Scusi

Jeezo Beezo! If you want to order one their salads, get the Beet Salad. Do not think about. Don't put it to a vote, Don't ask the waiter. Don't flip a coin. Don't look to Yelp....well yes you should. Just order the Beet Salad.
Overall this is a wonderful establishment. The menu has many of the standards you'd expect at an Italian restaurant. To me what really seperates the men from the boys in an Italian restaurant is if the establishment can make Carbonara. My experience with Carbonara has been  a bit of a crap shoot. The egg is either completely scrambled, or they are using some weird alfredo type sauce. It's not unlike asking for a medium rare hamburger; it's not that hard, but you rarely get what you expect.
Scusi produced a wonderful plate of Carbonara. The bacon was scrispy and well balanced in amount, And the sauce was not curdled! Overall very good. I think they should add peas instead of spinach, but that is just my opinion.

We finished off our meal with an order of Zeppoles which were very good especially with the sweetned ricotta.
Overall I would have given this place five stars, but I hate sitting at those mini euro-tables...

Every time I've been to Scusi, I've found their food delicious and their staff friendly and fun. The atmosphere is what I would call Casual Nice, where you feel like you can pop in like it's a neighborhood joint, but it's still got a touch of class. The wine selection is good, so it's a cool place to kick back with friends or to have a nice date.

I was last at Scusi in May, celebrating a huuuge milestone. When the waitress found out, she brought glasses of champagne on the house. It's a little thing, but it made the night really special. Scusi will definitely be a regular spot of mine when I get moved up to St. Paul.

A couple months ago, Sara and I happened upon the place and decided to stop in for Happy Hour. We had never heard of Scusi and were pleasantly surprised by the experience. No wonder,  then, that my wife suggested  we try it again last week when we were out running a few weeknight errands.

When we arrived we thought about grabbing a table in the dinning room, but you know we love to sit at the bar so we opted for that instead.

Correction: I love to sit at the bar, and Sara lets me have my way. Usually.

As we saddled up to the bar we were greeted by a couple of waters and a very nice bartender. The two times we have been to Scusi, I have been very impressed by the service. Friendly, fast, and knowledgeable. What more could you want?

During Happy Hour, Scusi offers all their pizzas at half price and has specials on some red and white wines. Having a pizza was definitely going to happen, but we needed to pick some wine first. All wines at Scusi are served a little differently than I'm used to.

Rather than having the choice of a bottle or a glass, they have three different size carafes: Quartino, Mezzo, and Bottiglia. A quartino is about 8 ounces-so about a glass and a half. A mezzo seemed to be about twice that size, and the bottiglia was a little bigger than a bottle (if you didn't figure that out by the name).

Sara chose  a quartino of Chianti, and I went with Pinot Nior. Then it was time to make some decisions on food. While we perused the menu, our bartender brought out some rosemary crackers and a delicious white bean spread. Just the thing to rouse a diner's appetite.

Per usual, my lady decided on the Sausage pizza (fennel sausage, San Marzano sauce, provolone, mozzarella). I really wanted the Duck pizza (duck, apple, Gorgonzola, rosemary, honey, Alfredo) but decided to go with something a little different and ordered the Salumeria assortment of three.

Salumeria is a fancy word for salami shop. Traditionally, Salumeria just sold cured meats, but recently have been know to sell cheese and other types of antipasti as well. You know I love antipasti, and with the assortment I got to pick one salami, one cheese, and one type of olive. Three of my favorite things on one plate! I went with the Sopressata, the Fontina, and Mediteranian Mix of olives.

The pizza was terrific. High quality cheese, light crisp crust, and tasty sausage. My plate was really good too, and I was especially impressed with the size of the portions. I'm often leery of ordering cheese or antipasti at restaurants because you never know how much you're going to get. I got 8 nice slices of meat, two huge hunks of cheese, at least a cup of olives, compote, and warm bread. Pretty good deal for $14!

One of these days, Sara and I will have to try a full- on dinner at Scusi. The great experiences we've had at Happy Hour justify that. Or maybe we'll head over for Sunday Brunch? That menu looks amazing!

So the next time you're looking for a little Italian in your life, skip watching My Cousin Vinny, and head over to Scusi!