After reading lots of local reviews, without wanting to walk into the city center, we landed on Osteria Broccaindosso on the outskirts of the university area. The small rustic room was about half full when we entered at it’s 7:30pm opening time. Throughout our meal, a number of walk-ins in addition to plenty of reservations, many of which seemed locals, filled the room completely. I was most impressed when tables were seated and immediately brought various plates of appetizers when they hadn’t seemed to have uttered a word, let alone see a menu.

To start, I had the special potato and artichoke tart, assembled a bit like a lasagna. The kind waitress really sold it, but it was probably meant for sharing and was in some dire need of some seasoning.

The Husband opted for the local sausage gramigna pasta. The bite that I had was cooked well, perfectly al dente, but also seemed like it could use some salt and pepper.

For my second plate, again, I opted for the daily special which was a spinach pasta stuffed with a sort of creamy mortadella and soft cheese. Not bad, but I had higher hopes for these seemingly Bolognese delight.

The Husband opted for the veal steak topped with artichokes which he said was nice, but I don’t think was head over heels with either. The vibe of the food was simple and homey, which is just fine, all I ask is can you please pass me the salt and pepper?

After enjoying a bottle of the house red, a local grape that was very nice, we declined dessert. Regardles, the waitress brought us this gorgeous whipped ricotta with Amarena cherries. Hands down, this was the best part of the meal and something I look forward to replicating at home.