Boccanoto's Tratoria

I've been meaning to blog about Boccanoto Tratoria for some time now. Last summer, on our way up to Fairplay for the Charles Mitchell/Conti Estates futures release party, we intended to stop by the Fair Play Bistro for a bite before a long afternoon of wine tasting, and found Boccanoto's in its place. Fair Play Bistro was generally good, but not spectacular. Boccanoto's really raises the bar for cuisine in this region. Before picking up the winter release at Conti a few weekends ago, we stopped by for lunch again.
It's probably a good thing Boccanoto's is so far up the hill--if it was closer in town, I would be there all the time. It's a small, family run restaurant, the kind of place where the owner/chef stops by your table to make sure your meal was perfect. And both times I've been here it's been just that--perfect.
Boccanoto's uses only fresh, locally growed ingredients, for everything from their produce to their meat. It's generally Italian food, with a daily freshly-made pasta special among the other menu items. Ask a lot of questions about the food at Boccanoto's--they don't expect you to know everything and are happy to help you make decisions or explain about a dish. This isn't a snobby place where they correct you when you pronounce something wrong (how do you say "sformato"?), they are just about good food, good wine, and good friends. My kind of place--and much like being in Italy.
The prices are great too. I generally spend about $30 here, and that includes an appetizer (try the cheese plate--it's fab!), wine (they have a nice selection of local, Fairplay region wines as well as Italian and other European wines), main dish and sometimes a dessert. Everything is so fresh, and they make sure to use only what is in season. I recommend going to Boccanoto's before going wine tasting--you'll want to remember this meal.

You can find Boccanoto's at 7915 Fair Play Road in Fair Play, California.