Pesto's Italian Restaurant

Once upon a time, I drove past this fine little establishment five days a week on my trek to the office. There's nothing too inviting about the facade, but those are the kind that always intrigue me. They sneak up and surprise me all the time. Long after I left my job, and only passed it every now and then, I decided to make a stop. Good choice!

To my surprise my date and I almost had the restaurant to ourselves, aside from one group of about eight that included a very loud male who had to be the center of attention. Our waiter sat us as far away as possible (keep in mind that the restaurant isn't that large) and promptly apologized as soon as they left. It wasn't his fault, but it was very nice of him to apologize the patron's obnoxious behavior.

The meal was great! I had spinach lasagna. It was so lovely. And the salad to go with it, the perfect compliment. Delish! I thoroughly enjoyed my leftovers the next day. Date went with chicken Parmesan. It's never been a favorite of mine, but he seemed to enjoy it, so two thumbs up over here.

You'd be surprised at the menu because it's not just Italian, it's also Persian. As soon as I saw Saffron, I steered clear of the Persian fare. Not a fan!

Pesto's isn't quite in the hustle and bustle of downtown, but it's close enough.

The best spaghetti and meatballs I've had in a long time.  Worst garlic bread I've ever had (like burnt toast with the tiniest bit of butter and not even a hint of garlic), but the pasta is so good, you don't need bread.

I ordered the chicken parmesan with pesto pasta.  The pesto is good, but not nearly as good as the marinara.  Thankfully, Dad didn't bring his big boy appetite, so I got to scam half his spaghetti.  Ah, fatherly love.  

Hubby ordered from the Persian side of the menu (literally, left side is Persian, right is Italian).  He odered the skewers and they were fantastic.  Funny enough, of the ground beef, steak, and chicken, the ground beef was the stand out winner.  Perfectly seasoned and tender.  

The free appetizer of warm pitas, feta, scallions, parsley and radishes was not my thing, but cool that it was free.  The pitas were very good.  Next time I would try the hummus just to have something to go with the perfect warm pita bread.  

The portions were just big enough.  We were all comfortably full when we left.

Funny enough, we drove in on the side that was like industrial and office complexes.  When we left, driving past the restaurant, there were three XXX theaters just past the restaurant.   Not to fear, this place is on the up and up. You won't find strippers carb loading before their shift.  The only others in the restaurant on Saturday night was a huge group of Persians having a family dinner.  The place has been open more than two decades, so they must make most of their money at lunch.  Dinnertime was really dead.

What's cool about this place is it has been in business for over 20 years (same owner) and it's still going strong.  The decor is like a flashback to opening day (in a good way).

The menu is exactly 1/2 Persian and 1/2 Italian.

You get a free Persian appetizer that seems very basic (pita, feta cheese, scallions, parsley, beets) but at the same time is very good.

Most of the Persian entrees are some combination of skewers of chicken, lamb, steak, and ground beef.  I had the chicken/steak/ground beef combo and can say that they are all very good and well-cooked, but the ground beef skewer is the best hands down.  All the Persian dishes also come with basmati rice and grilled tomatoes which complement the saltiness of the skewers quite nicely.