Tavolo

In the fine-dining wilderness of the near suburbs that cradle Northeast Philadelphia, it wouldn't take much for a chef of Augusto Jalon's skill to find a band of grateful patrons.

One of them, a happy silver-haired gent on his way out of the hexagonal dining room at Tavolo in Huntingdon Valley, paused in the parking lot to assure me as I headed in: "It's always excellent."

The Ecuadorean-born Jalon, 47, clearly has an outgoing personality to stoke such a loyal following, a natural warmth that extends to his solicitous (albeit sometimes stiff) service crew, run by his business partner, Juan Monroy. And he has a track record to warrant such allegiance. Trained at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, he earned his Italian stripes at the ground level in local standbys such as Il Pastaio, La Veranda, and Il Cantuccio before launching Augusto's, his globally influenced 50-seat BYOB in Warminster, seven years ago.

It speaks to Jalon's seriousness and culinary curiosity that three years after establishing Augusto's as a local destination, he dedicated his off-days to improving his game by working for free at other restaurants he admired. At Le Bec-Fin, Jalon's longtime dream kitchen, he spent every Monday for two years accompanying then-chef Pierre Calmels to the early-morning market, studying the art of sauces, and filling in where needed.

A more recent and significantly briefer stint helping out at Osteria has been clearly influential in his approach to the updated Italian menu at Tavolo, the larger second restaurant he opened in September in the former Stefano's, where he also once cooked.

While Tavolo's kitchen, where he now divides his time with Augusto's, does not approach the scope or sophistication of Osteria's, some of its best dishes are rooted in its well-crafted fresh pastas. At least one is a direct homage to Marc Vetri's influence, an elegant plate of casoncelli, hand-crimped dumplings stuffed with minced meats and almond biscotti, glazed with sage-brown butter and scattered with chips of shaved asparagus. Tender ravioli filled with creamy goat cheese come splashed in a bright orange essence distilled from sun-dried tomatoes and white wine.