Wild Olive

For executive chef and former partner Fred Neuville, the paradox of what came first, the chicken or the egg, was easily unscrambled. For Neuville, it was the Fat Hen.

His popular Johns Island restaurant now has his full attention, and he has launched a chicken farm to supply the eatery with chickens and eggs.

For chef Todd Mazurek, who opened Wild Olive with Neuville, opportunity revved his engine as he moved on to open Daniel Island's Vespa Pizzeria.

For Wild Olive Restaurant, this was a culinary dose of lemons that became limoncello for its latest chef, Jacques Larson. The best of all worlds comes into the cucina at Wild Olive as Larson is a French-trained but Italian-inspired chef. He has much in common with Michael White, another Midwesterner, who found his culinary accent in the Italian cucina at Fiamma (New York). Both benefited from a Mario Batali stage. For Larson, Otto and Lupa have been well-served.

You may have tasted Larson's pasta prowess at Mercato (Charleston) and stretched the telephone wires of "mozzarella" with his suppli alla telefono appetizer.

Wild Olive opened in 2009. It now sports a neon green Wild Olive Cucina Italiana sign on Maybank Highway, making it easier to find. The fragrant herb garden that nestles up to the wild olive tree in all its gray and gnarly splendor has matured. The restaurant itself has found its own groove and ripened in its commitment to local and seasonal ingredients. In Larson's capable hands, the complexity of plate composition is rendered with the simplicity of the Italian canon. There may not be a Nonna in the kitchen, but it sure does taste like there is.

The antipasti selection is smartly varied in its offerings and modestly tweaks the classics. A Caesar salad ($7) is served with grilled Grana Padano cheese and topped with a stringent marinated white anchovy. The cucina's namesake is featured in a warm bowl of olives ($5), where saltiness is tempered by sweet orange zest. Arancini ($8), Sicily's version of Roman suppli alla telefono, stuffs saffron-seasoned risotto with smoked pork and house-pulled mozzarella. Fried to a crispy finish, the puckered surface is said to resemble an orange, thus its name. Baked gnocci ($8) intrigued us as you do not see it on menus around town. It was similar to sformato di Parmigiano, a cheese-based custard, garnished with speck (kin to prosciutto but both salted and smoked) and topped with an herb salad. A tasty and filling starter best shared. You can let your appetite dawdle among the appetizers -- tricolor mussels ($10) with salsa verde, marinara and white wine sauces; bruschetta ($7) topped with roasted beets and pistachios; or carpaccio ($10) drizzled with horseradish-flavored aioli.

Normandy Farms supplies the bread, and it is served warm with pools of fragrant olive oil for dipping.

Soups and pastas are wisely offered in two portion sizes. Our order of penne con salsiccia e pollo ($9, $15) flaunts the ultimate simplicity of Italian cooking. The slightly resilient quills of pasta are topped with chicken pieces and nutty arugula. The sauce is stippled with house-made sausage "pebbles," and the dish is showered with parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Delizia.

A neighboring diner's square of lasagna ($14) had the ordered appearance of ricotta, mozzarella and marinara. And for those for whom the red-sauce nation is their dominant DNA, spaghetti and meatballs ($8, $13) eschews the luxe ingredients of our current Meatball Madness and honors the trifecta of flavors borne by simply ground beef, pork and veal. Drizzle some of that olive oil over them and finish with the parm freshly grated at tableside. Gnocchi ($11, $16) are made with sweet potato, and squid ink stains the linguini with shrimp ($10, $17).

The secondi are complete meals in themselves, and the simply prepared flounder ($23), surrounded with "raisins" of peeled and oven-roasted grape tomatoes and local ramps, was first rate. A culinary flaunt to spring!

Veal skirt steak ($17) married tender veal with garlic- and spinach-seasoned mashed potatoes, earthy cremini and diminutive enoki mushrooms glazed with a nutty Marsala sauce and a side of Taleggio fonduta. It demonstrated how essential the ingredients are to the composition and flavor of any dish.

The chestnut grouper ($21) remains on the menu along with the Chicken Parmesan ($15) and Chicken Picatta ($15). There is a lot to like on this menu, and you will quickly be planning your return visit. For a restaurant at the gateway to the tourist traffic, the pricing is remarkably lenient.

Pastry chef Lindsay Cooke has just produced her spring dolci menu ($6.95). Tiramisu has returned along with the elixir of chocolate and pistachio custards served with thin and crunchy orange and nut biscotti. The seasonal granita was pineapple-basil, and her take on the classic of strawberry shortcake glances toward Italy with its sweet balsamic finish.

The wine list is cost-conscious with a house carafe available for $25. Not to mention those Sunday and Monday $19 specials.

Larson has returned carrying the culinary torch for Italia. His cooking demonstrates sprezzatura, the concealed art of Italian finesse at the table. Wild Olive asserts its orientation to the largess of the Lowcountry. Free range, at its best.