Napa Style indeed

No trip to Napa is complete without visiting Michael Chiarello's signature restaurant Bottega Napa.  On this trip to Napa I learned that Chef Chiarello owns the home goods store, Napa Style, located just across the way from his own restaurant, Bottega Napa.  On our last visit we had dinner at Bottega, but this time we decided to do lunch.

I don't know how we didn't remember the complimentary bread and sauce as the sauce is heaven on earth.  I Googled the recipe and found out its name "Salsa di Parmigiano."  Just call it heaven.  I plan on making it at home over and over again.  I almost regretted ordering anything off the menu as my entire meal could have been the bread and salsa.

Salsa di Parmigiano

For our appetizer we decided on the Green Eggs and Ham. Here the green is the caramelized zucchini and the ham is the guanciale, so not what one thinks of when they think of the Dr. Seuss book.  Never the less, quite tasty.

Green Eggs and Ham (caramelized zucchini, cherry tomato confit, guanciale, crispy soft cooked egg, sweet corn sabayon, Redwood Hills Crottin)

We were both intrigued by the peach salad with perfectly ripened peaches: not too sweet and not too soft.  My only complaint was that it was difficult to eat the pistachios as they were chopped a little too finely.  Otherwise, its a light refreshing salad.

Local Peach Salad (honey ricotta, purslane, pistachios, fennel pollen, and Muscat vinaigrette)

As soon as I saw this on the menu I knew my husband would order it.  The big giveaway was the first two words in the name: Black Garlic.  Again my husband was faced with head-on prawns, making us joke that every entree he would have on our trip would have to include the headed crustacean.  The dish comes with the bonito flakes on the side and the server stating that the chef recommends them on top.  In case you don't know what bonito flakes are they are flakes of dried, smoked bonito fish.  If you're a fan of Iron Chef America then you know that Chef Morimoto is often making a dashi with these.

Black Garlic Spaghetti Grande (head-on gulf prawns, hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, calabrian chili, citrus essence and bonito flakes)

I decided to go for the risotto of the day because it was made with crab.  And lots of it.  Crab broth was used in the preparation of the risotto along with bits of crab, and then a generous helping of crab on top.  There was nothing left as I think this was the best risotto I have ever had.

Dungeness Crab Risotto - the Risotto del Giorno

Even though we were only at lunch we decided to go for dessert.  The crust was amazing - nice and think and not too sweet.  Everything about the crostata was delish!  And the ice cream, though we were sceptical as it was made with rosemary, was decadent as well.  The only item I wasn't sure about was the bing cherry espuma or foam.  I could have done without it.  This is definitely a dessert to share with one or two people as its way too decadent and too large for just one person.

Cherry Pistachio Crostata (with bing cherry espuma, pistachio oil, and honey rosemary gelato)

Having now had both lunch and dinner at Bottega Napa I can definitely say that I will be back again.  But my question is: when are they going to offer breakfast as well?