Bottega

I am thinking of changing my blog name to: Holly Does Napa, since this is yet another Napa post.

Peonie & Scott

I have my favorite places to eat in the wine country: burgers at Taylor's Automatic Refresher, sit down garden fresh lunch at Rutherford Grill, brunch at Bouchon, picnics at Vi Sattui (which our limo driver told us is cracking down on outside food!), and last week I tried a new place that shoots up to the top of my list: Bottega.

Check out the hammered copper water glasses! Very cool, tempted to stuff one in my purse, but I think they would've noticed. They're for sale at Napastyle.com, $89 for 4!

Bottega is Michael Chiarello's re-emergence into the restaurant world. He began as a restaurant chef in Maimi, then opened Tra Vigne in Napa in the 80s, and remained in the Napa culinary circle until 2000, when he left the kitchen for the Food Network.

Hand-cut saffron Fettuccine, Manilla clams, Calabrese sausage,

garlic, basil, parsley, white wine (we re-created this dish for my mom on her birthday...check it out on my mom's blog!)

He hosted Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello on the Food Network, and also Napastyle, a show on PBS. Recently, he opened a store called Napastyle, which sells outrageously overpriced homegoods and kitchenwares. But in 2008, he decided to get back into the kitchen, and opened Bottega, in Yountville.

Congratulations! Running joke of the day after a tasting room attendant looked at Carolina's boobs and congratulated her!

Bottega is an Italian restaurant, and we ate lunch there with Scott's father when we were wine tasting. The server suggested we order food family style, so we can all share, and we took her advice, and were blown away with every dish we ordered.
Here were my very favorites:

Polenta Under Glass

caramelized wild mushrooms, balsamic game sauce

Burrata

Creamy mozzarella burrata with artichoke two ways,

lemon braised and crispy

Hand-cut saffron Fettuccine, Manilla clams, Calabrese sausage,

garlic, basil, parsley, white wine

Garganelli with tomato braised rabbit sugo, wild mushrooms & ricotta

Garlic & Calabrian Chili Roasted Dungeness Crab

crab-saffron aioli, bruschetta

HUNGRY YET?