Eric Stonestreet calls this new KC Italian restaurant ‘delicious.’ He is so right

Editor’s note: Welcome back to our series Let’s Dish, Kansas City, showcasing some of our favorite restaurant meals.

Husband and wife chefs Josh and Kelly Bianchi opened Osteria Bianchi with a plan to bring more fine dining to Kansas City’s Northland. Four months later, they’ve hooked at least two VIPs (Very Important Palates) — Eric Stonestreet’s and mine.

The owners describe their restaurant as modern Sicilian fare with a fine-dining finish, but also with a neighborhood feel.

“Spaghetti and meatballs, linguine and clams, fettuccine Alfredo — all of these things are great dishes, but they’re more American than they are Italian,” Kelly said. “We’re focused on very regional Italian pastas. … It’s really all old recipes that your nonna would make in Italy for family supper.”

The couple had been working in Las Vegas, but Kelly, a Kansas City native, has been back in town with her family for about a year and a half, getting the space at 9261 N.E. 83rd Terrace ready after the previous tenant, Trago Bar & Tapas, closed last July.

“There are not a lot of high-quality dining experiences in this area, and so the reception has been wonderful,” she said.

By early July, the Northland restaurant had gathered a pool of regulars, as well as celebrity attention. One repeat customer: Stonestreet, the actor and Kansas City, Kansas, native who recently recommended Osteria Bianchi on his Instagram Story.

“KC peeps. Give this place a go. It’s delicious.” Stonestreet wrote. So I set out to Barry Pointe Plaza near Liberty for a Tuesday evening dinner with inventive Sicilian flair.

I’m not exactly hard to sell on good Italian food, especially given the Bianchis’ extensive work in food and hospitality for nearly 17 years in Las Vegas. Josh was the opening executive chef at Vetri Cucina (at the Palms Casino Resort) and Drai’s (at The Cromwell). Kelly was executive chef of the catering and special events program at the Wynn Las Vegas for nearly a decade. And that doesn’t even include the couple’s past lives in New York.

But I also came into Osteria Bianchi’s breezy, green-accented dining room with full faith in Eric Stonestreet’s ability as a tastemaker. He’s best known for his Emmy-winning role as Cameron Tucker on ABC’s “Modern Family,” a sitcom that everyone in my family can agree on. In a household full of love but empty of clarity on what show or restaurant to enjoy on a given night, I knew it would be Stonestreet’s stylings for the win.

The man — and the menu — did not disappoint.

The Bianchis said Stonestreet has devoured many items on the menu. So I set out to sample several favorites.

All of Osteria Bianchi’s breads and pastas are made in-house, including the focaccia with Parmesan salsa, a favorite of Stonestreet. The focaccia was bouncy and satisfying, its open gluten structure perfect for soaking up the robust, nutty cheese concoction. Factor in the cacio e pepe martini ($14), a savory sipper with a hit of peppery umami on the back palate, and I put away three chunks of focaccia before Star photojournalist Tammy Ljungblad could join me.

The martini went through four iterations over a month of trial and error, according to bar manager Alex Downing. In general, the Bianchis’ learning process these first few months has been “humbling,” Kelly said.

“We’ve opened a lot of restaurants for other people. This is the first time doing it ourselves,” Kelly said. “Every day, there’s a different challenge we may not have faced in the past, but we work really well together and we’ve been overcoming it together.”

One success story is the kanpachi crudo ($18), which pairs buttery yellowtail sashimi with radishes, sharp greens and fennel aggrodolce in a pool of bright lemon and basil. Swooning over each pop of citrus, I realized what Stonestreet already knew: I’ve been missing out on the marriage of raw seafood and fresh Italian herbs.

I also enjoyed the Mortadella Pizza ($17) and Fazzoletti ($17), a summery pasta with corn crema, both featuring a house-made dough and hitting on a dizzying variety of flavors. The sweetness of the corn crema over silky sheets of pasta was surprising but welcome, given depth by blackened scallions and tender, meaty mushrooms.

Meanwhile, the pizza — another Stonestreet order — was built on a hearty crust with a perfectly sweet char, which stood up well to layers of airy homemade ricotta, salty cured pork and rich pistachio pesto.

The Osteria Bianchi menu is split into pizzas, pastas, antipasti and mains, with main plates running from a $15 Margherita pizza to a $39 hanger steak. Diners can choose between a light bite or a multi-course experience, Kelly said.

Josh’s family is from the Abruzzo region of Sicily, Kelly said, and his heritage helped inspire the menu. The Bianchis also prioritize local ingredients and make as many elements as possible in-house, she said. The eggs, for example, come from Campo Lindo, a family-owned farm in Lathrop, Missouri.

Osteria Bianchi also launched an extensive cocktail menu this month featuring house-made syrups and Downing’s meticulous recipe testing. On the gin side of things, the Beekind ($14) with Hendricks gin was subtle and honeyed, while the Blue 19 ($15) with Empress 1908 was jammy and electric, bringing me back to the sunshine of early blueberry season.

It was genuinely hard to stop drinking the Strawberry Bavarese, a playful dessert cocktail with a frothy pink top and a light but luscious berry finish.

And if you’re like me and you can’t skip dessert, go for the Hazelnut Semifreddo ($11), a melt-in-your-mouth bombshell of classic Italian flavors with notes of caramel and date.

Next up for Osteria Bianchi: hopefully, a lunch menu, according to Kelly. And next up for me: a date with my leftovers, with one last hat tip to Eric Stonestreet and the power of an Instagram dinner rec.