A few months ago I was in downtown Napa and looked in at the space that was soon to house Oenotri. It looked as if it was going to be another modern, middle-of-the-road Italian restaurant in a new office and retail development. Certainly nothing to get excited about.
First impressions can be deceiving. Soon after it opened, one of my trusted Wine Country contacts e-mailed to say she had eaten there several times and loved it. I rearranged my dining schedule to head to Napa immediately. I'm glad I did.
A compelling argument can be made that the Bay Area is overloaded with Italian restaurants, but a place like Oenotri, which offers a new take on a familiar subject, shows there's always room for one more.
Chef-owners Curtis Di Fede and Tyler Rodde both grew up in Napa but met while working at Oliveto, which is probably why salumi is at the center of the menu, along with rustic preparations such as lamb tongue ($12.50), wild nettle linguine with poached white shrimp ($15.50) and duck egg carbonara ($14.50).
A duck egg is also fried in a main course with crispy cockscombs ($22), another dish rarely found in these parts. The menu changes nightly, so within a few weeks it's likely that everything will be different.
I'm hoping the tongue makes a reappearance. Poached in whey, the tender slices share the plate with purple artichokes and a few leaves of mache. The citrus in the vinaigrette and the natural flavor of the artichokes clean up the earthy character of the meat, making this cut palatable even for the squeamish.
Spring vegetables star
On that night, the chefs also shaved purple asparagus ($12.50), which has a vaguely garlic-like flavor, into thin, crunchy strips and tossed them with pecorino cheese, loads of black pepper and citrus vinaigrette. On another night the salad might include a spring medley ($13) with dices of fennel, cauliflower lightly charred from the wood oven, chopped egg and a balanced vinaigrette that fuses the various components. Generally there are three salads on the menu, along with a crudo, which might include gossamer slices of local halibut ($13.50) topped with tiny coins of radish, mint, lemon verbena and delicate, spicy turnip greens.
Five pastas are equally well executed. Pici ($15), thick, doughy noodles, have a bit of elasticity and enough substance to stand up to a fine dice of pigeon livers balanced with fresh sage and sweet bursts of peas. Wild nettles find a home in many pasta dishes, too; one night the distinctive greens were paired with Gorgonzola dolce latte and lonza, a cured pork loin ($15); another night they were mixed with sunchokes roasted in embers and flavored with bottarga, cured fish roe ($15.50).
Even more familiar classics are gently and successfully updated. Carbonara ($14.50) brings fat bucatini in a sauce made with duck egg, pancetta, black pepper and pecorino.
On most nights there are three or four main courses. Leg of lamb ($25) is so pink and moist it tastes as if it were injected with natural juices; paired with cipollini onions and peas, it's a perfect dish for spring. On another night, the leg ($24) was served with large white beans, picholine olives and fresh mint.
The squab is special
The kitchen produced probably the best squab dish ($26) I've had. It comes with the feet still attached; the pink breast has a firm but tender texture, accented with natural juices and wood-oven roasted cherries that add smokiness and a hint of sweetness.
Black cod ($26) also gets accompaniments roasted in the wood oven - this time, spring onions completed with fava leaves and Meyer lemon brown butter. Many people avoid mackerel ($25) because of its powerful flavor, but if they tasted Oenotri's version they might change their minds. It is bold, but without a hint of fishiness, and is freshened with green garlic, manila clams and french fries scattered on top.
The savory courses are so good I almost forgot to mention the pizza, which is among the best in the Bay Area. The crust has that hint of wood-oven smokiness with a bread-like consistency beneath a thin, crisp layer. Like the main courses, the toppings change nightly, but you can always count on the margherita ($12), which shows everything off to advantage. Other toppings might include house-made pepperoni with red onions and wild arugula tossed on as the pizza heads to the table ($14); pea and squash with robiola tre latti cheese and mint ($16.50), and Cavalo Nero pesto with olives and Pecorino ($14).
Then there's the dry-cured salumi (six for $15), with a daily selection such as nostrano with clove, garlic and mace; Sardegna with saffron ginger and grappa; and bresoala. The house-made selections are really good, but with so many other great things from which to choose, it was hard to find room for them.
