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The Dining Divas

By Lisa Kampeter

It’s always fun when we stumble onto a great restaurant, tucked in a city neighborhood, and this month’s Dining Divas discovery was Onesto on Finkman Street in South City. This Italian restaurant supports local farmers and buys organic fruits and vegetables as well as prepares hormone –free meats. All this good, clean eating sure makes it easy to eat a lot more than you probably need, but it’s whole foods, so that makes it okay, right?

It was great seeing everyone again and getting to show off our glass trinket dishes we made the month prior and were finally able to deliver to everyone. We were all so impressed with how they turned out. We’re quite creative. Even the Tortured Diva said she wouldn’t mind doing it again. What a difference a month makes!

Our friendly waitress passed out sample sangria for us to try, as that day was Sangria Day. The White Sangria Wine went well with the complimentary garlic knots that we devoured. Too bad our waitress didn’t give the Post-Menopausal Diva several sangria samples as she crabbed about the music they were playing. Apparently it was too loud for her sensitive ears. The music leaned towards the 80s genre; the restaurant did not. However, several of us were enjoying it.

The Generous Diva brought all of us sassy flashing rings. It wasn’t like we needed to draw any more attention to our loud group, but regardless, I’m confident there were jealous eyes staring at our hands.   We missed our Summer-Loving Diva who was at camp with her students. We found it hilarious imaging her anger as she “camped” in the unseasonably cold weather. We missed the Hardworking Diva who was so looking forward to getting together with us, but a work deadline kept her away. We were happy to have a Guest Diva who shared some of her own stories from her classroom.

The appetizers we tried were fabulous.   Good Arancini is hard to find. We were delighted to enjoy Onesto’s version and were glad they were big enough to share. The Fried Mozzarella is not your typical cheese stick. Their Mozzarella appetizer had such a nice freshness to it. We love it when restaurants serve salads with a variety of greens and different delicious toppings. Onesto’s did not disappoint.

A couple Divas had been here before. They couldn’t resist the pizza, again. Several people enjoyed the Eggplant Parmesan and the layered recipe (like lasagna). Some thought it was too heavy. The Chicken Parmesan was delicious but the spaghetti it was served with was bland as was the meatball sandwich.     The Mile High Roast Beef Sandwich with provolone was very tasty and with about a half a mile left to bring home to share.

The Pumpkin Bread Pudding couldn’t be overlooked.   Unfortunately, it sounded better than it tasted. This night’s version was dry which was disappointing for several Divas who are always on the hunt for good bread pudding. With all the somewhat good and loosely clean eating she had done, it made it easy for the Ingredient-Reading Diva to justify getting dessert. She went for it. A cookie with ice cream. It may seem simple, but the presentation alone made it extravagant and rich. Keeping with the theme, she “cleaned” the plate.

Onesto is one of those places that I’d stumble into again someday, if I’m in the neighborhood. As will many other Divas.   For me, I love discovering places that support local farmers and strive for a healthier lifestyle with food. Onesto is trying, as they strive to make a difference “one meal at a time.”

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