Going to Osteria

[808eater]

Any Suggestions, I hear it is hit or miss, thanks

[uhockey]

I found every dish I had to be a hit - and of all the amazing foods I had in Philadelphia I can honestly say the Polenta Budino at Osteria was potentially the most awe-striking and memorable. The Chicken Liver rigatoni with cipolline onions and sage, the Polpo Pizza, and the pannocchia pizza are also "can't miss."

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[mombaker247]

cwmcdonald could you expain the Budino dessert

[808eater]

Hey all thanks for the comments I will go antipasti, pizza, and pasta route, I'll let you know how it goes. If there is an entree I have to have I'll order it. But now I'm going in with some great information thanks all .

[cwdonald]

A budino is a semolina based pudding... usually Osteria serves a hazlenut budino. The texture is a bit gritty.. but it is very light and has wonderful flavor. Its a great way to end a meal.

[FrancisdeR]

Second the budino with hazelnut. I'm not a dessert eater, but I finished that one (it is fairly large) and still remember it more than a year later.

[FattyFatMan]

Third it. It is spectacular.

[percyn]

It is a great dessert - slightly sweet and salty.

[food diva]

I've been to Osteria about 3 times for dinner, lunch 3x and drinks and dessert once. It's nice to have such a nice place in such a surly part of town (I work there!). And the food, while good, often seems to wilfully underperform. The wild boar pasta *is* delicious but utterly oversalted, and my waiter said, "yes, we tend to oversalt our food." HELLO! You know this and you still do it??? The entrees are quite nice but not memorable, and for the price one is paying, that is not salutary. And the portions are MINUSCULE! (I say this as a small eater.) I love having the place around and want it to thrive, but in this economic time, they need to revisit their business strategy and their portions. None of their ingredients seems that expensive or rare; there has to be a more reasonable way of serving the food they do in portions and prices they matter. (Maybe they could pick a lesson or two from Parc which has become my restaurant of choice when I'm taking a guest out on an expense account.) That said, do admire the gorgeous LIz Kinder ceramics everywhere. She's a Philly potter of fame and her work made Osteria's fairly ordinary dining room radiate beauty. And speaking of dining rooms, try to sit in the side room (the glass sun porch). It's stunning and a lot more conducive to a conversation, esp. at dinner-racket time! ENJOY!

[Beulah]

We try to eat there once a month and we regularly order 2 antipasti, 1 pizza to share and a couple of pastas -- we think all the pastas are great but we prefer the ones that are very thin like the ravioli type things and the flat pastas like linguini or fettucini. We skip the entrees and the desserts but we usually have a big cup of their excellent coffee.

[FattyFatMan]

A general theme: the pastas, pizzas, and antipasti generally get great responses. The entrees get mixed reviews. When I went last, we ordered a couple antipasti, a couple pastas and a pizza. Had a great meal.

[cwdonald]

I second what FFM says above. The house made salumi is wonderful. The pizzas are very very good. I recently had a stunning peach, crimini and lardo pizza. Great crust and great seasonal flavor combination.

A specific dish to avoid. If they have as a "special" the roast pig, stay away from it. I have had it and it was incredibly dried out. Very disappointing piece of meat and they charge a fair amount for it.

I generally eat an antipasto, pizza and a pasta. Sometimes will have a dessert (the Budino is spectacular).

Have a wonderful time at one of Philadelphia's gems.

[asmith]

I am in the "love it" camp. They have the best pizza in the city, it is a gorgeous space, and the boar ragu (over candele pasta) is to die for. If they have budino for dessert, don't miss that either. Truly in my top 10 favorite restaurants in the city.

[barryg]

My meal there was hit and miss. The pizza and pasta were great; the rabbit entreé was a miss.

The chicken liver rigatoni with sage was one of the best pastas I've ever had--I still think about that flavor on a regular basis. My dining companion, who never eats offal, loved it as well.

[Hungryin theBurbs]

Ok, then I take it back. :-) I haven't had the rabbit in a couple of years, but when I had it, I loved it. Did you think there was something wrong with the preparation, or did you not like the flavors?

[barryg]

The main issue is that it was overcooked and dried out. Other may like the dish as I have not had anything similar elsewhere, but IMO it was not prepared very well. It was served with all the bones in, which is not a problem in general, but it was also swimming in a sauce that made it very difficult to eat around the bones without getting lots of little one in my mouth and my hands messy. That wouldn't bother me if it was a great dish, but it didn't help the overall impression it left.

I also didn't care for the dessert we had, which was some kind of cherry tort IIRC, but they told us that it was a new recipe the chef was trying out for the season change and I am not a dessert person in general, so I don't really hold that against them.

[Hungryin theBurbs]

I don't know if it's hit or miss as much as that people seem to either love it or not. I've never had anything less than a stellar meal there. The vegetable antipasto is always delicious, and I love all the pizzas. The wild boar pasta is a favorite of mine (very comfort food feel if you're in the mood for that), and if they have any kind of roast boar special, it's always fantastic.