I had a really great time at Gottino Gottino Monday night, partly because my friend Bianca is great company, and partly because I think I was drunk. This rarely happens to me, but the waiter allowed me to taste 4 different white wines before I chose one, and then gave me a very generous glass. The first was too sour, the second was bitter, the third had something to it that reminded me of pool water (I know that’s really bizarre). I chose a Grillo by Tenuta di Serramarracco, moderately fruity and a little sour by itself, but paired wonderfully with the fatty foods we ordered.

The menu is full of little plates, the way I enjoy eating most. Our waiter recommended two crostini. We both loved the Sheep’s Milk Ricotta and Fava Beans. I’m not usually a ricotta fan but there was something about this very fresh and lightly creamy ricotta than made a perfect pillow for the roughly mashed fava beans, full of herbs and well seasoned. This is a  must when you go. The other, Pesto di Noci, described as a walnut pesto is so much more than that. It’s a mound of moist walnut that looks like little pebbles, flavored with parmesan and thyme. You have to be a nut lover for this and when I split some onto another piece of bread, I loved it and gobbled it up. I don’t think Bianca was as in to it though.

We both enjoyed the Coppa Dell’Aia, a Guinea hen, quail, and capon terrine. The cornichons were too salty and not sour, but it’s a small detail on this plate. The Chicken Liver Pate and the Baccala, both served in cute little mason jars, but didn’t appeal to either of us as much. Ironically, these came in overly generous portions.

The La Tur has a wonderful texture, soft and smooth, with a very mild flavor. It’s a good beginner cheese to keep in mind. They plated it with a little quince paste. I really enjoyed the simple Radicchio Salad with pine nuts, currants, and goat cheese. It was perfectly refreshing.

We ended with Flor di Latte, sweet milk gelato, sourced from somewhere in Pennsylvania (unfortunately, I can’t remember where). It was quite good.

With tax and tip, we each paid about $48, reasonable considering we could have ordered a bit less. I would go again, and because I forgot my camera, I’ll conveniently use that as an excuse for my return.

posted by jessica at 08:53 AM Filed under Favorites, Restaurants, Wine Bar. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.