141 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma, CA 94952
(707) 763-0161
Parking: street parking Hours: Tuesdays through Thursdays and Saturdays 7am to 3pm, Fridays 7am to 9pm, Sundays 9am to 3pm, Closed Mondays
http://www.dellafattoria.com/
Last Visited: May 12, 2007
Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 1 star
Price: $$ to $$$
Della Fattoria’s new bakery had been mentioned in the local newspaper several times, so I thought Mother’s Day would be the perfect day to take mom to try some sandwiches made with wonderful bread and possibly enjoy a few scrumptious pastries.
Just outside Della Fattoria, there are a few tables by the window so you can enjoy the nice weather and watch the people going by.
Upon entering the building, a glass case is on the right featuring lots of delightful treats. Just above the counter are the menus, and apparently, you can order there and pay or you can order and then pay later. The procedure is unclear since the person in front of me had the latter experience while I had the former. This lack of process and procedure seemed to be an underlying theme of our visit. After ordering, you seat yourself. I don’t know why, but some tables received bread, while ours did not. I thought perhaps they had ordered it, but it didn’t appear that way since the table next to me had not ordered any bread. I was disappointed by this first lack of an equal experience. We sat at the table closest to the glass case. Unfortunately, one of the members of the waitstaff continually bumped into her chair without apology.
I was expecting a treat – if not for service, at least for the food. Unfortunately, my Della Fattoria left me disappointed, not so much with the food, but with the entire experience.
- Provencal Picnic Plate – The provencal plate is comprised of marinated Skyhill fresh chevre, Fra’Mani Nostrano salame, Barnier olives, and a large field greens salad and baguette. Perhaps this was not the best choice to try the bread, but I thought from the description that I would get at least half a baguette or thereabouts. However, it turned out that there were only three slices of baguette. Although the plate was full of tender leafy greens that were fresh and delicious, I found the quantity of bread a bit disappointing. The olives were wonderful – especially the green olives which had a delicious texture about them – with slight crunch. The cured black olives were okay. However, more bread could have made this plate fabulous. The quality of ingredients was nice, but just not enough bread. $13.50
- Fattoria Sandwich: Spring Lamb – This sandwich was listed on the blackboard outside, so it seemed to be the best choice for the day. Grilled Sonoma Direct leg of lamb is braised with Dijonnaise, shredded, and served with a mix of grilled baby artichokes, sweet peppers, onions, and fennel. The contents are served on toasted Meyer lemon-rosemary bread. A small green salad made of mixed greens is dressed with a citronette. The bread is cut thick and the contents are chopped small. The bread was toasted very lightly, and I prefer my bread to be toasted more if it is toasted. The sandwich halves were difficult to pick up without all of the contents dropping through, especially as one is taking a bite. Although the flavor was nice, and the salad greens were extremely tender, I found the whole dish to be just okay. $14.50
- Almond Financier – This sweet cornmeal cake is shaped into a small rectangle and has an almond slice or two placed in the center. It’s baked in its own mold, and dusted with powdered sugar. It’s a scrumptious dessert or snack – both light and not too sweet. I only wished it were bigger. $3
Primarily, my disappointment stemmed from service. We noticed that the owner/manager or whoever she may be continually talked to the tables around us, particularly the one adjacent to us. They did not seem to have met before, and she was quite pleasant towards them. However, although she appeared to exchange a pleasantry or two with our table, it seemed to be less sincere, or perhaps just less detailed than that of the table next to ours. Somehow, the treatment of our table did not equal that of those around us, and for that, I felt discomfort. Likely, I would not return to Della Fattoria for the food. For the cost of the food in this type of atmosphere, well, you pay elegant prices for an experience that to me, wasn’t worthy of the cost. At most, I would drop in for bread.
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