I must admit, it was the name that drew me in to try Eh! Formaggio, but the food was what left an impression. For my tastes, anything with "cheese" in the title is sure to please, and this Northwestside eatery did just that.

Filled with New York slang, both on the menu and in the the employees' speech, Formaggio is straight-up East Coast Italian dining.

The mood

The tiny strip-mall restaurant is decked out in everything red, white, and green. Red tables and red chairs filled the dining room, which also housed the ordering counter and kitchen as well. And small though it was, there was no shortage of lunchtime customers when my friend Jen and I visited.

The presence of a brick oven in the midst of this super-casual restaurant made me do a double take. I guess when the owners of Formaggio say, "Ya want authentic New York pizza? Fuhgedabowdit!" ..... they mean it.

The food

Did I perhaps mention cheese? Whatever you want, it has cheese in it -- from plain cheese pizza to New York cheese cake. And pizza ain't the only thing cooking in that brick oven.

Calzones, stuffed with pepperoni, sausage and cheese, and a Chicago-style deep dish pizza also meet their gooey fate in the fancy oven. Although, I'm sure the workers at Formaggio would prefer you choose the enormous New York slices, as opposed to the wimpy deep dish. "Dis ain't Chicago," after all.

There are specialty sandwiches up for grabs and named for their biggest fans, such as Betty's Favorite with Mesquite turkey, Bavarian ham, baby Swiss, lettuce, tomato, onion and honey mustard dressing. Brandon's Favorite is bologna, peppered turkey, American cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo.

And Vicki's Favorite is of the vegetarian variety, with mozzarella, artichokes, roasted red pepper, lettuce, tomato, onion, banana peppers, pesto and balsamic dressing. Stromboli and salads round out the rest of the daily menu. Oh! And gahlic-and-herb breadsticks! How could I forget?

Jen took the easy route and ordered the special of the day: spaghetti and meatballs ($6.95). I stared at the menu, decoding the jargon, letting people pass me in line, and I still couldn't make up my mind. So why not order it all!

I had the antipasto salad ($8.95), with smoky, roasted red peppers, provolone, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, Genoa salami, black olives and egg in a tangy Italian dressing. I also ordered up an enormous slice of the traditional Neapolitan ($2.50), which consisted of crisp, cheesy (but not too much) brick-oven goodness. They sure get a lot of mileage out of that thing.

Finally, a cannoli ($2.95), which I generously shared with Jen. Not the cannoli of Augustino's fame, but still good.

The drinks

Well, since we'd already went over the budget ..... ice waters for us.

The damage: $23.55

Jen and I left satisfied with the service and stuffed. Give New York a try right here!