Presto chango!
Cafe Presto is an attractive new restaurant in a fairly good location. The small setting offers a big menu in a bright, comfortable atmosphere. Open for about one month, Presto is already taking in a brisk business, at least during lunchtime. But there has to be a but. And that is the food. It is decidedly average. Richard and Tim, my colleagues, and I visited Presto for the first time last week and ate enough lunch to make us sleepy for the rest of the day. (And no, we weren't sleepy from drinking too much wine. Presto didn't have a license to serve alcohol as of last week.) We moseyed into the bright, light-wood-and-white-walls dining area and chose from a small selection of tables. The place is comfortably inviting, though it is most comfortable for small groups of two or three people. The wait staff is efficient and friendly. Do not, however, be fooled by the name. Presto isn't magically quick. The menu offers a wide selection of Italian food. Pizzas, salads, antipastos, pastas, risottos, a few desserts. They are competently executed dishes, but not exceptional. It seems a Polish touch taints the Italian dishes. I like Polish food, so don't misconstrue that last sentence as a knock on Polish cuisine. It's just that Polish food should be Polish and Italian food Italian. Just as I don't want a drizzle of olive oil in my żurek, I don't want cabbage in my green salad.
A case in point was my first course, insalata de verdura con crostini. I thought it would be a simply prepared plate of greens and some slices of toasted bread with either veal or chicken (the menu offers two choices). Instead, I was given a jumble of chopped vegetables, including cabbage with croutons and cubed veal, all drenched in dressing. It was not what the name implied. Tim tried the vitello tonnato, thin slices of veal in a tuna sauce sprinkled with a couple of capers. It was more traditional, but a bit creamy. Richard won the award for choosing the best starter, melanzane di forno. The baked eggplant was layered with ham and mozzarella cheese. The flavor was earthy and straightforward, though the eggplant was a little overwhelmed by the rich ham. The main courses also were all right. I went with the risotto quattro formaggio. The creamy combination of cheese and short grain rice offered pleasant textures and made for an incredibly rich dish. It also was incredibly heavy. I could only eat about one-third. Cheers for large portions.
Tim chose a chicken and cheese dish with a side of grilled vegetables. The plate had standard-issue chicken covered with a thick slab of mozzarella. The grilled vegetables were tasty, but didn't have the exploding flavor that fresh veggies on the grill should have. Richard decided to maintain our cheese theme and ordered a four-seasons pizza, a good-sized pie with different toppings on each quarter - green olives, shrimp, mushrooms and ham. He entertained us by eating the pizza from the inside out so that he could have a taste of each season without filling up. Again, the pizza was good, but nothing to write home about. With dessert, things got a little more interesting. I was too full to have anything besides a coffee. But Tim went with the zuppa inglese, a combination of sweet and bitter in well-packaged concoction of sponge cookies, custard-like topping and a douse of alcohol. Richard opted for the lighter ice cream and fruit salad dessert. And that was it. When we left, we were full. A hearty lunch for three came to almost zł. 180 ($45).
From the menu: Insalata de verdura con crostini zł. 15.90 Vitello tonnato zł. 17.90 Melanzane al forno zł. 17.50 Pizza quattro staggione zł. 21.90 Risotto quattro formaggio zł. 16.90 Pollo con Mozzarella zł. 24.50 Zuppa inglese zł. 12.50
