If choosing wine to bring to a dinner party takes up half your weekend, try something a little sweeter.

Pick up a batch of authentic Italian cannolis from the gelato shop (your foodie friends will be so jealous you beat them to the pastry punch). Available only on weekends and in limited supply, the cinnamon-tinted shells are filled with a light cream made of ricotta cheese, sugar, chocolate chips and a touch of liquor, and topped with roasted almonds and a light dusting of icing sugar.

Oh and you can tell everyone they are handmade—they don’t need to know not by you.

$14 for 6. Available Friday-Sunday only at La Casa Gelato, 1033 Venables St., Vancouver, 604-251-3211, www.lacasagelato.com

The Fairmont Pacific Rim is only days old and already it's getting major buzz for celebrity guests,  seriously spacious rooms, and stunning views.

But the secret gem for us locals is the 41-seat Italian cafe Giovane. We recommend the Berkshire ham sandwhich on sourdough ($10) for takeout, or dine-in on nine choices of pizzas ($11 each) and charcuterie plates (three selections, $14).

Lunch anyone?

Giovane (open 6 a.m.-8 p.m.), 1038 Canada Place, Vancouver, 604-695-5501, www.giovanecafe.com

Should Madonna and Jesus (as in the pop icon and her male model companion) come into town and want a plush private room to dine in with their disciples, we’ve got just the place.

The Moda Hotel now has a secluded spot for dinner parties and important meetings. With gold high-back chairs, marble flooring and a grand, hand set chandelier from Italy, the sexy round-shaped room is fit for a star, but reservable by you. It seats 12 and serves food and wine from the Cibo Trattoria menu.

Book it soon and you’ll have beat the Material Girl to the table.

Moda Hotel private room books through Cibo, 900 Seymour St., 
Vancouver, 604-602-9570, www.modahotel.ca

It’s a hockey night on Saturday and you’re headed downtown with your ice man to take in the game. Nix the overpriced burgers and beer, and before Luongo get Lupo.

The Italian eatery at Hamilton and Smithe has gotten a new lease on life. There’s a new chef and a new look—light, white walls, warm woods and modern art—which has the 1800s heritage home looking clean, classy and cozy.

And there’s a new menu of modern Italian dishes like prosciutto, caramelized onion and arugula pizzetta ($12) and wild mushroom risotto ($16), which pleased both our palate and pocketbook.

If no one scores on Luongo tomorrow night, you have the Italian to thank, both on the ice and in your belly.

Lupo Restaurant, 869 Hamilton St., Vancouver, 604-569-2535, www.luporestaurant.ca

Goodbye beach barbeques, hello cozy brunch spots.

In time for fall, one of our fave recent additions to Vancouver's restaurant scene, Campagnolo, has started serving up the weekend breakfast-lunch hybrid, Italian style. We suggest starting with a well-made cappuccino ($2.75) paired with a plate of fennel-infused biscotti, mini meringues, buttery shortbread and sweet hazelnut cookies made right in-house ($4). Then it’s on to a Pomodoro frittata of eggplant and parmesan with a side of salty cotechino sausage ($9).

The verdict? Bellissimo.

Campagnolo, 1020 Main St., Vancouver, 604-484-6018, www.campagnolorestaurant.ca

Get thee to Nook!

That is, if fresh, savoury Italian fare and small, stylish dining rooms leave you all shook up.

Dressed in red, white and wood, the 30-seat spot at the north end of Denman keeps its menu simple and gets it right with antipastos like olives ($4) and handmade meatballs ($6), thin crust pizzas topped with the likes of Yukon gold potatoes and rosemary or Italian sausage and sweet pepper ($14), and pastas done puttanesca or bolognese ($14).

Pair your plate with a cold glass of Prosecco and no nook or cranny of your own will be left unquenched.

Nook, 781 Denman St., Vancouver, 604-568-4554.

French-Chinese fusion? Done. Pan-Asian cuisine? So last summer! What’s really tempting our palette these days is casual and simple Italian fare.

With that in mind we headed to Campagnolo, the newest entry from the boys behind another fave of ours, Fuel.

Located in revitalization-ready Lower Main, the 65-seater is a friendly, minimalist space with brick walls, cork floors and big wood beams—giving the air the fresh scent of fir. We dropped in on opening night for Piedmont-inspired snacks like  citrus-marinated olives and a tasty and fresh Margherita pizza—and left with change from $30. We'll be back to sip Rosso di Toscana at the 25-seat wine bar and nibble on the house-made "The Cure" charcuterie.

Impress the in-laws by planning a holiday dinner at this soon-to-be foodie hot spot—and ply them with wine until they stop asking you for grandkids.

Campagnolo, 1020 Main St., Vancouver, 604-484-6018, www.campagnolorestaurant.ca

We headed to the new location of Sciue Italian bakery in Yaletown, where the cobblestone courtyard seating resembles a piazza and the brown and orange ’70s rec room décor has you thinking Brady Bunch revival.

But the fare is far from retro: Order a house-made Italian doughnut (soft and not too sweet) to share, then move on to fresh, sunny brunches served on Italian buns, like the proscuitto cotto benny (with melon and crispy Yukon gold potato wedges, $10.95) or the scrambled eggs and Italian sausage on bruscetta ($8.95).

Grab a banquette and catch a cooking show on Italian satellite TV, listen to the wake-me-up Italian soundtrack, or better yet, catch up on the vagaries of everyone’s Friday night. This is a story, about a lovely lady….

Sciue Yaletown, 126 Davie St, 604-689-7263, www.sciue.ca

Heading to Lumbermen’s Arch for a romantic picnic, or spreading a blanket at Second Beach?

We recommend you forgo soggy fish and chips this time, and bring your basket to the new Italian deli Cardero Bottega nestled in the West End off Denman.

Owned by the former New York consular chef to Pamela Wallen, this pretty little deli is stocked with all the goods you’d find on The Drive, without the cross-city trek.

We loved the inventive made-to-order sandwiches on soft Portugese buns (try the porchetta) and the Italian rosé wine sodas. Pick up breadsticks and a chunk of Ossau Iraty sheep’s milk cheese, and don’t forget a container of crunchy, marinated picholine olives.

And when the fireworks go off? Tell him you arranged that too.

Cardero Bottega, 1016 Cardero St., Vancouver, 604-689-0450, www.carderobottega.com

It’s name means Oak tree in Italian, but the brand new La Quercia at Fourth and Alma will have you pining for more.

An intimate space with just 32 seats, the beautiful mustard-coloured table linens and elegant flatware were brought in from a family hotel in Italy, as were the hand-carved wooden spoons to stir the creamy risottos.

Simple, house-made pastas (our fave was the Agnolotti di Guido) can be served up family style for two or more, or opt for the Daily Fish and pray that it’s trout. The wine list leans to the good-value Italian, and the cold Italian Peroni beer whet the appetite just right.

Yew really should lumber on in.

La Quercia, Open lunch and dinner, 3689 W. Fourth Ave., Vancouver, 604-676-1007, www.laquercia.ca