The old Italian restaurant saying “When you’re here, you’re family,” completely rings true at Onesto Pizza and Trattoria. (And no, I am NOT comparing the restaurant’s food to the Olive Garden!) With dimly lit lights, a pressed tin ceiling and large windows revealing a neighborhood filled with 1920s bungalows, at 5401 Finkman St., it was easy to feel like I was at my mom’s house, only with better cooking (Sorry, Mom).
After sampling the bite-sized pieces of pillowy bread tasting of butter, garlic and Parmesan that the waiter brought by the table, I knew that whatever I was going to order for my Meatless Monday meal would need a high concentration of the same dough. My choice ended up being easy: the giant, deliciously doughy Spinach Calzone. This calzone was so warm and soft that it reminded me of a feathery down comforter that engulfed the main ingredients, which in my case were sauteed spinach and a trio of cheeses. The Parmesan gave the calzone its salty bite; the smooth ricotta made the filling creamy; and the mozzarella was responsible for leaving that long, satisfying sticky string of cheese when I pulled a piece of calzone away from my plate.
Dive fork-first into the rich, house-made marinara sauce, which is served on the side. Don’t be shy to ask for more sauce, so you can double-dip your way through that calzone. Manners won’t allow you to double-dip? Don’t worry; you certainly won’t be sharing, so it’s completely acceptable, even though you aren’t actually dining at home.
This article appears in September 2012.