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Rizzo"s is a midcentury--themed restaurant that has an unintentionally campy vibe in its festivities. Fans come to dine amid decades of paper decorations, gaudy knickknacks and faded head shots of forgotten entertainers. But kitsch is not cuisine, and your time-capsule evening comes with a challenge: dealing with the uninspired output of a seemingly exhausted kitchen. Dishes sampled on a recent visit ranged from okay (tender but bland calamari, fresh but unexciting shrimp parmigiana) to not so great (mealy meatballs, limp lasagna, overcooked steak). Don"t expect guidance from the help, who recommend everything. Your best move: Come with someone you can giggle with and dive into Rizzo"s good house red, home-brewed by a cousin of Rizzo in Brooklyn.

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