Nicola’s Italian

• Nicola’s website

• Area: St. John’s

• Price to fill up two people (minus booze): About $30-$35

A colleague had a small art show opening at a little shop in St. John’s (Jason Lucey, actually, who by day is an SEO expert, but also is a photographer).

Robyn and I met there, mentioned our restaurant quest and the crowd unanimously suggested Nicola’s, a nearby Italian restaurant on Lombard. “It’s the closest thing to New York Italian you’ll find in Portland,” they assured us.

OK, not quite. And I suspect Nicola’s pizza is really where it shines. But the other food is not bad, the folks are friendly, and it’s a kitschy enough Italian place that it’s kinda fun.

Robyn had the “small” calzone (which still filled up the plate and was more than enough for two). I had the tortellini pancetta, which violated my new Italian restaurant rule (order the picatta or something bolognese, which are two things any Italian restaurant tends to do well). Probably should have stuck with my rule because while it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t just over the moon sin like a tortellini in cream sauce oughta be.

(I should note that neither of us felt like chicken florentine, which we were assured was the best thing on the menu, so there’s still an exploration to be made if you’re interested.)

But it was OK food, nice people, dinner for two with beverage was about $30. I don’t think I’d drive all the way to St. John’s just to eat there, but it’s a nice little neighborhood find if you’re there.