Oggi's Trattoria (Oggi Cosi Si Mangia)

What's it like?

I worked downtown on Thursday, so Kim met me after for ArtHop. We walked to a couple of exhibits before recruiting a few friends to join us for dinner. Knowing we were near Tower, another friend tweeted a recommendation for Oggi's, which he recently reviewed. Actually, Layne's review is quite thorough, and it's clear that we had similarly positive experiences, so I'll skip some of the details.

Put simply, dinner was great. I ordered the gniocchi, which was so rich that I claimed to have had a cheese hangover, and while I don't think I'll order that again, I'd go back just for more of the eggplant parmigiana that Kim ordered.

When I lived in Greensboro, North Carolina, my dad introduced me to a humble Italian restaurant on the outskirts of downtown, where the prices were modest, the portions large, and the service unbeatable. It was a great place to take a date, if you could get a seat—the dining room had at most 10 tables, so the place filled up fast. Prior to Oggi's, I hadn't found a comparable restaurant in Fresno.

But I think Oggi's has the potential to be our go-to date night place. It has all the right ingredients (pun intended): intimate atmosphere, good food (at a decent price), and a friendly staff. I look forward to going back and trying more of the menu.

Oh, and if you're debating the pronunciation of the name (as we were), the waiter said it's "O-G". Easy enough.