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.

Sherry Baby!

I promised some posts on Spain, so I'll start with one on sherry. If you're like me, sherry brings up notions of a sweet after dinner drink or something to use in cooking. However, Spanish sherry is quite wonderful, although an acquired taste.

After two days in Seville, we stopped in Jerez de la Frontera on the way back to our condo in Marbella. Jerez, simply translated as "sherry," is the home of this popular Spanish wine. We were definitely in the right place to learn about this spirit!

Sherry is a blended wine of several years, not a single vintage of grapes. There are many different types that range from very dry with a pale yellow color, to sweet and with a dark mahogany hue. Here's a quick primer:

Fino – This is a pale, straw-colored sherry that is dry, light and fragrant. It is served cold and is the most traditional style of sherry. It's an ideal accompaniment to tapas.
Amontillado – This variety has an amber color, with a nutty, smoky caramel flavor. It's aged in American Oak barrels and has a higher alcohol content than fino (somwhere between 17% & 20%). This was my favorite, almost like a brandy, but without the sweetness. It's even a literary icon -- check out "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe.
Olosroso - This one is full-bodied, dark and rich. Drink Oloroso before dinner or with red meats.
Cream Sherry - This variety is sweetened Amontillado or Oloroso. It is also full-bodied and velvety. Enjoy with fruit, mild cheese and even smoked meats.

Those are just a few varieties. I had most of my education at the Tio Pepe bodega (essentially a winery). Tio Pepe is the the best selling brand in the world, but just one of the many wineries tucked into Jerez' winding streets. My sister and mom really enjoyed the Croft Cream Sherry which is made in Spain and only exported to England. It blends the crispness of a fino with the depth of a cream sherry. It was good - not sweet like I expected - and Erin and Kate both brought bottles home.

If you want to give sherry a try, I'd suggest looking for a Jerez fino. BevMo has a couple in stock. I'd sip it chilled with some cheese and olives. I'd also savor some Amontillado after dinner. It's flavor comes on strong, but once you give it a few sips it mellows and is quite delicious.

My other two favs

Wine and Cheese! Oh, how I love wine and cheese. I've been known to exist on wine and cheese for hours. (Had a bit of a stomach ache after that, actually.) I was visiting a friend in Oakland last weekend and she took me to the greatest little shop in Montclair and I had to share it with the world (or the small portion of the world that reads this blog). If you ever find yourself in the East Bay and have a hankering for some tasty cheese, check out Farmstead Cheese & Wine. They have locations in both Alameda and Montclair.
If you're unfamiliar with Montclair, it's a little wealthy community east of Oakland on Hwy 13. It's super cute, and has tons of little shops and restaurants. It's certainly not enough to do for a day, but if you find you have some time to kill while in Walnut Creek, Oakland, or even on your way out of San Francisco, it's an easy stop. The original Crogan's is here (although it's white tablecloth atmosphere is strikingly different than the bar I used to drink myself silly at in Walnut Creek), as well as a great Thai restaurant, burger place, and Italian place I went to once. Too bad I don't know their names. Up one of the side streets is Farmstead Cheeses & Wines. My friend Catherine and I went in to get some cheese for our dinner that night.
I loved this place because they have TONS of cheese from all over and all different kinds, and you get to try everything! You tell the very nice man behind the counter what you like and what you're looking for (and even what kind of wine you're drinking) and he'll give you little samples to see what you like. It's brilliant. The prices are good too, we got 1/3 of a pound of each cheese and only paid $10. Grocery store prices (even TJ's) are much higher. I don't remember what we ended up with, but one was really rich and creamy, and the other was tangy, like a light blue, but without the stink. Yum.
We didn't buy any wine (my friends have a rockin' wine cellar) but I checked it out and found a few I recognized from 58 Degrees and some that were really interesting and different. The white wine I saw that I recognized was $9, and I think that's cheaper than it is here in town.
Their blog is really cool too if you're interested in that sort of thing:
You can find them at 6218 La Salle Ave, Oakland, or 1650 Park Street, Unit C, Alameda. Check them out!

Dinner, European Style

I've blogged about 58 Degrees before. I love the place. I love the wine selection. I love a couple of the servers, some of whom are extremely knowledgeable. I've never really eaten there besides sampling some appetizers -- which are excellent -- but last night four friends and I sat down for their Prix Fixe menu. It's a four course meal for $25, add $10 for a 3oz wine pairing with each course.

We started with bleu cheese and roasted garlic crostini with green onion oil. The bread was crispy and the combination of the pungent cheese and tangy garlic, paired with the slight sweetness of the oil was fabulous. It was served with Bucci Verdicchio, a nice white Italian wine with hints of honey and apples.

The second course was a salad of roasted red peppers, shaved fennel over mixed greens with a basil dressing. This small salad was served with a cauliflower panna cotta. I'm used to panna cotta as an Italian dessert with a custard-like consistancy. This was a really interesting way to serve my not-so-favorite vegetable. The consensus around the table was that it was pretty tasty -- though no one would have probably ordered it if they saw it on a menu. The wine this time around was a Walden Cotes du Roussillon Rouge from France. It was a yummy blend of Carignan, Grenache and Syrah.

Course Three was a four cheese and arugula cannelloni with lemon cream sauce, caper bread crumbs and gremulata (a fancy way of saying finely chopped parsley, garlic and grated lemon zest). This dish got raves from everyone. The pasta was tender and cheesy; the sauce was creamy without being overbearing, We went back to white wine with a Domaine Reverdy-Ducroux "Beau Roy" Sancerre from France. It's a crisp Sauvignon Blanc that I found neither too sweet or too flowery that cut the richness of the sauce.

And lastly, we had chocolate praline bread pudding with pecans and chocolate cream sauce. Bread pudding is never one of my favorite desserts but I'm always willing to try. I don't think it was a universal hit at our table, but it wasn't bad. However, the Maquis Lien Syrah Red Blend from Chile, was a universal hit. The bold blend of Syrah, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and a touch of Petit Verdot was absolutely delicious! Fortunately for us our desserts took a long time to come out of the kitchen so our wonderful server Kara brought us a few extra pours. It was rich and fruity -- and for me a much better dessert than the bread pudding.

58 Degrees offers their Prix Fixe menu on Monday and Tuesday nights. The menu changes monthly.

You should also take advantage of No Corkage Sundays at the wine bar. You save $15 per bottle. Plus, once the weather gets nicer I can't think of many ways to enjoy a Sunday evening outside at such a great people-watching location in midtown.