Il Fornaio: A Welcome Downtown Oasis

The people who own Il Fornaio Caffe e Kiosko must be hoping that the drought continues. Their cafe, which has no roof and no walls, takes glorious advantage of its natural setting--the Bunker Hill Steps. In the morning you can can sit at one of the outside tables and watch a waterfall run merrily downhill as you sip good cappuccino (it comes singolo , doppio and grande) and munch on weighty bran muffins, light little croissants or curiously appealing, slightly doughy Italian scones called pane pescatore . There’s juice and toast and even granola, here called “assorted oats.”

At lunchtime the menu grows--there are little sandwiches ( panini ), various little pizzas, soup and a few salads. And, to finish up, any permutation of coffee, milk and chocolate you can think of.

And when the rains come? The kiosko will simply fold up its tables, concentrate on delivery (which is restricted to the First Interstate World Center)--and wait for the sun.

* Il Fornaio Caffe e Kiosko, 633 W. 5th Street (on the second-floor landing of the Bunker Hills Steps), (213) 623-8400; fax: 623-7373. Sandwiches, salads and pizzas, $3.75-$5.95.