Pane Rustica Is 'Best Meal in Town'

Pane Rustica Bakery & Cafe is reminiscent of an Italian grandmother's kitchen.

One of the owner’s favorite expressions is “food so good you can taste the emotion baked in.”

And yes, you certainly can.

Pane Rustica is a warm and welcoming rustic-style cafe with a casual atmosphere and deliciously inventive food. If you have never been, it is a must visit. You dine there once and suddenly your car seems to drive there automatically. It really is that good.

Somewhere between Soho and Tuscany lies a little strip mall with one of the best restaurants I have ever dined in. The menu – which changes daily – is designed to highlight the seasons' most delicious flavors and freshest ingredients.

Kevin Kruszewski, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York City, honed his skills in some of New England’s finest restaurants before bringing his European style of baking to the Tampa Bay area. After he relocated from Boston with his wife, co-owner Karyn, the pair decided to bring the European bakery experience to the Bay area. Since the restaurant opened in July 1999, the couple have worked to create one of the finest bakery-restaurants in the region. In 2008, Zagat named Pane Rustica one of the top restaurants in the country. According to Zagat, “dollar for dollar, it’s the best meal in town.”

Pane Rustica has a variety of breads, salads, sandwiches and crispy flatbreads. There’s also a fine selection of organic and vegetarian options, such as wood-grilled vegetables with warm goat cheese croquette and aged balsamic ($11).

The roast beef sandwich is piled high with meat, oven-cured tomatoes, creamy provolone and spiced aioli. The on-site bakery, the flagship of the business, offers tasty baked goods like almond croissants, cranberry scones, their specialty espresso cookie and a perfectly flaky apple tart.

Pane Rustica is open for lunch and dinner, and both have equally inventive menu selections. The atmosphere at night, however, transcends the restaurant’s simple, nondescript location. The lights dim, the Chianti flows and the tastes become joyful expressions on a plate. The experience makes for a perfect date night or dinner with a group of friends.

The daily menus offer a variety of small- and large
-plate dining.

Entrees include:

• Ale-braised Kurobuta Pork Cheeks, warm corn bread pudding, black-eyed pea and tasso broth ($11);

• Pan-seared jumbo Sea Scallops, crispy potato coins, chorizo, pea tendrils and creamy corn fondue ($26);

• Lemon coriander-seared Scottish Salmon, fennel watercress and ruby red grapefruit salad, celery root puree, hazelnut vinaigrette ($23);

• Fresh pappardelle, braised Veal Cheek Bolognese, fava beans, mushrooms, flat leaf parsley with a hint of nutmeg  ($19).

If you go

What: Pane Rustica Bakery & Cafe

Where: 3225 S. MacDill Ave., Tampa

When: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday

Call: 813-902-8828