 to $80 while the standard French-American varietals were priced $26 to $180. Most of the wines were in the $20-$40 range. Corkage fee is $12.

Desserts were predictable: not bad, just uninspiring. It was the usual lineup of Italian sweets found in most Italian-American restaurants. Tiramisu ($6.95) was creamy and cocoa-powdery but the espresso and amaretto flavors were not very evident. It was more calories than the payoff.

Better was the flourless chocolate cake ($6.95), which oozed rich chocolaty flavor and was excellent by itself. The scoop of vanilla gelato piled on calories and the raspberry-mango sauce detracted from the warm, runny chocolate.

The budino ($6.95) was warm bread pudding with a collision of too many flavors: plum and mango, orange-caramel and vanilla gelato.

The amaretto cheesecake ($6.25) was the best of the lot. Creamy and distinctive, it was more in keeping with the tenor of the menu. Desserts came with a complimentary glass of moscato, a happy ending for any dinner.

Service was excellent on all occasions and the pacing from the kitchen precise. One evening, there was large private party in the back. Had I not seen people coming in the front door, I never would have known. Extraneous noise did not seep into the dining room, nor was there any gap from servers or kitchen.

Spalti is an excellent neighborhood Italian restaurant. The menu is interesting and dishes well prepared. The daily specials afford opportunity for the kitchen to stretch itself. The restaurant is well grounded in the basics and deep-rooted in the community. Spalti satisfies its customers by offering high-quality fare at levelheaded prices.