Restaurant review: SPQR

Tommy and I had dinner at the small Italian restaurant SPQR. This Roman inspired osteria in the Fillmore district was recommended by friends. We arrived at about 8pm and the place was bustling. There are maybe 20 tables with just enough room to squeeze by in between to make your way to one of the two counters. One counter overlooks the kitchen, which is the more desirable and busier counter. The other overlooks the wine cabinets, which is where we sat. (It looked like a 20 minute wait or so had we wanted a table) Our waitress Emily greeted us within two minutes and asked about our beverage selection. Tommy ordered wine, I ordered diet soda. Emily brought me a "Cricket Cola", which is a green tea natural cola. It was quite tasty but I would have liked to have been warned that I wasn't getting a Coke or Pepsi. Anyway, it worked out. I'm now a fan of Cricket Cola.

We ended up ordering their three antipasti deal and splitting one entree. We ordered fresh ricotta, summer squash, toasted pinenuts, and crostini bread. Followed by pork sausage, then corn fritters with pancetta. All delicious. Each were small portions but they were so rich they were just enough. This was followed by our main course, Rigatoni Carbonara with pork and pecorino. Delicious! A rather small portion to split, but again so rich that we couldn't eat another bite.

Emily was awesome, she knew everything there was to know about Tommy's wine selection. Even the details of the winery and the region in Italy where it comes from! Great service, a busy, but comfortable atmosphere, and rich flavorful food.

I've decided to come up with a rating system for movies, restaurants, etc. Since I am a HUGE Reba fan, I'm going to make my rating Rebas. So, here goes my first rating. I give SPQR.....
3 1/2 Rebas (out of 5)