Between neighborhoods, a perfect fit
Nebo, a 2-month-old Italian wine bar and pizzeria, is situated on the border of the North End and Bulfinch Triangle. Following the current mandatory-neighborhood-nickname trend, that puts it in NoBul, a fitting location for this low-key place where drinks and antipasti take precedence over attitude. Nebo's vibe also sits on the neighborhoods' border -- one part townie, two parts emerging chic. It feels like a place you might find in Rome, one that Romans actually go to. And when in Rome . . .
Sadly for Nebo, though, we're in Boston; on a recent Friday night, the restaurant is only about a third full. Underutilized waiters mill about in jeans and blue button-downs, and at a corner table a man wears his date like a stole. Calamari's on the menu, but who needs it when these two are all suckers and tentacles?
Soon, one would hope, more people will discover the place, because Nebo (''North End Boston" in nickname speak) is just what the area ordered. With its exposed brick walls and West Elm-esque decor, it's a haven for TD Banknorth Gardengoers not in the mood to swill watery beer with sorority girls, and also for Italiophiles hoping to avoid an overpriced, overstuffed red sauce fest. And for a place in an in-between neighborhood, Nebo has a real neighborhood feel. If you lived here, you'd be eating by now.
The succinct menu offers Italian cheeses, antipasti, bruschette, pizza, and dessert. There are house cocktails with names like ''angela o diavola" and ''sofisticato." And then there are wines, upward of 130 of them, organized by region (from Sicily to Trentino) and varietal, starting at $7 for a quartino (a glass-plus-a-few-swallows carafe) of prosecco and going up to $580 for a bottle of amarone. The food is fine, but let's hope you're thirsty.
We are, so we head to the bar section of the room, on one side of a divider that sorts the drinkers from the eaters. A klatch of square-shouldered guys and self-tanned girls are watching the game and flirting. The soundtrack is late '90s club -- when was the last time you heard ''Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover"? It feels like the cool-kid hangout on a soap opera.
On the dining side of the room, our next stop, chocolate-brown tables are set with white geometric plates and asymmetrical glass vases; we're not on ''Passions" anymore. Quartini all around, we demand of our attentive waiter -- oh, and a few antipasti to soak up the wine.
Arancini, or rice balls, are subtly laced with mozzarella and porcini, then unsubtly fried like doughnuts. They come drizzled with honey, an unexpected touch that brings the tastes together and heightens them. Meatballs are addictive -- salty, flavorful, and served in a vibrant tomato sauce that seems to be made of San Marzanos, a touch of olive oil, and not much else. A broccoli rabe bruschetta is accented with golden raisins, the sweetness a foil to the crunchy rabe's pleasant bitterness. We swiftly slurp up a quartino of nero d'avola.
Then on to a quartino of montepulciano and the individual-size pies, which the menu notes are made by pizzaola Nando Gentile. The crust is bready but still crisp, like one you might make at home; we approve. We've opted for easily flubbed toppings, though, and the results are mixed. A potato pizza brings a heady whiff of rosemary to the table but is a bit too salty. A pie with roasted eggplant, caramelized onions, and other vegetables seems promising, the toppings doled out economically. But the eggplant tastes unfortunately like Miracle Whip. And a prosciutto and fig pie is tasty but jammy, more like a breakfast food than a pizza; fresh figs would have made the difference. Next time we'll stick with the margherita.
After all that pizza, ordering the chocolate and Nutella dessert pizza would be dough-verload, so we opt for a simple slice of ''Ma's light creamy ricotta pie"; custardy and refreshingly cold, it's like something you'd pull out of Ma's icebox in the middle of the night to soothe a wine-induced headache. Maybe we should take a piece home for later.
Nebo, 90 North Washington St., 617-723-6326. Antipasti and bruschette, $2-$26; pizzas $11-$17.
