A black-and-white photograph of a young, curly-haired woman with a loosely knotted shawl around her shoulders leans against vintage Italian books on a small table near the entrance of Dennis Lange’s new restaurant. “This is the only picture left of her,” Lange says with a devilish grin.

He will later admit that the woman who supposedly inspired his restaurant is pure fiction; “Adalina” is just what he happened to pick from a list of Italian names. Lange’s only significant connection to Italy is the time he spent working on architectural digs near Pompeii while in college.