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- By Bill Citara
- Independent Journal Correspondent
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- IT WAS SAID - I think by Barbara Hutton, who presumably should have
known - that "you can never be too rich or too thin." In the
Bay Area, we could amend that by adding: "or have too many good Italian
restaurants."
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- They keep opening, and we keep flocking to them, from plush and pricey
emporiums of haute Italian cuisine to old-fashioned, family style, mom
'n' pop joints to the now-ubiquitous contemporary Cal-Ital trattoria.
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- It's gotten to the point where we could substitute "pasta"
for "apple pie" in the classic phrase, "as American as apple
pie," since I'll bet the average resident of the Bay Area has consumed
at least twice as much pasta as apple pie over the past 12 months. For
that matter, we could probably substitute pizza or calamari fritti or tiramisu
as well.
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- "As American as cappellini pomodoro?" You gotta admit, it
has a certain ring to it.
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- Not that I'm complaining, mind you. The thought of having to go farther
than the next block to feast on homemade ravioli: with creamy walnut sauce
or a perfect rosemary-garlic roasted chicken makes my blood, er ... olive
oil run cold.
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- So I'm happy to announce that David Haydon, former partner in one of
Marin's better Italian eateries, Ristorante Italia in San Rafael, has opened
his own place just a few fettucine lengths' away.
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- It's called Il Davide, and it's a bright and cheery place with a bright
and cheery staff and some very good food. The restaurant itself is located
in one of those starkly modern buildings that can have all the warmth of
a foggy summer evening in San Francisco. But thankfully, Haydon himself
went to work and enlisted the help of graphic artist Heather King to turn
the sterile, geometric space into an inviting and comfortable restaurant.
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- While Haydon faux-finished the walls a warm, earthy variation on burnt
orange, King, on her first mural assignment, did a gorgeous, colorful mural
of the Italian countryside that takes up an entire wall, as well as a "head
shot" of Michelangelo's David above the bar, a humorous and rather
engaging touch.
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- The dining room is divided into two levels, joined by a long, sloping
wheelchair ramp. The upper level is home to the bar and a small dining
area; the lower level is the tree. Cayenne aioli makes a nice, tongue-
accompaniment.
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- Lighter and probably more appropriate hot weather starters are a pair
of salads, both of which are excellent. Insalata Davide ($4.50) boasts
an abundance of blemish-free mixed greens tossed with a fine balsamic vinaigrette
and garnished with toasted pecans, golden raisins and feta cheese. The
restaurant's Caesar salad ($4.50) is one of the better and more assertive
versions around; you can really taste the garlic, lemon and anchovy in
the dressing, which coats in proper proportion lots of crisp romaine lettuce
and big, crunchy croutons.
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- If you're in the mood for soup, one evening's special - a thin flavorful,
creamless wild mushroom ($4) - was as tasty as it was easy on the waistline.
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- If you're in the mood for pasta, I'd recommend fettucine frutti di
mare, at $10.95 a fine value a substantial serving of al dente pasta tossed
with a fresh-tasting, herb-y marinara sauce and crowned by a bountiful
array of seafood: prawns, clams, salmon and swordfish. The day's risotto
($11.95), a robust and hearty blend of wild mushrooms, bits of roasted
duck and duck cracklings, packed a powerful and savory flavor punch, though
it lacked the rich creaminess that comes from extracting every bit of starch
from the stubby grains of arborio rice.
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- Wild mushrooms - portobellos, chanterelles and porcini - also went
into a delicate, cream-enhanced sauce that napped plump, house-made gnocchi
($8.95), a delightful combination had not the gnocchi been excessively
gummy.
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- On the other hand, the pollo al mattone ($10.95) was stellar. The half
a chicken marinated in rosemary, garlic, olive oil and lemon and was grilled
under a hot brick, a classic Italian cooking technique that few local restaurants
do nearly as well as Il Davide. It's tough to beat this dish in the value
department, since half a meaty, juicy bird comes with two wedges of almost
souffle-light polenta dabbed with marinara and a wealth of crisply sauteed
vegetables.
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- There's no letdown when it comes to dessert either. Haydon makes his
own version of another Italian classic, tiramisu ($5.25), and it's among
the finest in the North Bay. Ladyfingers are briefly macerated in light
and dark rum, Kahlua and espresso, then layered with whipped mascarpone
and dusted heavily with chocolate. Merely divine.
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- Also worth mentioning is Il Davide's thoughtfully chosen and reasonably
priced wine list, which offers a good selection of wines by the glass and
of California and Italian bottlings. For a light and refreshing but not
wimpy summertime red, try the new ZD Pinot Noir ($22), which hints at that
varietal's vaunted complexity while being very easy to drink.
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- Unfortunately, most of us will likely go through life without experiencing
the problems of being too rich or too thin. But at least we can take advantage
of the fact that we will always have plenty of good Italian restaurants,
and a meal at Il Davide is an excellent place to start.
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