Sebastiano’s is a locally owned, family-run Italian restaurant where one can imagine Frank Sinatra and his crew dining after doing a show, across the street, at The Stranahan. Everything about Sebastiano’s is wonderfully old school and endearingly local. The menu is filled with both traditional and adventurous Italian dishes that transport diners back to an earlier, simpler time when dining out was an experience to be savored.
Froman, by any other name
My dining companion and I arrived at 7:30 p.m.— the first available reservation for a Saturday night. Being a Gen-Xer who was raised on John Hughes movies, I put the reservations under the name Abe Froman, a reference to “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” which was promptly recognized—and appreciated—by Sebastiano’s chef, Jon Sagaser, who owns the restaurant with his wife Sarah. We were seated in a back-corner booth, under a Muzak speaker that piped out low volume, groovy ‘70s and ‘80s music; an early Tom Waits’ song, “I Hope I Don’t Fall In Love With You,” played as we were seated, a fine omen if ever there was one.
Our server, Sebastiano’s co-owner, Sarah Sagaser, wearing a T-shirt reading “Pasta Is My Love Language”, reviewed the daily special, which on that night was four-cheese tortellini with creamy pesto sauce, served with sausage and mushrooms. My dining companion ordered the special, while I chose one of my favorite Italian dishes, puttanesca.
Putting on the puttanesca
Puttanesca is a mysterious Italian culinary export. Sebastiano’s version is composed of Roma tomatoes, capers, black olives, Gulf shrimp and house-made marinara, served on a foundation of linguine. A deviation from the traditional puttanesca (made with anchovies instead of shrimp, eliminating the saltiness of the small fishes) Sebastiano’s take on the dish is thoroughly delicious, with every ingredient—including the plump shrimp— marvelously represented.
Puttanesca, which translates to “whore’s pasta”, has a varied and storied history. Ms. Sagaser told her version of the dish’s backstory while taking our order, when she explained that puttanesca was named for its origin of inexpensive and readily available Italian ingredients that the working poor would have at their disposal, such as capers and anchovies. She said that in generations past in Italy, nuns made puttanesca for the local adult service providers and fed them the inexpensive, but hearty pasta, after the ladies of the night finished their work.
Whatever the true origin of the wanton pasta, the puttanesca at Sebastiano’s is top notch, something that tastes just as good as leftovers the next day.
Sebastiano’s dessert menu is also a winner, serving pies and cheesecakes from Peteets, a small bakery in Michigan famous for their scratch made cheesecakes. We ordered the sweet potato cheesecake as a delicious denouement to our meal, and it did not disappoint. A perfect fall dessert, the cheesecake tasted of sweet potatoes, a precursor for Thanksgiving.
Overall, Sebastiano’s delivers the goods—a cozy, locally owned Italian restaurant with food offerings made with love and care. It’s worth a visit and remember—reservations are a
must. Taste one bite of the food and you’ll understand why.
Sebastiano’s
4448 Heatherdowns Blvd.
419- 382-8615
5pm M- Sat. Resting Sunday.
sebastianositaliano.com
