12 // COASTWEEKEND.COM Coast Weekend’s local restaurant review At Finni’s, cooking is all in the family Rating:  490 W. Marine Dr ive, Astoria PHONE: 503-791-5581 HOURS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon- day-Saturday PRICE: $ — Most entrées around $10 SERVICE: Call ahead or wait around. VEGETARIAN/VEGAN OP- TIONS: A few. DRINKS: Bottled water, soda. Review and photos by MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA MOUTH@COASTWEEKEND.COM O Only when John Finni’s grand- father feared the end was nigh did he fi nally pass down the family’s sausage recipe. As such, it was nicknamed the “deathbed sausage.” Women in the family made their mark, too. “Italian like ‘Zia’ used to make it,” reads the tagline of Finni’s Fine Foods. (‘Zia’ is Italian for aunt.) And the food the Finni s share is evocative of Italian upbringing, where an aunt — or mother or grandfather — ladles mountains of spaghetti, marinara and meatballs onto on overfl owing plate and still wonders if you’re eating enough Third -generation immigrants, the Finnis — John and Jen — moved to Astoria last year to be closer to family. And while the food truck was a new venture, conceived after arrival, restaurant work goes back generations. Finni’s glossy, sea -green truck popped up in December, parked next to the long running El Asadero in the old gas sta- tion lot on Astoria’s west end. It offers Italian building blocks — meatballs, Marinara, the storied sausage and so on — in a few permutations, mostly sandwiches and pasta. Available too are a few appetizer-like shared plates and sides like soups and salad. And while a sandwich with a bag of Lay’s brand chips makes for a fi ne lunch, it’s easy to see Finni’s as a to-go family dinner option by coupling a few dishes. If a group dinner is your aim, though, you’ll want to call ahead. Finni’s fairly involved preparation approaches restaurant-like wait times. In my three trips, I averaged 20-plus minutes between order and delivery. All of the dishes are well packed, and while I mostly dined there and never needed reheating (Finni’s foods come out steaming hot), I appreciated that the pasta FINNI’S FINE FOODS KEY TO STAR RATING SYSTEM Finni’s Flatbread was like a sliced sau- sage sandwich with a lot fewer fi xins, and the bread was really crunchy. came in tins, convenient for re- warming in the oven. Before spelling out individu- al dishes it seems more effi cient to focus on the building blocks. The marinara was dark, thick and herby, distinguished by a lingering fi nish of cinnamon. The meatballs, a little bigger than table-tennis balls, were close siblings of meat- loaf, mixing bread crumbs, eggy binding, onions and spices. The “deathbed sausage,” freshly ground and uncased, too was herby and supple, well cooked with creeping, but manageable, heat. I was dubious about the “home- made” bread, which was bleached white, dull and quite uniform. The hoagie 7-odd -inch -long sandwich rolls were better, heavily toasted with a crunchy, crumbling crust. I found myself most drawn to the sandwiches. I had all three: the Meatball ($8.50), with marinara and stretchy melted provolone; the Sausage ($9 ) was shaped like a kayak, topped with sweet caramelized onions and sautéed peppers; the Italian Beef was akin to a French dip, only with the au jus poured in, rather than on the side, and topped with giardiniera, a vinegar y Italian relish of diced The Fritto Provolone had a familiar fl avor — mozzarella sticks. Penne Arrabiata was stirred penne tubes with melding of marinara and Alfredo sauces. Italian Beef was akin to a French dip. bell peppers, carrots, celery and onions that provided sharp, acidic pep to the sinewy, soft, juicy roast beef. Of the four pastas I had two: the spaghetti Pomodoro and the Penne arrabiata. (I felt like I’d gleaned already the essence of the marinara.) The Pomodoro — simply noodles, olive oil, basil, tomatoes and a light dusting of Parmesan — was elemental, but underwhelming, a tough sell at $8. Until in-season tomatoes are plucked straight from the vine, it’ll remain so. The Arrabiata ($10), which stirred penne tubes with melding of marinara and Al- fredo sauces, combined the dark cinnamon of the red sauce with a sweet, milky white. I liked that it was pre tossed on the stove, so the ratios were maintained — sauces, meats and cheeses overwhelming the pasta. It was quite spicy, too, thanks to red pepper fl akes. Of the shared plates I tried the Fiini’s Flatbread ($9), which was like a sliced sausage sandwich with a lot fewer fi xins, and the bread was really crunchy. The Fritto Provolone had a famil- iar fl avor — mozzarella sticks, though Finni’s prefers provolone — in a more aesthetically pleasing  Below average  Average  Good  Excellent  Best in region presentation: like a cheesy pie, breaded except for a cross through the center, with a circle of mar- inara in the center : Essentially a crusted cheese disc an inch thick, 6 or 7 inches wide, it should be shared, less your arteries deserve punishment. Salty and beefy, the Minestro- ne soup ($5 cup) warmed me on a cold day. The salad is a milky Caesar, which isn’t described on the menu. At a reasonable price of $3 when added to another dish. It was, however, drowning in the thin dressing, and topped with more long slices of provolone than a salad based on iceberg lettuce needs. The solution, how- ever, is simple: serve the dressing on the side — then too it could survive a drive home without becoming mush. (I ate it there and it was still mushy.) But the foundations of this Italian truck — the meatballs, sausage and marinara — are bonafi de. Heavy, comfortable and familiar, Finni’s is, after all, home y Italian food — of the kind grandparents approve.