Skip to main content11 am-10 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-midnight Friday-Saturday, 9 am-2 pm Saturday-Sunday. No reservations. $$ Moderate.
[ITALIAN] When Accanto debuted late last year as part of the grand return of its remodeled sister space, Genoa, everybody just assumed it was the Old World stalwart's bar. Not so. While executive chef David Anderson oversees both kitchens, this bright, white-tiled Italian cafe has its own thing going on, with a roster full of big sandwiches, antipasti and fun cocktails—like a minty Strega-spiked whiskey sour—tailor-made for relaxed happy-hour meet-ups. While Genoa deals in multiple-course experiences, Accanto invites you to pick and choose, with mix-and-match cheese and salami plates and solid pastas. Not everything's perfect here; the generous fritto misto is begging for a squirt of enlivening lemon and the pollo alla diavola tastes like juicy airline food (despite the excellent Draper Valley bird). Still, as long as Accanto boasts one of the city's best plates of gnocchi, recently paired with meltingly rich oxtail and veggies, you will get no complaints from me. KELLY CLARKE.
Ideal meal: House-cured olives with a nibble of Little T bread, gnocchi and affogato to top the night off right.
Best deal: The zesty mozzarella and preserved-tomato sandwich ($7, available until 5 pm) is served on house focaccia and comes with a tall pile of addictive waffle-cut potato crisps—so light they fizzle in your mouth.
Chef's choice: Skirt-steak salad. "I love that cut of meat. It has so much flavor naturally." (David Anderson)
WWeek 2015