The menu at Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck is described by owners Laura Pensiero-Scappin and Gianni Scappin as ''Hudson Mediterranean.''

What it truly is, is a conscious and committed effort of the couple's desire to utilize the bounty of local farms and producers to create traditional regional dishes with a flavor unique to the Hudson Valley. The result is an enormously refreshing approach to Italian cuisine, showcasing the owners' passion for the best ingredients prepared in such a way that friends of Gigi Trattoria may never want to leave.

Before settling in the Hudson Valley, chef Scappin, a native of Italy's Veneto region, worked as a corporate chef in Manhattan for more than 15 years for Toscorp (a collection of eight Italian restaurants including Le Madri, Coco Pazzo and Tuscan Square). Pensiero-Scappin, a registered dietitian, author and culinary consultant, met Scappin in the kitchen of Le Madri. The couple wed and lived in New York City before moving to the Hudson Valley (Pensiero-Scappin's original roots are in Cold Spring) to work at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

A search for a location to open a restaurant took them back to Scappin's hometown in Veneto to re-open his father's trattoria that had been closed since his death. After a time and a longing for the Hudson Valley, they returned to find the northern Dutchess County area was what they believed to be an ideal community for Gigi Trattoria, named after Scappin's father.

Culture defined

Walking through the doors of Gigi Trattoria is a reminder that tradition, culture and a passion for food and wine is still very much alive.

The excitement for customers begins as soon as you enter this lively new hot spot in the village. The restaurant, in the space that once belonged to an auto dealership, is a welcoming trattoria -- well decorated with local artwork, rich hardwood seating and tables, and yellow ochre walls with brushed sienna hues.

The menu is composed mostly of traditional Italian courses such as antipasti, formaggi, insalate, minestra, pasta or primi piatti, secondi and contorni. Skizza, Scappin's version of pizza, is deliciously different, with crusts that are crisp and thin, unlike any that I've tasted. Rustica ($9) comes with an excellent-tasting Italian sausage, garlicky broccoli rabe, tomato sauce and mozzarella.

Antipasti are strong on simple dishes like one of my favorites -- stuzzichini ($8), a plate of marinated seasonal vegetables, almonds, olives, cheeses and Italian cured meats. Cartoccio ($9.50), crispy calamari, was slightly overdone but paired with a nicely spiced tomato-garlic sauce.

Salads all too often have the tendency to be somewhat ordinary. However, that is not the case here. Barbina ($8.50) goes beyond all blasé borders, touting baby greens, roasted mushrooms, beets, butternut squash, crumbled Coach Farm goat cheese and toasted walnuts.

A winter salad of bitter arugula ($8) is a perfect base for shavings of a semi-salty Parmesan and drizzles of olive oil and fresh lemon juice.

All pastas can be served in appetizer or entrée portions.

Risotto preparations vary daily. I tasted a perfectly al dente, creamy dish infused with earthy wild mushrooms. Rigatoni ($9/$14) tossed with spicy sausage, peas and a rosy cream sauce is another success that would be easy to cozy up to. There's also a lovely gnocchi verde ($9/$14) with speck ham, arugula and three cheeses.

Don't skip side dishes

Traditional preparations such as mattone ($16) are a novelty -- cooking a double-breasted, free range chicken beneath a brick (mattone) and combining it with sausage, potatoes, peppers and onions.

A classical Osso Buco ($19.75) and its accompanying citrus-scented saffron risotto is full of flavor as expected with its long braising time.

I wouldn't think of skipping contorni (side dishes) of fiaschetto ($3.75), braised white corona beans infused with rosemary, sage, parsley and extra-virgin olive oil; thick-cut Tuscan fries ($4.25); or tender cime de rapa or broccoli rabe ($4.75) with loads of garlic and sprinklings of hot fresh chili pepper.

The wine list, too, doesn't miss a beat with its extensive collection of wines representing many of Italy's regions from Piemonte to Toscana. Its creator, Steve Kolpan, a wine educator and author, joined sensibility with simplicity, pricing all standard-sized bottles of wine at $17 and $25, and all 1.5 liter magnums at $23.

I'm certain that most diners in the approaching winter season will gravitate toward chef Scappin's sinfully rich European hot chocolate, served in demi-tasse cups alongside cantucci, a homemade Tuscan biscotti which almost seems like the perfect ending.

At least that's until you taste his tiramisu and then you're completely won over.

The Poughkeepsie Journal pays for meals that are the subject of reviews, and reviewers do not identify themselves before the end of the meal. Lori Pierce Abendschein is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a member of the International Food Service Editorial Council.

GIGI TRATTORIA
Rating breakdown
Overall **** (Very Good)

(845) 876-1007; 6422 Montgomery St., Rhinebeck; closed Monday; lunch: Friday-Sunday, noon-3 p.m.; dinner: Tuesday-Thursday, 5-9:30 p.m.; Friday-Sunday, 5-10 p.m.; call for winter hours; handicapped accessible; restaurant is non-smoking; reservations accepted for parties of six or more during the week; reserve the ''Chef's Table'' for a custom-planned, priced-fix dinner up to 20; all major credit cards accepted; there are several options for children on the menu.

Entrée price range — $12-$25.

Directions — From Poughkeepsie, take Route 9 north to Rhinebeck. Go through village; restaurant is on the right across from Upstate Films.

Rating breakdown

Food........................****
Ambience....................****
Service.....................****
Value.......................****

What ratings mean
*     poor
**    fair
***   good
****  very good
***** excellent