Unlikely Lunches

So is the focaccia pizza. Cut into user-friendly thirds, it's really more of an open-faced sandwich that's a lush dose of summer: ripe Roma tomatoes, melted provolone and shredded Parmesan, plenty of green-tasting pesto to soften the splendidly crusty, spongy bread. I found myself thinking that I could eat it for breakfast. Speaking of which, Don Bosco starts dispensing coffee and baked goods at 6:30 a.m.

A couple of caveats apply here. Parking in the adjoining Medical Towers or the nearby Scurlock Tower is a pain in the neck. You can take your chances on the somewhat restricted side streets across Main, but that's a pain in the neck, too. And Don Bosco's service and kitchen drill are still at a balky, fledgling stage; your food may not come out fast, but it comes out in a form that is liable to make you forget, momentarily, what a pain in the neck even felt like. In the Medical Center -- or anywhere else -- that's something.

Cafe Don Bosco, Medical Towers lobby, 1709 Dryden at Fannin, 799-9496. Il Posto, Galleria I at the main entrance to Neiman Marcus, 2600 South Post Oak, 621-7100.

Il Posto:
grilled mushroom and eggplant sandwich, $6.95; apple tart, $4; Ethiopian Harrar coffee, $2.25.

Don Bosco: chicken pesto panini, $4.50; black bean soup $3.75; cappuccino $1.60; banana-and-chocolate muffin, $1.25.