Houstonist headed out to Washington Avenue this past Sunday afternoon to try the newest Italian restaurant cum grocery store, Raia's Italian Market. With an untested location in a brand-new building and the time-tested juggernaut Nundini's only a few blocks away, it would appear that Raia's has a lot to overcome if it wishes to succeed in a market already saturated with Italian restaurants (Candelari's, Spaghetti Western, Star Pizza, Collina's, Patronella's, and Cavatore are just a few that spring to mind in the immediate area).

The first issue we noticed with Raia's was that there is no signage as of yet. This may be a minor nitpick to some, but it makes the restaurant rather difficult to find, especially considering the fact that it's tucked into the bottom floor of a two-story strip center, away from the street. However, seeing as how they only opened 10 short days ago, we were willing to cut them a break on this.

It's important to take their infancy into consideration, as every hatchling restaurant goes through opening jitters. Happily, we were greeted by already-knowledgeable servers and friendly staff as soon as we walked in the door. Mondays through Saturdays, Raia's serves a weekly lunch special along with typical Italian fare in a cafeteria-style line. In the evenings and all day on Sundays, however, it's table service only. Although their website has two separate menus for lunch and dinner, we couldn't find any differences between the two.

The market portion of Raia's is well-stocked with various pastas, rice, olive oils, Italian sodas, deli meats, cheese and even some beautiful fresh butter packaged in butcher's paper. The price is right for most items, although you can still get bulk rice or pasta cheaper at Nundini's or even Sam's Club. Quaint-looking chalkboards hanging above the deli counter announce the meats and cheese that are offered each day and their prices. If it weren't for the permeating and inescapable "newness" of the building, it would almost feel like an old-fashioned neighborhood deli.

The tables for the restaurant are scattered in amongst the shelves, which only adds to the old-fashioned feeling, and you can seat yourself. Most tables have a good view of the deli counter and the charming, if small, brick oven. Our server was gracious and friendly and we were excited to sample a few things from their lunch menu. We began with the Cakes & Claws appetizer for $12, then ordered a dish each of the Carmine and the Corleone pastas ($9 a piece).

Noticing a distinct Cajun touch in some of the dishes -- the New Orleans pasta, the Cajun pizza and the Muffaletta appetizer, as examples -- we asked the server if there was a reason for this rather out-of-place cuisine. Perhaps the owners are Cajun? She looked quite puzzled and simply shrugged her shoulders; the owners weren't Cajun to the best of her knowledge. The random addition of Cajun food on an Italian menu is distracting and incongruous, regardless of the history behind it, and was our second nitpick of the afternoon.

The appetizer consisted of two enormous crab cakes with a dollop of aioli, heavy on the crab, and six succulent little crab claws. The cakes were a meal in and of themselves, with barely a hint of bread crumbs but still managing to stick together admirably. The claws seemed to have been battered delicately in cornmeal, and both the cakes and claws were surprisingly light-tasting, without a hint of heavy grease. It was a fantastic appetizer that left us anxiously anticipating our pastas.

Unfortunately, only one of the pasta dishes was up to snuff, and this was the last nitpick of the afternoon. The Carmine pasta, a mixture of rigatoni with broccoli, tomatoes and Italian sausage, was uninspired and anticlimactic after the wonderful appetizers. There was no sauce to bring the ingredients together, so it felt instead as if someone had thrown some leftovers into a bowl and called it a dish. The Italian sausage in particular was heavy on the anise seeds, which gave it an overly-bitter and altogether unappetizing taste. We took the majority of this one to go, to pawn off on the next billy goat or other undiscriminating eater we encountered.

The Corelone pasta, however, was magnificent. This dish was a simple combination of angelhair pasta, eggplant, black olives, capers and ricotta cheese in a marinara sauce. The soft, creamy ricotta blended together expertly with the hot marinara, producing something similar to a vodka sauce. The velvety sauce along with the slightly sour bite of olives and capers along with the savory chunks of eggplant meant that we all but inhaled this dish.

Taking a quick look at the dessert menu, our eyes landed on a $2 mini cannoli. How can you resist a mini cannoli? You can't. We ordered it and weren't disappointed. Scattered with a fine dusting of confectioner's sugar and chopped pistachios, it was the perfect little bite of sweet but slightly tart, nutty bliss after a heavy meal.

Despite the very minor issues we encountered, Houstonist thinks that Raia's will do just fine on Washington Avenue, with its heady new mix of trendy restaurants, bars and housing. While not groundbreaking or cutting edge, their good food, friendly service and added benefit of a deli alongside a small but potent market should be a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Raia's Italian Market
4500 Washington Avenue
713.861.1042