After nearly three decades building a mini empire of Cuban and Mexican restaurants, the family behind Las Vegas and Vila's has moved beyond rice and beans to spaghetti and meatballs with 5-month-old Sorella Ristorante Italiano at Pembroke Pines' Westfork Plaza.

''I love Italian cuisine,'' says Miriam Vilariño, one of five daughters of founders Antonio and Nilda Vilariño. (Sorella means ''sister'' in Italian.)

The opportunity -- a vacant pizzeria next door to one of their 10 Las Vegas locations -- was too good to pass up, says Miriam, who now manages both. (They plan to open an 11th restaurant in Doral by summer's end. The three Vila's are in Davie, Oakland Park and Sunrise.)

The family remodeled the Sorella site, adding classic dark wood wainscoting and exposed ceiling, making it a little more upscale and inviting. Walls are decorated with family photos in warm sepia tones.

Like their Cuban cuisine, the Vilariños' Italian menu is filled with crowd-pleasing favorites -- solid fare in generous portions at recession-friendly prices. Everything but a seafood platter for two is under $20. We had a huge meal of eggplant parmigiana with a salad and linguine (with leftovers) for $10 -- and it was delicious.

Sorella's limited, mostly Italian and California wine selection is also well-priced. Bottles average $20 to $25 and a glass of house wine is $4.50. Still, our server poured with the panache of a sommelier.

The Vilariños pride themselves on excellent customer service, and Sorella is no exception. Our young server, Hansel, was friendly, pampering and enthusiastic about the food. When asked, he shared his favorites, including the ultra rich carbonara and penne a la vodka.

Start your meal with warm, house-made rolls -- plain is an option but unless you're on a first date, indulge in garlic-kissed bliss. We saved some for dunking in the marinara sauce bathing an appetizer of mussels. The mollusks were a bit chewy, the only item that was off, but the vibrant red sauce was fragrant and flavorful.

Sorella does a nice job on fried calamari, a large plate of lightly battered, perfectly cooked rings and tentacles, with tomato sauce for dunking. Or share a generous antipasto of Genoa salami, prosciutto di Parma, aged provolone, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, pepperoni, olives and onions on mixed greens, drizzled with extra-virgin oil. Salads come with your choice of dressing on the side.

Sorella offers several pasta choices like our hearty spaghetti with Italian sausage. You can add broccoli, chicken or shrimp to most dishes for a few extra dollars. Most restaurants overcook shrimp, one of our pet peeves, but Sorella's kitchen does right by the plump shellfish in a buttery scampi sauce.

Saltimbocca means ''jumps in the mouth'' in Italian and you'll be stuffing your mouth with the morsels of smoky prosciutto, white chicken (veal is also available), sauteéd spinach and mozzarella in this Roman classic.

Sorella makes its own desserts, like decadent chocolate lava cake and light, cooling tiramisu. We were so full we took home part of ours, and the sweet staff decorated the bottom of the Styrofoam takeout box with swirls of chocolate. Now that's commitment.

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