The end of the school year is here, so it’s time to rejoice. No more annoying papers. No more late-night cram sessions and most importantly, no more dorm food.

toss that gummy pizza from last week out the window; then go out and find a truly good meal. I’ll even simplify the search; check out Cunetto’s House of Pasta. Cunetto’s, located at 5453 Magnolia, is a fixture on the St. Louis restaurant scene, thanks to its tasty Italian delights and all-around classic atmosphere.

An elaborate menu detailing something for everyone awaits the hungry patron at Cunetto’s. The appetizer section lists a variety of ways to start off the enchanting evening.

The classic calamari ($6.45) is always a favorite with its fresh pieces of squid saut?ed in tomato and onion or lemon and butter. The calamari also comes fried in the calamari fritte ($6.45). Either way, it turns out excellent.

Other appetizers include the melanzane parmigiano ($4.85) which is slices of eggplant baked with tomato sauce, provel and parmigiano cheese.

The tender eggplant, along with the mixture of cheeses, brought out a distinctive taste. The toasted ravioli ($5.50), a must for anyone from out of town, shows why it’s a St. Louis tradition. Cunetto’s also offers several choices for soup or salad.

Now, if it’s pasta that you are craving, you will not go away disappointed. The menu lists an enormous variety of dishes, and the only trouble will be choosing just one. My personal favorite is the Tortellini Bianco ($9.50).

The dish includes pasta rings stuffed with meat in a thick cream sauce along with a hearty helping of peas, mushrooms and prosciutto. This dish alone proves why people continually come back to Cunetto’s.

If you want to try something totally different, then take a chance on the Linguini alla Pavarotti ($8.35). The dish includes the famous tenor’s favorite sauce, a mixture of anchovies, tomato, parsley and red pepper.

Not surprisingly the sauce does have a definite fishy taste to it; anchovies have a tendency to do that. On the other hand, maybe it’s the anchovies that enable Pavarotti to hit those notes.

The Linguini con Vangole ($10.25) is yet another pasta on the menu that’s worth sampling. This time around, linguini is tossed with mushrooms, parsley and claims into a nice white sauce.

The combination of linguini with clams fails to leave the strong fishy taste in your mouth, as the anchovies do.

An assortment of veal, steak, fish and chicken also grace the menu. The Filetto di Sogliola con Granchi ($14.40) takes a filet of sole and saut?s it in a lemon, butter and cheese sauce. Crab meat tops the fantastic seafood dish.

The fish is tender and moist, and the crabmeat added an extra zing to the dish distinguishing it from other restaurants.

Tender veal saut?ed in a white wine sauce that includes sage and butter makes up the vitello saltimbocca ($13.25). Thin slices of prosciutto accompany the veal. The veal itself is not overcooked, which is a pleasant surprise.

So many restaurants these days have inexperienced cooks who do not know when the veal is done. The white wine sauce kept the veal extra tender without overpowering the meal.

The Petto di Pollo Dorfo is made up of a boneless breast of chicken and is stuffed it with prosciutto.

The chicken breast is then rolled around in seasoned breadcrumbs and then saut?ed in cardinale sauce and topped with even more prosciutto. The excellent dish passed the test of the taste buds with flying colors.

The dessert menu offers simple choices after a filling meal. The first choice on any occasion needs to be the cannoli ($3.15). Yet another Italian favorite, the cannoli is a sweet cheese-filled shell that sometimes includes chocolate chips and is topped with powder sugar.

If the cannoli sounds a bit much then try the spumoni ($2.25). Everyone needs to keep room for ice cream.

The excellent service at Cunetto’s keeps customers happy and coming back. The servers brought out the food hot and in a timely manner.

Also, the water glasses were continually kept fresh along with the other drinks.

Finally, the end of school is here, so what better way to celebrate than by treating yourself to an excellent meal at a fine restaurant?

The prices might be a bit higher than some places, but the dinner will make you forget about the bill. So grab a few friends and head toward the Hill, a short distance from school and a big difference from the dinning halls.