Uneasy Rhetoric

Downtown Déjeuner:
Osteria ***
915 K Street
$8-$10

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “Downtown Déjeuner.” In part this is because I’m bringing my lunch more. It is also because, as might be expected, I’ve gotten myself into a rut. Either I go to Sticks or I go to Tony’s. Despite its status as the only four-star restaurant in my reviews, I haven’t been to the Crest Cafe in a long time.

Recently, though, I’ve adopted Osteria as the lunch spot I go to when I want to get away from the office, read a little, or do my French homework.

I can’t decide what to say about this place. Good food? Certainly. Ambiance? Enough. Service? Adequate. It isn’t a hole in the wall, but it isn’t quite the pretentious hot spot I sometimes get the feeling it is trying to be.

Osteria has been open for a few months and most days it has a good-sized lunch rush. The decor is dark and functional. Diners can watch meals being prepared in the open kitchen by sitting at the bar or sit at one of the tightly-packed (intimate?) tables that line one wall and fill the back area. I think the bar may be there mostly for show, or perhaps for people waiting for to go orders. I am almost six feet tall and the bar was too high for me to eat there comfortably.

The cuisine is variations on a fast Italian theme: paninis, pasta bowls, salads, and “deli sandwiches.” If this were a dinner place, I wouldn’t give it a second thought; Sacramento is overrun with pasta joints from Spaghetti Factory to Lucca. At lunch, though, Italian works and provides a welcome respite from anything-on-rye.

The panini are pre-made, refrigerated, and wrapped in plastic. They come out when ordered and are grilled and either served in a basket or wrapped in paper to go. Osteria has some of the best panini bread I’ve experienced. It is dense but soft, even after grilling, and it does not overpower the sandwich. I’ve tried a number of the paninis, and they’re all good, but the standouts are the grilled veggie (fontina, eggplant, squash, onion, and mushroom) and the brisket (beef brisket, verde sauce, tomato, and fontina).

The pasta bowls are less interesting. The Pompei, fettuccine in both red and white sauces with brisket and meatballs, was good but the pasta was overcooked and served lukewarm with very little of either type of sauce. I realize too much sauce is a sad American thing, but this dish really needed a little bit more. The meatballs were good though, and the bread balls served with the pasta were an interesting touch.

A better bet would be to check the specials board on your way in to dine. I had a very good lasagna.

Service here can be slow because Osteria does get busy and, despite a great deal of up-front prep work, the dishes do require some preparation in the kitchen. However, the service is efficient and friendly, and, if they’re running way behind, they’ll let you know.

Three stars for good paninis and good ambiance. I’d probably give them three and a half but I think my personal rating system is getting tougher. Osteria does stand out in an area of, frankly, pretty good eateries.