Osteria Morini Restaurant Review

Last night, I finally dined at Osteria Morini.  I've been wanting to try it since it opened last fall.  It is one of Michael White's newest additions to his empire.  It's hard to believe that a small-town boy from Wisconsin has turned into the pasta king of New York.

We were unable to snag a reservation in advance, but there are four tables in the front near the bar that are exclusively for walk-ins.  Luckily, since we arrived by 6:30 on a Tuesday there was still plenty of room for us.  While we waited for the rest of our party to arrive, we sat at the bar and each sampled a beer.  The Menabrea Bionda & Moretti went down smoothly.  The atmosphere is very casual and rustic.  It definitely has a different vibe from Michael's other upscale restaurants.

Once seated, we ordered the appetizer special for the evening - Caprese salad, my husband's favorite Italian meat - Mortadella, and little meatballs made from prosciutto and mortadella - Polpettine.  

The favorite at the table was definitely the caprese salad.  You can never go wrong with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes!  I may be biased, but my husband's family meatball recipe is still my fave.  All of the appetizers were served with delicious bread - crunchy but not overcooked.  If we didn't enjoy it so much, it would have been carb overload.

Since it is Michael's specialty, we all stuck to pasta for entrees.  I followed the server's suggestion and went with Gramigna - maccaroni, pork sausage, spring peas, cream, and black pepper.  It was a good dish but wasn't as impressive as the others.

Our guest had Tagliatelle - wide ribbon pasta, ragú antica, and parmigiano.  I didn't have a chance to try it, but I've had a similar dish at one of Michael's other restaurants, so I know how delicious it is.  

My husband had the Cappelletti - truffled ricotta ravioli, melted butter, and prosciutto.  It was definitely the winner of the night.  The pasta melted in your mouth and left you tasting the creamy ricotta and truffle oil.  We savored each bite but couldn't wait to take another.

All of the rich ingredients left us feeling so full that we didn't have room for dessert.  In fact, the meal felt heavy for a summer night, but it was tasty.  

I would love to have this kind of cuisine in Roscoe, but my husband had such a bad experience at the one Italian restaurant in town, that he hasn't let me walk through their front doors.