It’s Friday night at seven o’clock. I’m sitting at my friend’s house with my New Orleans faux family, listening to Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” spin on the record player, and conversing about where to fill up our rumbling bellies. In the last week, I’ve already eaten at a few of my favorites: Babylon, Kyoto and Crabby Jack’s, and I’m feeling like something new and something fresh. Post Mardi Gras, I’m tired of seafood and grease.

Mark Twain once said that New Orleans food is as “delicious as the less criminal forms of sin,” and in our very own Uptown neighborhood, on Dryades and Cadiz streets, I’ve stumbled across a magical, neighborhood eatery where the food is Italian and the tastes are delicious: Il Posto.

Upon arriving to the small, gray building, you open the door and set foot into a quaint, clean, pastel environment. A glass case filled with fruit tarts, cheesecakes and chocolate treats makes your eyes bulge and your mouth ready for dessert before dinner. To the right, you find several wooden tables with high-backed wooden chairs. You proceed to the counter and look up to the blackboard menu to explore your options: formaggi, ensalata, pressed panini and grilled cheese sandwiches. They offer Abita beer and wine, or you can bring your own alcohol, making Il Posto the perfect place to meet up with friends over your favorite bottle of red or white. The breakfast menu features everything from yogurt and granola to bagels with lox, tomato and red onion. After ordering, you can take a seat at one of the tables or stand front and center as you watch your order being made, pressed and presented with a delightful side-salad topped with freshly grated parmesan and a tangy, light dressing. The casual, charming atmosphere, with its illuminating warm light and soft music, is conducive for enjoying a fine, Italian-influenced meal.

This is the place where you can bring a book, your journal, homework or a friend and sit for an hour or two. The coffee menu offers all that Starbucks does, but at a lower prices and higher quality – throw in the sunny atmosphere and Il Posto can’t be beat.

Il Posto is situated three blocks off St. Charles Avenue and two blocks off Napoleon Avenue. I only wish to find more neighborhood establishments like this one. In my opinion, Uptown needs more magical eateries like Il Posto Italian Cafe.

Casey Fleming is an English writing senior.