200967 Fri Apr 25 13:31:58 -0700 2003 6 18 Manhattan 0 1071634 Spent a very pleasant two+ hours there on Thursday. Met my wife at the bar for drinks at 5:30 and sat down for dinner shortly after 6. We shared a large meat platter as our antipasto followed by a guanciale pizza. Our wine was a young Friulian Tocai (Bastianch). Dessert was a single cup of both chocolate and hazlenut gelato accompanied by espresso. In a nutshell, everything was superb. The service was polite, attentive and knowledgeable. Our table may have been the best in the house (window table for two in the back room). The meat platter was nothing short of outstanding (proscuitto, testa, mortadella, salumi) and the pizza was pretty darned good. The best was reserved for last: Otto's gelato is as good as any you'll find in Italy. We will go back. A few things to remember about Otto: it is a wine bar and should be treated as such; crowds begin to overwhelm the place by 7 p.m.; sharing is the order of the day - bring lots of friends. Fri Apr 25 13:31:58 -0700 2003 0 Steve 1 1071660 the gellato ice cream was heavenly, the hot chocolate was out of this world, the pizza dishes, however, was very good, but not outstanding. Fri Apr 25 16:34:54 -0700 2003 1071634 0 Eat Me ! 2 1071665 Hot chocolate? Hot chocolate??? Had I known, I would have ordered. Very cool. Fri Apr 25 17:01:24 -0700 2003 1071660 0 Steve 3 1071685 yes, the famous eight-dollar hot chocolate made with home-roasted hazelnuts. Fri Apr 25 20:42:50 -0700 2003 1071665 0 Kerry 4 1071688 Uhh...$8.00 hot chocolate? This is like something out of Pulp Fiction (Jack Rabbit Slim's and the $5 shake). R U serious??? Fri Apr 25 21:16:24 -0700 2003 1071685 0 Steve 5 1071710 Chocolate is expensive,so are hazelnuts. Sat Apr 26 09:48:28 -0700 2003 1071688 0 ISTARK 2 1071910 I went there with three companions, and we purposely each ordered a different pizza, so that we all got to try four different pizzas on our first visit. I must say, there was a huge difference between what we ordered, and some people were much more pleased with their choice than others. I think my whole table agreed that I won out with my order, the pizza with the egg in the middle of it. Speaking of eggs, has anyone had breakfast there? I went once and found it lovely. It's quiet, sunny, and inexpensive. You have a choice between a mortadella sandwich or some ciabatta with truffled honey, fresh ricotta, and pineapple preserve. Tue Apr 29 10:13:28 -0700 2003 1071660 0 TK Baltimore