Cafe Oggi

The menu of this pleasing Italian restaurant--the name means Cafe Today--includes two essays on the food and culture of Sicily. But while the owner of Cafe Oggi is Sicilian, the chef isn't--he's from Naples, and his cooking reflects the mainland of Italy rather than the island to its south. An appetizer of Carpaccio of beef is almost translucent in its thinness and paired with a mixture of greens and Parmesan cheese. Fried zucchini and artichokes are lightly battered, cooked to a light crispness, and served with a vibrantly fresh tomato sauce. Mussels are steamed in an intense white-wine sauce with plenty of garlic and shreds of parsley and basil. Pastas are all cooked each to a perfect al dente: the rigatoni with eggplant and dried ricotta; veal-filled cannelloni with spinach; angel-hair pasta with a vibrantly fresh tomato sauce; and meat tortellini with an invigorating mushroom-cream sauce. The list of main courses is short- just eight, supplemented by two or three daily specials. Seafood is done well. Good choices are broiled Canadian black pearl salmon with tomatoes and olives in olive oil; medallions of swordfish with small olives, garlic, and basil; a subtle mixed seafood of scallops, shrimp, calamari, and fish steamed in a parchment bag; and fresh trout. Great meat dishes include calf's liver with capers and onions in a brown sauce; Vitello Giudea with artichokes in a white wine sauce; and thick and tender Osso Buco accompanied by risotto mixed with diced mixed vegetables, most predominately carrots, that added a hint of sweetness. Two highlights of the restaurant are the house-made Italian bread and the espresso.