The worst taste in Little Italy - Baltimore's most famous Italian eatery disappointing every time

It's Saturday night at Sabatino's and the place is packed. The most popular Italian eatery in Baltimore's Little Italy has people lined up outside the door, and despite two floors and enough seating for at least 150 people, every chair is full.

There must be something special about this place. It must be the best Italian around, or people wouldn't keep coming back. But somehow, I haven't figured out why there's anyone even there.

I've now been to Sabatino's three times, and if the last two hadn't been free meals with relatives, my first trip would have been my last.

The highlight of the meal each time has been the restaurant's famous Bookmaker Salad, an amalgamation of romaine lettuce, chilled shrimp, Genoa salami, sliced pieces of provolone cheese, sliced boiled egg and a thick house dressing. It's creative, but it's nothing to write home about. The house dressing must be drizzled on sparingly, or else it takes away from the variety of flavors in the salad.From there, it's all downhill. I've had the shrimp scampi over pasta, the linguine with white clam sauce, and the spaghetti with calamari sauce. Sure, I have a penchant for seafood, but the pattern of poor quality is simply inexcusable.

Every time, the seafood has been tough and flavorless, the homemade pasta has been limp and bland, and the sauce has followed suit, as a watery and tasteless disappointment. Honestly, I would be kind if I compared their sauces to Progresso and their pasta to San Giorgio.

Before my last (and hopefully final) trip to Sabatino's, I had a theory about why people adore this eatery so much. Maybe this restaurant was the McDonald's of Little Italy: People can fill their stomachs with food that's inexpensive and served quickly, and they're satisfied. My last trip convinced me that this just cannot be the case. The prices aren't cheap enough to justify food this poor. And the food isn't served that much quicker than any other Italian restaurant in Baltimore.

The atmosphere is also nothing special. I'm not saying I need a luxurious setting when I go out for Italian -- it's fine to have paper placemats -- as long as the food can back it up.

We're talking about a restaurant that has won too many awards to count. Baltimore Magazine, City Paper and plenty of other surveys have ranked Sabatino's as the area favorite among Italian restaurants. Our palates are certainly in a sorry state. This city has a long list of impressive Italian restaurants, and although many consider Sabatino's a bargain, it's just not worth the price.

There are plenty of restaurants that aren't even in Little Italy that are better than Sabatino's, and Sabatino's can't hold a candle to Paolo's of Towson and the Inner Harbor. The pasta at California Pizza Kitchen is at a comparable price, and much tastier. Even the Olive Garden is head and shoulders above Sabatino's. One of Rocky Run's pasta dishes? Easily better. I'm not exaggerating.

So the next time you see the huge neon sign on the side of that corner building on Fawn St. in Little Italy, keep driving. That crowd outside either doesn't have taste buds or is just following the underserved hype.