Edie Gandy paid Marcelina’s Italian Restaurant, in southwest Ocala, a lofty compliment while dining there recently with Alan Henderson. “We’ve tried a number of local Italian restaurants and Marcelina’s is the closest we’ve found to real Italian food,” Gandy said. The couple has tasted local fare while traveling in Italy.

Henderson had veal parmigiana, breaded and baked topped with “homemade marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese,” according to the menu. Gandy had a fish dish, grouper Francese, in which the fish is “sautéed in lemon butter and white wine,” according to the menu.