In New York last week, I had a chance encounter with a man named Melvin Agui, who helped open the restaurant Positano with brothers Pasquale and Roberto Barba in Ocoee in 1991. ( I wrote about the encounter here.) Agui is now manager at La Grenouille, the storied Manhattan restaurant. 

We spent much of the night reminiscing about the old days. And I came to realize that it had been many years, maybe a couple of decades, since I’d visited Positano – now called Caffe Positano and in Apopka. So the day after I got back, I headed up to check it out.

How did I stay away so long? The food is still some of the best in town, and it’s offered at bargain prices. (Hey, Michelin, you’re missing a great Bib Gourmand candidate).

The Barbas still own Positano, which is part pizzeria and part restaurant (it was the first to introduce the two-sided concept in Central Florida), though Roberto mainly works mornings these days. But Pasquale is still the chef of record, and still has a command with Italian dishes that is no less artistic than the many paintings that adorn the walls (which are also his creations, but more about that later).

My companion and I had the restaurant side of the place to ourselves and started with an appetizer of focaccia caprese, which featured fresh mozzarella – made in house daily – with prosciutto and tomatoes on imported flatbread that had an ethereal texture.

For a pasta course, we had a smaller version of Pasquale’s special fettuccine with truffles, the pasta coated with butter with a bit of parmesan and just enough mozzarella to give it some creaminess. Barba served it tableside.

For my main course I chose the veal gorgonzola, several scaloppine, lightly breaded and sauteed with mushrooms, topped with tangy melted blue cheese with a touch of brandy. Delicious. By the way, you can have the dish with chicken or veal, same price, under $24, a steal for food of this quality.

My friend had flounder piccata, which featured two delicate fillets sauteed with plenty of butter and wonderfully salty capers. At La Grenouille the week before, I had the sole, which was quite good, but I think Positano’s flounder was even better.

We had to pass on dessert but I couldn’t go without a taste of limoncello, which Roberto makes himself. (He shared the recipe with me years ago; the key is grain alcohol instead of vodka, which is is the base for most limoncellos.)

Service was first rate, and we felt as though we were dining in an art gallery. That’s because the walls of the room are filled with colorful paintings done by Barba himself. (He’s even painted the shades in the front windows and the bathroom door.) They really are quite good. A testament to that was a blank space on one wall that was due to a recent sale of a painting to a regular diner.

I’ve decided to focus the next several months on revisiting old favorites, or the ones still around. I’m glad I was prompted to return to Caffe Positano and even more delighted to know that it still offers some of the best food in the area, served with graciousness and warmth – at a value of a price.

Caffe Positano is at 3030 E. Semoran Boulevard, Apopka (map). It is open for lunch and dinner daily. The phone number is 407-774-8080.