On first glance, Pietro’s Plump Tomato is doing everything right. Anchoring the southeast corner of Lake Avenue and Dixie Highway in downtown Lake Worth, the location couldn’t be much better. And its philosophy of using local, seasonal and organic ingredients is one to be applauded.

But they set the bar one step higher, offering their eco-friendly and health-conscious menu at very affordable prices.

So I was excited to stop in for a meal. We settled in at a red and white checker-clothed table on the large front patio – a great spot to people-watch on a busy Friday night in downtown Lake Worth. Our waitress quickly brought the menus for us to look over – an expected selection of classic Italian dishes like pastas, calzones and pizzas, but with an unexpected addition of vegan and gluten-free options.

Our first two appetizer selections (the calamari and soup of the day) weren’t available, and so we settled on the bruschetta ($6 for a small plate), the Caprese con pomodoro salad ($7 for a small plate) and the Antipasto Pietro platter ($9) to start the meal.

The bruschetta was a nice mix of chopped tomato, crisp onion and fresh basil on thick-sliced and lightly toasted baguette. The Caprese featured the same sliced tomato and basil with fresh mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinegar. I would have liked a bit more olive oil and a dusting of salt to season the dish.

The Antipasto Pietro was a generously sized platter of cured meats, veggies and cheese served over fresh greens, but this time, slightly over-seasoned with oil and vinegar.

For dinner, we took our waitress’ recommendation and tried two of the restaurant’s more popular selections, the chicken Parmigiana pasta ($10 for a small and $14 for a large) and the Neapolitan pizza ($9 for a 9-inch pizza and $13 for a 14-inch pizza).

The chicken Parmigiana was pounded thin and breaded, topped with an ample portion of mozzarella and baked in a homemade tomato sauce, served with linguine. Unfortunately, the pasta was over-cooked and the dish itself was a somewhat mediocre version of this Italian favorite.

The pizza fared slightly better – the thick and doughy homemade crust was smothered in the same homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella, topped with fresh sliced tomato. I didn’t see much of the basil that was supposed to be a part of the dish and wished for a bit less cracked black pepper, but it was an edible pie that provided a filling meal and extra leftovers the next day.

I left thinking the restaurant had delivered on price (our meal for three adults with a bottle of house Chianti was under $100) and on health (the tomatoes and some of the other veggies were organic, according to our waitress), but fell flat in the execution of the dishes.

R E V I E W

Pietro’s Plump Tomato Market & Café

FOOD: B-

SERVICE: B+

ADDRESS: 821 Lake Ave., Lake Worth, FL 33460

TELEPHONE: (561) 540-4009

WEBSITE: PietrosPlumpTomato.com

PRICE RANGE: Inexpensive

HOURS: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

CREDIT CARDS: Visa, American Express, MasterCard

RESERVATIONS: Walk-ins welcome

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes, including restrooms

WHAT THE GRADES MEAN:

A — Excellent

B — Good

C — Average

D — Poor

F — Don’t bother