So Many Layers

You don't typically go looking for great lasagna at a coffee kiosk--but you should.

At Jackson Place Café, a miniscule stand in an atrium near downtown's antique district, co-owner Gabriella Dixon serves her outstanding homemade lasagna ($8).

She only makes 12 portions a week and begins selling her latest batch each Monday. It usually sells out in a few days. (Don't fret if you miss it; there's always next week.)

Dixon was raised in Bellinzona, a city in the Italian-speaking area of Switzerland, and the homey lasagna she makes for Jackson Place Café is a re-creation of a cherished family recipe.

To begin, she cooks a soffrito comprising carrots and celery. ("No onions," she notes with gentle disdain.) She then adds ground beef and tomato purée. After the sauce simmers for two hours or so, she throws in fresh rosemary and chopped garlic.

Unlike so many of its brethren, Dixon's lasagna is also layered with nutmeg-laced béchamel, so the pasta winds up creamy rather than gooey. To finish, she lines the top with grated mozzarella.

The portions are immense, so carbohydrate lethargy is inevitable. Thankfully, Jackson Place is indeed a café--one that's stocked with a handy supply of Blue Bottle coffee.

Jackson Place Café, One Jackson Place, 633 Battery St., 415-225-4891; open Mon. through Fri., 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.