Scusi

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!

We went here for date night on a Saturday night. We made a review for 8 o'clock and when we arrived we got seated right away. At that point, there were at least 5 open tables which was surprising for a Saturday night at such a popular restaurant. Anywho, I read in reviews that the food was great but the service was slow do to understaffing and I'll go ahead and affirm that. We were greeted by our waitress and given water right away but did not see her again for 15+ minutes. We put our entire order in at that time. Once we got some wine and our app we were happy. The wine was good and affordable at about $6 a glass- we ordered the mezzo (about 3.5 glasses). And we got the Arancini (crispy risotto balls) which were very good, but the aoli was a little on the cold side. Still, I'd rate them highly. For the main course my date ordered the lobster fettuccine and I got the lasagna and we shared. I'm not usually partial to lobster or fettuccine but the dish was very good. The lasagna was one of the best I've had at a restaurant. When it came time for dessert, we had a 50% off coupon and we got the marscapone cheesecake with brandied cherries. The portion was enormous. The cherries were to die for. All in all I'd say it was a great experience but I wouldn't come back regularly. Maybe just on special occasions.