Lunching at Italian Kitchen, on the Pati-OH

A few weeks ago, one of my fellow foodies came to downtown for a patio lunch. Having been to Coast recently for my mom's birthday, we decided to try another of the Glowbal Groups restaurants, Italian Kitchen. We made resos so we knew we would have a table, but we totally lucked out with a table on the patio. Awesome! 

We both love mushrooms, so the Tartufo Funghi Pizza with portobello mushrooms and truffle cheese was a sure bet. Large slices of portobello baked right into the cheese, and topped with a small pile of arugula. What more do you need? One order is more than enough for a meal, or as an appetizer for two very hungry people, or three people who actually ate breakfast.  At $17 a pop, it's their most expensive pizza, but much more inspired than the usual pepperoni you'd find elsewhere.

The entree we decided to share (yes, we filled up on the pizza bigtime) was a panini. Known for their Kobe meatballs, Italian Kitchen found the perfect way to serve them up for lunch, for those of us who don't relish devouring a whole plate of pasta for lunch. They put their meatballs into a panini! And they didn't just shove a few Kobe meatballs into some slices of bread...oh no.  Accompanying the panini was a small green salad, but the presentation of the dish on a rustic wooden board made the dish much more fun. 

The meatballs were stuffed into the mushroom, along with roasted portabellini, provolone and a crispy onion ring. Nice and spicy, but we still asked for a few chili flakes on the side. The onion ring was perfect...much better than the raw slab of onion you get at some other places. They have a Lobster and Crab Monte Cristo that I might have to try next time, but we'll need more than two people to eat something that rich! The Spicy Kobe Meatball Panini is a great deal at $13.
For the two of us, a pizza and a sandwich were all we needed...some carbs, some veggies and some Kobe beef...a very satisfying lunch, even if I did have to go back to work afterwards.