Friday, February 25, 2011

Osteria Cedro Rustico (Restaurant inside Whole Foods)

One of my resolutions was to go places and do things I always said I wanted to try. In fact, if you've been reading lately, you'll find that most of the spots I've been going to are places that don't exactly resemble the latest and greatest in restaurant openings. Some places are popular, some are not, but I think it's safe to say that it beats going to the old standby for the tenth time in three months.

After deciding that cooking dinner wasn't in the cards, Regina and I settled on trying The Osteria or Osteria Cedro Rustico, as it's apparently called.

Located inside the Whole Foods on Cedar and Warrensville Center Road, between the produce department and beer and wine section, an arc of chairs ring the counter space. In the middle sits the cooking area where everything is prepared by two cooks.

The Pasta Case

A selection of fresh made pasta is displayed in a case for you to choose from. Once you've selected what you'd like, the pasta is then cooked to order. Regina got the spinach linguini with Parmesan, eggplant, and caramelized onions. I settled on the short ribs and mashers (no pasta).

The Bar

I wasn't sure I was really going to like eating dinner while customers passed by shopping, but the partition around the seating area seemed to create enough of a barrier to where you didn't notice any commotion. The conversation around us was quite lively, too. As my wife and I talked about Top Chef from the night before, the cooks joined in with their opinions. The next thing I know, the two women sitting next to us joined in, and then - the food was ready.

Now I'm not going to sit here and act like the short ribs here are going to cause Rocco Whalen to look over his shoulder anytime soon, BUT the short rib dinner I had also came at about a third of the cost of Fahrenheit's. We felt that for what we paid, it was certainly a good value. Would my dad complain? Probably, but then again he still thinks a coffee should cost sixty cents. Middle aged men aside, I think most people would find the menu here pretty reasonable.

I think Osteria puts out a quality product at a decent price. It may be a restaurant inside of a grocery store, but it shouldn't be mistaken with the old Marc's No Name Restaurant, in Parma Heights.

Osteria Cedro Rustico
13998 Cedar Rd
University Heights, OH 44118
(216) 371-5320

Osteria Cedro Rustico on Urbanspoon

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3 comments:

  1. Alicia at Poise in ParmaFebruary 26, 2011 at 8:04 AM

    GOD BLESS YOU for throwing down the Marc's no name restaurant!!! I haven't thought of that place in YEARS! Did they have really good hot dogs or am I just thinking that because I was five years old?

    I've eaten stuff from the hot bar a million times, but never eaten at the Osteria. Will have to remember this review next time I'm hungry at WFM.

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  2. BenMarch 3, 2011 at 6:01 PM

    Glad you enjoyed it. Sarah and I eat there fairly often. While the food doesn't exactly compete with the top Italian restaurants in town, it's at least as good (if not better than) places like Brio, where you'll be charged at least $5-$10 more per entrée. Plus the beer selection from the wall behind the restaurant is huge (and at retail prices).

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