Caldo!

A Vespa dealership AND a pizza place? Interesting combo. Hot Italian, now open at the corner of 16th and Q, does a pretty good job melding the two concepts.

Granted, I'm not in the marketplace for a scooter, so I went straight for the pizza. I walked through the shop to get to the restaurant and was stopped by a hostess asking if I knew about their seating options. You can sit at the gelato bar (more on that later), the pizza bar where you can see the kitchen or at a large common table and "make a few new friends." Who could pass up that opportunity!

So while I waited for Nancy I sat down next to a couple who were finishing their meal. I sat down without thinking that it might be weird to join their date, but it was too late. After an awkward hello, I asked them how their meal was and got their suggestions on whether or not one pizza was enough for two people to share. It was pleasant enough, but I don't think we're going to be friends.

The crowd ranged from people with families, couples and larger groups of friends. One minor drawback is as the place got busier, it got quite loud. I don't think the cinderblock walls provide the best acoustics. It wasn't unpleasant, but if you're looking for intimate conversation you might want to try elsewhere. The general atmosphere is relaxed and casual and the servers are friendly.

As I've mentioned before, I love pizza and am a big fan of the thin crust style. The menu has eight varieties of pie, one of which can also be made into a calzone and another which can be served panini style. Options include the Bellucci (tomato, mozzarella, sausage and ricotta), the Materazzi (tomato, fontina, pepperoni and olives), the Magnini (smoked salmon, mozzarella, mascarpone and dill) and our choice, the Bova (tomato, roasted eggplant, mozzarella and goat cheese). We also shared a Sozzani salad, with baby spinach, pears, dried cranberries, pine nuts and Gorgonzola. The other salad option was pretty tempting too -- romaine, blood oranges and ricotta.

The salad ($8) and pizza ($11) were the perfect size for sharing (my new friends were right!). However, I did note that after reviewing the menu later that they forgot the pears in the salad. The pizza crust was tender and not too chewy. The eggplant and goat cheese were delicious. We also split a bottle of Coppola Pinot Noir for $25. Bottles run $25, $35 and $45 in both red and white varietals and glasses are between $5 and $8. They also have a selection of Prosecco and draft beers. I'm sure they have non-alcoholic beverages too, but we didn't ask.

I don't usually indulge in dessert, but gelato is one of my favorites. Hot Italian has thirteen varieties ($3 for two scoops), including espresso, stracciatella, peanut butter cup, zabaglione and ferrero rocher - which was delicious. They also have pear and blood orange sorbet, which sound fantastic. I can definitely see people riding their scooters over for a scoop at the gelato bar when the weather gets warmer! Finally, there are two other desserts - the Zucchero calzone (hazelnut spread and powdered sugar) and Murino pizza (sweet gorgonzola and pears drizzled with honey). I think I just like dessert better when it's Italian.

I'll give Mazullo a slight edge on the pizza, but overall I really enjoyed my meal. I know I'll be back because I still have 12 flavors of gelato to try.

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.

Bohemian Rhapsody

(Okay, okay, that's a cheesy title. I couldn't resist)

As much as I love food and dining out in Sacramento, I inevitably get stumped on the "where should we go to eat?" question. It's not as though there aren't a lot of places to go, but for some reason it's awfully hard to decide sometimes. Carmen and I went to look at a friend's art exhibit yesterday and wanted to get a bite to eat afterwards. She drove (a little below the speed limit and in at least one circle) through midtown as we tried to decide. I ran through about 10 suggestions, but nothing stuck. Finally Carmen said she'd always wanted to try that "Czech-Italian place next to the pub in East Sac." That place is La Trattoria Bohemia on J Street.

The place has a real neighborhood feel. We were only the second table when we sat down, but the restaurant started to fill up by the time we paid our bill. The menu offers Czech specialties like Goulash and Chicken Paprikash, as well as Italian staples like pasta & pizza. Carmen ordered the Spinach Ravioli with Pesto ($13.50). I opted for a bowl of the Chicken & Dumpling soup ($4.50) & a Spinach Pizza ($11 for baby spinach, artichokes, chicken, feta cheese, mozzarella cheese and olive oil). The soup was piping hot with big pieces of chicken, veggies and delicious dumplings. My pizza had a doughy crust and was loaded with fresh spinach and piles of cheese. The 8" personal size is enough for last night's dinner and today's lunch. Carmen really enjoyed her pasta and remarked on the freshness of the spinach in her homemade pasta.

Surprisingly, we both had a glass of wine. She chose the Castello d'Albola Chianti ($7.50) and I went for the Hey Mambo! red ($6.75), just because it had a fun name. The desserts looked good too (apple struedel, tiramisu) but I already had my heart set on Big Spoon across the street (http://sachappyhour.blogspot.com/2007/10/fro-yo-faceoff.html).

La Trattoria Bohemia is a great, little place with a warm atmosphere. Next time you can't make up your mind, it's definitely worth a stop.

The Search is On

For close friends of mine this will come as no surprise. I love Italian food. I love everything about it. And I don't mean mere "pasta" (or, as I'm sure some of you will say, "noodles". Noodles are the egg variety, or the Asian kind. I like these, but they're different.), but the inmmense variety of traditional Italian food. What I love about Italian food (besides the mass amounts of cheese often present) is that the focus is on the ingredients. Anyone can make great Italian food as long as you have high quality products to make it. Which is perhaps where the problem is in most "traditional" Italian restaraunts. They often try to make it something it isn't. I'm looking for a great hole in the wall Italian place where I feel like I'm stepping back in time, or half way across the globe. Because really, I make a pretty mean Italian meal myself and am just as happy cooking at home if necessary.

My first attempt at finding the perfect Italian restaraunt was Cafe Milazzo on Folsom Blvd in East Sac last week. I've heard mixed reviews on the restaraunt and wanted to try it myself. A friend and I stopped by last Tuesday after my class. I was afraid that we would be too late, but even though they were cleaning up they welcomed us in. Their menu is fairly brief and basic, but honestly, I like it that way. Our server was extremely patient with us while we took a long time to decide. I decided on the ravioli special, an asparagus and cheese ravioli with a vodka cream sauce, and Emily chose the Tuscan chicken over fettucinni. We got a glass of Chianti each, and our wine was perfect start to our Italian meal. I was excited.

Foccaccia and salad are complimentary with dinner. The bread was fabulous, and served with the traditional olive oil and balsamic rather than butter. I was starving, but regardless it was still awesome bread. Our salads were good and large with a simple Italian dressing. This may seem nitpicky, but it was impossible to eat the salad without making a huge racket because the bowls didn't sit flatly on the table. Emily and I were flinging lettuce everywhere. Emily's Tuscan Chicken was good, a pounded chicken breast on a bed of fettucini and wilted spinach with red bell peppers and a cream sauce. The combination of flavors was quite good, and the spinach a nice surprise. My ravioli were good, but they came out with about 7 medium sized ravioli floating in the vodka cream sauce. It looked like pink soup. The sauce was so thin it was hard to have a bite of the ravioli and the sauce together because it kept dripping off. The ravioli themselves were good, but they tasted very similar to the kind that come out of the grocer's freezer. It wasn't very exciting.

I have to say, in perusing the menu I was rather shocked by the high prices. Price-wise they were comprable, or even more, than restaraunts such as Paragary's and Lucca's, two of my favorites. I was sincerly hoping for gigantic portions or fabulous food. I received neither. The service, however, was fantastic. Everyone was incredibly friendly and knowledgable about the food. But I just don't think the food was worth the price. They do, however, have pizza nights on Tuesdays where a slice costs only $2. Their lunch menu looks good as well, and the prices seemed all to be under $10. I'm willing to go back and try either of these options, but Cafe Milazzo just did not fulfill my search for the best Italian in Sacramento. I'm still looking though, so if you have a suggestion please let me know.