Tricky business, setting up shop as a restaurant on Federal Hill. Not unlike peddling pot in Amsterdam. Wisely, on this stretch of Italian competition, Josephine's Bistro Café offers a more ethnically diverse menu. Those with an osso bucco addiction have plenty of other places to choose from, so at Josephine's there's the opportunity to ease off the marinara and get hooked on crêpes instead.

The small, hand-painted sign above the entrance is in the style of little ethnic eateries, where cousin Julio offers to see which color paints he has in the basement. The "Bistro Café" designation is a bit of a puzzle, since the former is more or less the latter with wine. I guess the idea was to emphasize the casual dining atmosphere.

Cloth on the tables, paper napkins under the flatware is the mix here. Tipping the atmospheric balance toward the tablecloths, for me, are two large, smartly done abstract landscapes. The walls are plum, a mellow and mellowing hue that might subliminally boost the wine orders. A bar takes up most of one wall in the small room -- a dozen tables -- so if the place is busy and you're a non-smoker, you won't be able to get more than 20 feet or less from a line of imbibing billowers.

On Atwells Avenue, at a place like this with eclectic offerings, the real test of culinary sincerity is with the Italian items, of course. Does the restaurant play it safe or stray from the obvious? Well, the Josephine's calamari ($9) isn't the official state appetizer version -- flour-dusted, fried and served with hot pepper rings -- but is instead sautéed in white wine sauce and presented with sun-dried tomato and banana pepper.

Josephine's is named after the mother of owner Jamil Hindi, the proprietor of the late L'Imaj in the Old Harbor district, which closed three years ago. He's from Lebanon, so the appetizers include chicken and beef kebabs ($8, $9), as well as dates stuffed with goat cheese and pecans and wrapped in bacon ($8). Despite these failure-free inducements, I chose the French onion soup ($5), a mistake, as a starter. I could shrug off that the melted Gruyère wasn't broiled, for additional flavor, but the beef bouillon tasted like unfiltered Providence water, so I didn't take more than a few sips.

More wisely, Johnnie ordered crêpes, one of the specialties, for an appetizer. Four variations are on the menu, including chicken, sausage, and seafood. My companion's Mediterranean crêpe ($9) featured a sauté of spinach and onions, combined with fresh chopped tomatoes for contrast, plus feta -- tantalizingly little -- surrounded by a drizzle of balsamic reduction. It was a beautiful presentation, with those ingredients piled in the center, atop, rather than within, the crêpes, where they would make the delicate, French "pancakes" soggy. Served this way, most of the crêpes -- two, so I didn't have to beg -- remained light and fluffy.

In addition to the day's specials, there are only seven pastas and seven entrées on the menu -- a good sign, I always think, that everything counts as the chef's recommendation. The main dishes, moderately priced from $15 to $18, range from orange-glazed duck breast and half-rack of veal, to grilled swordfish and salmon. That last fish is served with risotto, an unusual combination, indicating a strength in the kitchen.

So Johnny chose the seafood risotto ($19), which proved quite good. The shellfish was fresh and bountiful: fat mussels and sea scallops, five medium shrimp. There was none of the swordfish of the menu description, but plenty substituted. As importantly, the rice was well prepared, creamy but with an al dente dot at the heart of each grain. The pasta that sounded most interesting to me was the pappardelle de champignons ($17). I guess the French word for mushrooms sounds more appetizing than "funghi," but the preparation of the wide noodles was pure Italian, with a creamy, truffle oil-enhanced Alfredo sauce. Delicious.

For dessert, fruit crêpes are available, of course, and the one with hazelnut-chocolate Nutella is popular, as you might expect. There's an assortment of gelati as well ($5.75), such as orange, coconut, and espresso with raspberry. We shared one flavored with the popular Italian citrus liquor Limoncello. Refreshing and not too sweet.

Maybe having a better location than the well-reputed L'Imaj will work out for Josephine's, if our consistently forgetful service isn't typical. I'd recommend it for the crêpes.

Bill Rodriguez can be reached at billrod@reporters.net.

Issue Date: November 15 - 21, 2002