An old Fulton family favorite, Avelluto’s Italian Delight, 6522 Martway St in Mission, has recently undergone a renovation and an additional in Kansas City. Having not been there in a while, I decided to see if the expansion had changed my favorite hole in the wall.

The exterior was exactly the same, a striped awning with a picture of an old woman, who I assume is Avelluto, hanging over the darkly tinted windows.

I walked through the familiar door to find the same menu and the same counter. A 20-something man stood behind the counter and loudly called out “Ma” before he noticed me. When he was aware of my presence, he directed me to the cash register without a second thought or a smile. I ordered a slice of lasagna, spaghetti with peppers and sausage, a mushroom salad and a thin crust pizza with sausage, mushrooms and onions.

While waiting for my food, I further inspected the restaurant. There was now a mural depicting a fisherman on the shore that was exceedingly lovely. It was simple with pastel colors and made the restaurant warm and inviting. There was a wall full of motorcycle memorabilia that did not appear to have anything to do with Italy, but was fun to look at.

After a short while, the food arrived. The lasagna was covered completely in red sauce with bits of melted cheese sticking out and did not look especially delicious. However, it was especially delicious. The noodles were thick and were cooked just enough to be tender but not mushy. The sauce was rich with a flavor that was light and sweet. The filling was a mixture of finely ground meat and mozzarella cheese. It all combined together to create pure perfection. My only complaint is that for $7, I wish there was more of it.

I also wish there was more of the pizza. The cheese was thick and stayed perfectly on top of the pizza when the pieces were pulled apart. The mushrooms were very fresh and sweet, simply amazing. The sausage and onion were nothing special, but along with the cheese and mushrooms created the world’s most perfect pizza. It was surely made by a pizza god.

The spaghetti was less than terrific. It came tossed in a watery version of the lasagna sauce. The peppers were cut long and thin. The sausage was spicy and had a tough, chewy casing. It was good, but I would not waste your time on it.

The mushroom salad is also not worth wasting your time on. My family loves it but I do not care for the sauce. It is sweet without being sweet and all around odd. I would recommend not wasting your time on the mushroom salad when there are so many yummy carbs around.

Overall, Italian Delight has managed to maintain the hole in the wall taste while growing out of its hole-in-the-wall exterior. I do not care how far you have to drive or if you have to take a plane, the pizza and the lasagna is worth the journey. I doubt they make better food in Italy.