Osteria

This food blog was originally intended to be about my cooking, as is evidenced by the subject matter of all but one post so far. However, no one lives - or cooks - in a vacuum. I never once pretended to be a culinary genius, merely an enthusiast, and as such, I am often awed and inspired by great meals out. Tonight was one of those occasions about which I am eager to share.

I ate tonight at "Osteria" in Philadelphia on Broad (not Broadway) Street with one of the best guys I know, Scott Kozin. Scott was born close by and except for school/training, he has never lived away from Philly. He both loves and knows good food, as our previous meal together was also phenomenal (too bad this blog didn't exist then so I could enjoy the memory with better information). When he heard I was coming back tonight, he clearly was excited to take me to this place, who's name translates to "meeting place in the center.". True to this name, even though it was a Sunday night, Osteria was packed and alive. However, our waiter certainly was not stretched to thin; our service was exemplary.

Speaking of said waiter, since they only have Italian wines, we needed his help on that front. He came through by picking a bottle based on my confession that we mostly drink domestic pinor noir at my house. He brought a bottle from Pecchenino Vineyards that was soft and fruity and so drinkable. I could tell this was going to good night right away.

Next, we shared a Roman style pizza (crispy thin crust) with arugula, shaved Parmesan cheese and prosciutto. It was salty and spicy and light and perfect. We agreed it was the perfect example of the current (almost cliche) mantra heard everywhere in food these days: pick great ingredients and then stay out of the way. This "pizza" had nothing in common with Domino's (which I do like), but it was so very good (and I suspect authentic).

We turned down the suggested "sweetbreads" salad (after all, it was just one bottle of wine that we weren't half way through at this point) for the salad with "grilled octopus with cured lemon and potato". Again, simple ingredients done delicately. It was light and perfect.

The pastas came family style and thus we had both ravioli with trumpet mushrooms and thyme and the boar bolognese. The boar was hearty - the ravioli flavorful and light. Both were great.

To finish, we had the polenta chocolate mouse with candied hazelnuts. It was sweet and creamy and just right.

While everything was great and I can't think of a criticism, my biggest impression was that the experience was better than the sum of its parts. I am fond of Scott and my time with him is limited, so I expect this played a role in my overall joy. Still, I am very aware that although we finished everything they brought us, I still feel good enough to write this entry instead of being in my normal post-big-meal coma. Real food is better on so many levels.