I admit it: I like cats and pizza. For Parasole to recently rebirth Figlio as Il Gatto, or "The Cat," I was naturally aroused. If you've been to Figlio before, the bar area has been fully redone and the dining area has been freshened up a bit.

The wood fire oven in the back I saw while walking in was stealing my focus while our waiter was describing what he likes on the menu. It didn't take long to realize that the staff here really knows this menu well and our waiter had a long list of favorites from all sections of it -- except for the pizza which he never even mentioned.

I ordered the Margherita pizza anyway. If you're going to start offering pizza with a wood fired oven in the back, you're at least trying, right?

Our table received some bread and one of the most beautiful yet concise presentations of olive oil I've seen. A tiny square dish with a little garnish, yet the perfect amount for the bread we received which was strangely cold. Not room temperature, but cold. It was quite tasty nonetheless, especially with the bottle of Angeline Pinot Noir.

My date and I kept scanning the menu which was littered with double entendres and sexual innuendo. If there was a way to wrap "kitty" or "pussy" into the description or name of something, it has been completed in menu form at Il Gatto. I also can't imagine that the drink named Smitten Kitten was any sort of coincidence noting the popular sex toy store with the same name a couple blocks down. The “Twig and Berries,” a drink I ordered on another visit had a literal phallic and testicular reference in the drink itself.

On the back of the menu you can read about the "Italians' reputation for unrushed lovemaking" which is a paragraph that references Pope Paul III, American taboos about masturbation, "truncated mutual pleasure" and how many Hail Mary prayers could be recited during an Italian lovemaking session all in one swoop. I couldn't tell why I was giggling to myself: was it how frat boy humor could be written so seriously on a restaurant menu or was it the fact that frat boy humor inspired the menu in the first place? Oh, and how do you choose between ordering the "Pistol Tease" and the "Sour Puss" without being sarcastic?

My pizza arrived and it was a strange-looking but incredibly appetizing thing: it's what might define Neapolitan-Midwestern pizza if there was such a creation. It has many of the signatures of a Pizza Margherita but the the mozzarella is house made (and quite good but very different than mozzarella di bufala), the sauce had an almost barbecue twinge to it and there was oil all over, even on top of the basil and edges of the crust. The crust was nicely charred on the edges and chewy. The edges were buttery, salty, sweet and greasy at the same time. I couldn't help thinking something was wrong as I was dealing with the dichotomy of staunch Midwestern and Neapolitan influences in the same pizza. What seems like olive oil might be grease -- or maybe it's both. I'm not saying this is bad, however. In fact, before I could even figure my thoughts out on this pizza I had devoured the entire thing. I did say there was a bit of barbecue flavor in the sauce, right? Regardless, this thing was tasty.

Upon completion, our waiter told us about the desserts and that the house-made Limoncello shots were worth it just for the presentation. On another visit my date and I ordered these Limoncello shots for four bucks and the presentation is worth seeing once just so you can think how funny it is that someone not only thought it was a good idea but that someone else that works there recommended it. Don't worry, it's still worth it as the Limoncello is quite good.

The Bomboloni, which is a fancy Italian name for fancy doughnut holes, is a very tasty dessert. This was echoed by James Norton of the Heavy Table in his observations of Il Gatto which I recommend reading. I should note that they give you more dipping sauce than doughnut, however. I felt like I should have been able to ask for more of the bomboloni just so we could use the rest of the sauce.

Overall I like Il Gatto. What makes it uncomfortable and mysterious in its menu and food is fully compensated by its very friendly and knowledgeable staff and the large photos of cute cats on the wall. A lot of "huh, really?" followed up with "well, yum, not bad." Something new, right?

I'll be back, meow.

Il Gatto
3001 Hennepin Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-822-1688