Onesto

Downtown Dining 2015

Last year, I indulged in Downtown Dining Week at the aptly named Indulge. This year, friends and I tried another place that was new to us and relatively new to Milwaukee's Third Ward: Onesto. That's "Honest" in Italian, and for the most part this place was chic, charming, and lived up to its name — except for a particularly perplexing first course.

Billed as "baked provolone," I guess we were expecting something of the breaded mozzarella variety. Instead, we were each presented with a not-so-little pot of melted, bubbling cheese — like creme brûlée, but cheesy. On the side, a smaller pot of marinara sauce and a spoon.

We looked at each other like: What are we supposed to do with this? Eat it like soup? #Gluttony? Luckily Onesto also serves Italian bread before the meal, so spreading the gooey cheese and sauce on slices of bread normalized the experience. To be onesto, it was really yummy — it just seemed like we should've shared one between us.

For the main course: pasta. Christina and I both loved the fusilli with asparagus and mushroom cream sauce. Like, really loved it. My only concern is that some people might find it salty, but I'm a fan of nicely salted pasta. More flavor please! And the cream sauce wasn't heavy — it was just right. I'd for sure go back for more o' that. Kaitlyn, on the other hand, ordered the salmon and wasn't impressed. So live and learn and try the pasta. Downtown Dining runs through this Thursday, June 11th.