Osteria

Does Osteria have the best pizza in Philly? I think so.

I'm so glad I waited to visit this place until my Mom and sisters were in town. Not only are they a blast to go out with, but this place in certainly best experienced with a group of four to eight. The menu is set up to encourage sharing, and there's so many mouth watering entrees on the menu that it is difficult to settle on just one or two choices.

We only had wine, but Osteria boasts an incredible beer list as well. There are several Italian craft beers on tap; you won't find them anywhere else in the city, or even the state. It's not cheap though, most bottles of wine are $45-65 or more.

The way the menu is set up is a bit confusing. There are the pizzas, a large list of appetizers, first (pasta) courses, and then entrees. We wanted to try a lot of different things, and ended up with two pizzas, one app, two first courses and two entrees.

The pizzas came out first. The margherita is a simple pleasure. The thin crust, sweet sauce, melted mozzarella topped with basil leaf is a delight; it's the definition of thin crust brick oven pizza. While I liked this, the toppings on all of the pizzas are well thought out, and out other choice had fig, prosciutto, and Gorgonzola. This pizza was pretty incredible, and combination of toppings shows that Osteria crafts pizza, they don't simple "make" them.

Our appetizer was the "mozzarella is carrozza," which Craig LeBan hailed as the reinvention of fried cheese. But no one at our table was buying that moniker. Yes, it's the restaurants take on mozzarella sticks, but it most closely resembled stuffed french toast. It was the low point of the meal.

Pasta dishes came out just as we were finishing the pizzas. One was stuffed with sausage, which was a favorite with the girls, and the other with cauliflower. This second one was excellent, my fav, and is a strong case for anyone who thinks they don't like the vegetable.

The first main was rabbit "casalinga" with pancetta, sage, brown butter and soft polenta. Rabbit is delicious, and this was a great dish that was a hit with everyone. We also ordered cod, which was served on a bed of greens and topped with braised pork belly. I'm a big fan of pork belly, and this dish perfectly paired it with seafood. Our entrees, like seemingly everything at Osteria, were put together with care and expertise. But I think I enjoyed getting to this point more than I did eating it.

The service is what you would expect of a place in the price range. I like the atmosphere too. We were seated out on the patio extension, which is a glass-room extension with a great view of the adjacent church. I love the touch of one of the walls covered in old wine crates. My only complaint is that we weren't given the reservation we wanted when we called in, although the restaurant didn't ever come close to capacity all night.

Bottom Line: This is a top notch dining experience. It's authentic northern Italian food, and the brick oven pizza is simply delicious. While the price can be prohibitive, I'm looking forward to my next visit, even if I'm sitting alone at the bar and dropping around $50 for a pizza and some craft Italian beer.