4 stars because the service was excellent. As a member of the service industry I value good customer service, even though the food wasn't phenomenal I'll be back just for the pleasant and comfortable environment.
-I got the pickled tomatoes as an appetizer. Those were delicious! Of course you must be a fan of tart and heaps of melt in your mouth ricotta. For $9 it was very tasty and unique & came with nicely grilled bread to spread (I've seen similar appetizers elsewhere that charge $12-16 so it was a fair price I thought)
-the cheeseburger...or maybe it didn't even have cheese? It tasted identical to fatburger. I was a manager at fatburger for sometime so I definitely am not making that one up. Nothing bad about it because fatburger is awesome but not the quality or taste you expect for $11 at a sit down restaurant that recommends it as one of their most popular menu items.
(The fries were even more sub par, not bad for shoestring. Maybe I'm just picky but I swear I've been to local bars and shifty fast food joints that had better fries)
-the last entree was the short ribs with a pasta side. I don't remember exactly what it was called but with the limited menu you can't miss it. $23 and topped in at one of their most expensive menu items. The short ribs were yummy! That's undeniable. Considering they describe how long they are cooked for I would hope for yummy. The noodles were bland and very very rubbery. The best part was the sauce that gets thicker as you eat by mixing in another glob of what I assume is a ricotta of some form. I wasn't fully disappointed in this plate as overall the flavors were great and watching it made from scratch in front of me showed regardless of my opinion it's being made well and right, but for $23 it just left a sour taste in my mouth.
After an overall $50 check for two it was not the worst night out but also not the most satisfying. I did not feel any glutton, instead I still felt hungry.
But again...the service was so excellent and our waitress was the sweetest. I'll be back for a beer and maybe once again try a different entree.
It's downtown....so you can't expect cheap eats but there are definitely places that don't leave you feeling empty after spending half a bill.