Caffe Biaggio

Rating:

I have to admit that I have a soft spot for places like Cafe Biaggio.

There is a quirky, one-of-a-kind quality to this new St. Paul bistro that makes it easy to overlook its flaws.

The quirkiness starts with the location -- on a nondescript stretch of University Avenue in a part of town that goes dormant at 5 p.m. Why here? A stylish cafe like this could make money hand over fist in the suburbs, where decent Italian restaurants are scarce. But then again, it would be hard to find this kind of setting in the 'burbs; it's a handsomely remodeled former warehouse space, its exposed brick walls lined with original paintings and photographs by local artists.

The originality extends to the menu, full of dishes you won't find on every other Italian menu in town. One of the occupational hazards of restaurant reviewing is boredom, which sets in when every new Italian restaurant seems to serve the same menu. Over the past few months, I have seen enough variations on the themes of bruschetta, fried squid, steamed mussels in white wine, Caesar salad and tiramisu to make me shout "basta!"

Cafe Biaggio does some things well and some not so well, but at least it tries to do things differently. Their version of bruschetta ($5.95) is three variations on the theme, including a standard one, one topped with white beans and corn and one topped with black olives and feta, all quite tasty.

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