Situated next to a daytime café amidst the Edina-esque part of Minneapolis lays a quaint but fancy Italian restaurant that goes by the name Trattoria Tosca.  As we head into the cooler months of the year, hearty Italian food and closely-spaced tables gain more and more appeal, making this the perfect autumn dinner location.

On this visit I started with a melon salad: a simple antipasto (which basically means Italian appetizer) of cantaloupe slices wrapped in prosciutto and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette, which was a fabulous touch. The whole thing was worthy of the $6 price. I didn’t share.

For my main meal, I had the orecchiette—a dish consisting of hand-made, ear-shaped pasta, sausage and broccoli in a sauce that’s to die for. Unlike the other times that I’ve had this here, the usually abundant pasta was thin and in short supply, causing the sausage to be the dominant and overpowering part of the meal. It was a little disappointing, but the dish didn’t taste any less delicious. While it was worth the $22 before, I’m not so sure it was this time around with the lack of pasta.

For dessert, I had an apple cake. No, not pie—cake. And it was wonderful (especially with ice cream). The tiny apple chunks were a little off-putting for me, but to others it is a delightful touch. The whole thing is perfect for sharing between two people.

The servers are all nice and at least don’t outwardly judge you when you botch the pronunciation of a dish. Instead they smile and nod to let you know they understand (at least that was my experience).

If you don’t mind a little extra driving, the possibility of old people staring at you while you eat for being a youngen in a non-youngen-type place and spending a little extra money on really good food, then this is the place for you.

Photo courtesy of http://heavytable.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/toscatopper.jpg