Osteria Il Centro

As I promised last month,
A special post for this time.
A gastronomical review
Written entirely in rhyme.

I hope it doesn’t seem silly,
Impractical or obtuse
If my post pays homage 
To Silverstein, Rakoff, and Suess.

Osteria Il Centro,
A nice Italian joint.
Pretty good food and wine,
To get right to the point.

But some GAS business first:
 As we all signed our name
To petition for Josh
To buy the Appetizer of Shame.

He couldn’t get out
Of the pact, though he tried.
The calamari was good,
But isn’t everything fried?

I got the house spaghetti—
Italian sausage my choice.
I grabbed knife and fork
Like a child grabs toys.

I tucked in my napkin
And plunged right ahead,
Stuffing my gullet with
Pasta, wine and bread.

As I came up for air
From this gluttonous session,
I realized I’d forgotten,
My own Italian eatery lesson.

The lesson is this,
Though I usually forget it,
I always order pasta
And usually regret it.

The pasta was just fine,
The meal wasn’t a loss.
But there’s more to Italian cooking
Than pasta and sauce.

Next time I’ll ask Sara
To help in that dark hour
When visions of noodles,
Creams and cheeses overpower.

With an ambiguous sigh,
I considered my sin,
Unbuckled my belt,
Imagined what could’ve been.

But what’s done is done,
Now it’s too late.
Only one thing to do—
Guess I’ll finish my plate!

As to the décor and the mood,
For the most part it delighted,
But some faux Roman motif 
Was a little short-sighted.

But other than that, and
I don’t think this is contentious,
I thought it was rather distinguished,
Without being pretentious.

With good food and company,
Hours pass without knowing.
With another stop to make,
We had to get going.

Off to have ice cream,
And I knew I was in trouble.
Though stuffed to the brim,
My scoops would be double.

Now in a stupor,
I paused and reflected,
“How was Il Centro?
Was it what I expected?”

In the end, I’d say yes.
The place was quite charming.
A little bit pricey,
But not too alarming.

I’d definitely go there again,
Maybe on a date for some lovin’.
But if I had my druthers,
I’d still head west to Anna’s Oven.

But, the food was real good,
And, it certainly wasn’t dive,
Overall I really liked it—
Three-point-eight out of five.

Now, Gassy gang,
My challenge to you,
Make next month’s post
In the form of haiku.