Will Drive For Food
At dinner with H and B at the wonderful Bella Trattoria, we fixed upon my back-up career plan. Driving people to the airport in exchange for a good meal. The business plan is simple. We figured that since I already have a car I'm good to go. Of course, unless all of my clients have refined taste like my dining companions, I'm not quite sure how things would work.
How this particular restaurant charmed me. We started with the Parmiggiana - grilled eggplant baked with fresh tomato sauce and a light sprinkling of parmiggiano cheese. The smokey flavor of the grill cut through the garlic, and even a generous topping of sauce didn't render the eggplant the least bit mushy. Next we sampled the clams sauteed with tomatoes and garlic. I quite enjoyed the hearty, almost stew-like sauce conceived of fresh summer tomatoes chopped. It was a welcome departure from the usual preparation of clams in a white wine broth. And then the pastas. Linguine Nere - homemade squid ink linguine dressed with white wine and olive oil, topped with clams and calamari. The briny sea came through with every forkful and the dark noodles matched the the dimly-lit dining room. My favorite though, had to be the spinach gnocchi - ethereal green puffs served in a gorgonzola cream sauce decorated with sliced mushrooms. I'm usually not a gnocchi fan due to their weightiness, but these were tender bites from start to finish and even in a rich cream sauce, they settled in my stomach like little bites of air.
We had to forgo dessert in the interest of making it to the airport on time.
But the truly sad note of the evening was that my friends departed for the east coast. Hoping to lure them back out here with more dining adventures....
Bella Trattoria - 3854 Geary Blvd., San Francisco
How this particular restaurant charmed me. We started with the Parmiggiana - grilled eggplant baked with fresh tomato sauce and a light sprinkling of parmiggiano cheese. The smokey flavor of the grill cut through the garlic, and even a generous topping of sauce didn't render the eggplant the least bit mushy. Next we sampled the clams sauteed with tomatoes and garlic. I quite enjoyed the hearty, almost stew-like sauce conceived of fresh summer tomatoes chopped. It was a welcome departure from the usual preparation of clams in a white wine broth. And then the pastas. Linguine Nere - homemade squid ink linguine dressed with white wine and olive oil, topped with clams and calamari. The briny sea came through with every forkful and the dark noodles matched the the dimly-lit dining room. My favorite though, had to be the spinach gnocchi - ethereal green puffs served in a gorgonzola cream sauce decorated with sliced mushrooms. I'm usually not a gnocchi fan due to their weightiness, but these were tender bites from start to finish and even in a rich cream sauce, they settled in my stomach like little bites of air.
We had to forgo dessert in the interest of making it to the airport on time.
But the truly sad note of the evening was that my friends departed for the east coast. Hoping to lure them back out here with more dining adventures....
Bella Trattoria - 3854 Geary Blvd., San Francisco
posted by erica at 12:32 AM
2 Comments:
See? You're getting the chance to go out to eat! Good girl. When things lighten up, let's pick a good place to eat...
I think the best food I ever ate was when I visited you last year. Obviously, I will have to make a return visit soon. Erica, AND good food? Talk about double trouble!
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