People who do not know the difference between “old fashioned” and “Old School” wrongly believe that both connote something decidedly dated, sentimental and simplistic. In fact, “old fashioned” may involve, even cherish, some of those accusations, but “Old School” refers to the upholding of standards and traditions that have bolstered some of the best ideas of genteel hospitality.

Which, I am well aware, flies in the face of current gastro-fads that dismiss fine dining as something to be ignored, even stamped, out in an egalitarian society where communal seating, amateur servers and ear-shattering music constitute an evening out. To experience what it means to be Old School in the most enduring and endearing sense, dinner at Il Tinello East is a capital idea.