Bottega

Yountville, CA

I watch a lot of food network programming and my absolute favorite show is Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello. I have no idea why, since his recipes are hardly easy, but I really like his style and his food always looks amazing. He always stressed the use of grey salt on his shows, and I was brainwashed enough to drop $13 bucks at his NapaStyle store on it. I remember my first visit to Taylor's Refresher, I saw him in the flesh and was gitty for hours. So when i heard he was opening Bottega in Yountville, I was excited to say the least.

Wood Grilled Octopus olive oil

We heard amazing things about the octopus and rightfully so. It was unbelievably tender, flavorful, presented with a perfect grilled aroma. Combined with high quality olive oil, it may have been the best dish of the night, although there were a lot of contenders. I've also had grilled octopus at Osteria Mozza in LA which was also memorable and would love to taste them side by side in attempts of determining a winner.

Green-Egg and Ham 

Chu-Toro started with the green egg and ham consisting of olive oil poached Delta asparagus, crispy soft-boiled egg, pecorino cheese pudding and prosciutto bits. Also an incredible appetizer, simple and complex at the same time. The simple poached asparagus laid beneath the perfectly breaded soft boiled egg that oozed out wonderfully across the dish. The ingredients shined on their own, but together offered layers of marvelous flavor.

 Potato Gnocchi

Gnocchi can truly be a magical or awful experience but I only learned that after dining at Bottega. I don't think we knew how wonderful gnocchi could be until Chu-Toro ordered what she calls Chiarello's "little pillows of heaven." Often, gnocchi is the pasta dish that makes you prematurely full, given the nature of its contents (potatoes). But there is no exaggeration when I say this is the best gnocchi we've ever had, hands down. It was light and tasty, soft and melted in our mouths, a magical dish. 

Parpadelle Ragu

Truth be told, I don't recall the protein in this ragu, but do remember that the pasta was really fresh, al dente and overall it was nice dish. I think we just in such awe over the gnocchi that we've forgotten the contents of this pasta. 

Seafood Brodetto 

For the entrees, I ordered he seafood brodetto, a tomato based seafood stew with clams, shrimp, fish and a large rectangular piece of toasted bread in the middle. The dish was good, but in retrospect, I probably would have ordered another item. 

Roasted Chicken

Chu-Toro ordered the roasted chicken with cipolini onions. Normally, I am adamantly against ordering chicken since its boring. But I'm glad thats what stuck out on the menu for Chu-Toro since it is one of the best chicken's I have ever had. Between Bottega and Bouchon, less than a block apart from each other in Yountville, are the two best chicken dishes I've ever had. There was not one bite of the chicken that was dry or overcooked. Perfectly juicy and flavorful chicken with a side great cipolini onions. We also ordered a side of truffle fries, awesome but very heavy in truffle flavor which made them difficult to finish.  

Chocolate Soufflé with cream anglaise  

This dessert peaked our interests when the table next to us received theirs, so we decided to go with the same. It was delightful, and surprisingly not overly sweet.

Our meal was great and we're eager to return for another round of Chiarello's food.  The prices are reasonable, the ambiance is not stuffy and the food was excellent.


Rating 8/10

May 3, 2009