Cafe Citti - Italian, Kenwood

Best: Lasagna

9049 Sonoma Highway
Sonoma CA 95452
(707) 833-2690
Open daily: Lunch 11am to 3:30pm, Dinner: 5pm to 9pm
Parking: in front and adjacent lot
http://www.cafecitti.com/

Last Visited: February 8, 2009

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Café Citti has become an institution in Kenwood for tourists and locals. Always open when you want a good pasta or rotisserie chicken, it’s a great place to enjoy some great food in beautiful wine country.

Located on Highway 12, you’ll find Café Citti in the heart of Kenwood. When you walk in, you might find that you’re not greeted right away, but what you need to know is you walk in, look at the menu above the counter located in the rear, and order. Selections include an array of salads, pastas, soups, salads, and specials, including dessert. The glass case features some of the salads with marinated olives and the like. Of course, their chicken is an extremely popular item on any night.

Before 2008, it had been more than five years since I had visited Café Citti. Back then, they served some breadsticks while you wait. I don’t know where the breadsticks have gone.
Nowadays, you order at the front counter, and if a table isn’t available, you sit in the chairs by the fireside until one becomes available. Upon being seated, you are brought water and drinks. The waitress will bring bread; sometimes the bread is warm, and other times, it’s not. Then you order is brought to the table. The check comes after dinner.

Tables are covered with white tablecloths and white paper. A tealight candle sits in the middle of
the table and the salt, pepper, and parmesan bottles are also familiar items. Your fork and knife sit on a paper napkin awaiting you. The fireplace is typically going during the water and the atmosphere is cozy.

- Garlicky Caesar Salad – The romaine lettuce leaves were fresh and the dressing is super garlicky. If you enjoy garlic, this is an excellent salad for you. Even the salad for one is rather large and for petite eaters, two people could probably enjoy the salad for one. Excellent. In fact, this probably ranks in the top for the Caesar’s I’ve had. Upon having this the third time, I noticed a couple of pieces of lettuce rusting, but consistently garlicky and good otherwise. $6.50 for one, $12.50 for two

- Marinated Calamari Salad – A large quantity of calamari, both rings and tentacles, is poached until tender and mixed with celery, herbs, peppers, and other vegetables. The bowl is filled to the brim and tastes flavorful and delicious. I was pleasantly surprised by the combination of flavors and textures. Very nicely done. $4.50

- Marinated Green Olive Salad – Even the small salad has a lot of olives and is enough for two to share. Very good. Small $4.50, Large Available

- Smoked Salmon Antipasto – Three slices of smoked salmon are drizzled with a lemon saffron aioli and topped with deep fried onion rings. Fresh chopped parsley is sprinkled on top to accent the dish. The onion rings are cut very thin and lightly breaded – light and crispy. The salmon is fresh and the aioli adds smoothness to each bite. Good. $9.95

- Lasagne – Layers of lasagna noodles are filled with Bolognese and béchamel sauce and topped with Parmigiano Reggiano. The noodles are so tender and delicious and thoroughly flavored with the two sauces. The Bolognese with its tomato, beef, and pork sausage mix is rich and scrumptious. This is one of my favorite dishes here. Four and a half stars. The only thing that could make it better is to have the top cheese crust be slightly less browned. Lovely. $13.50

- Gnocchi – A generous amount of gnocchi is served in your choice of sauce. The potato dumplings have a great consistency and are absolutely delicious in the Bolognese sauce. Very good. $12.50

- Pizza Al Fungi – The pizza is standard with a red sauce and about three types of mushrooms. Despite the freshness of the pizza dough and sauce, I was disappointed that the mushrooms were fairly standard and paired with cheese that didn’t emphasize the mushroom flavor. I found the pizza to be just okay and wouldn’t likely order it again. $16.50

- Arrosto di Aguello all’Agilo - Leg of Lamb Special – The leg of lamb was cooked just right and only makes you want more. The lamb is tender and every bite has wonderful flavor. It’s been a while since I had it, so I don’t remember the exact flavoring, but it was good enough that I would order it again. Garlic mashed potatoes and a seasonal vegetable are served with the lamb. Very good. $17.75

- Petrale Sole – Two lightly breaded fillets of petrale sole are cooked in a lemon, olive oil, white wine, and caper sauce. These are served with carrots and garlic mashed potatoes. The sole is almost boneless (I found one bone), and cooked just right. The sauce is great for caper lovers and the amount of lemon is just right so the sauce is not too heavy and almost velvety in consistency – just coating the sole. The carrots are a little underdone, but the mashed potatoes are great for garlic lovers. Four star fish. $16.50

- Raspberry Lemonade – Refreshing and delicious. $2.25

Service was good during my last three visits, though not perfect. The staff is professional, but on occasion, you’ll see that attention to detail could be improved. Overall, the restaurant is unpretentious and the food is very good. This is a terrific stop when you’re visiting wine country.

Caffe Giostra - Italian, Petaluma

Best: Lasagna

1390 N McDowell Blvd. #L
Petaluma CA 94954
(707) 664-9441
Parking: in shopping center

Last Visited: September 18, 2010

Food: 4 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Caffe Giostra is located in the same shopping center as the OSH Hardware store. It’s a small place, but the food is excellent. In particular, I enjoy their lasagna of the day. You can’t go wrong, especially if it’s one that has meat in it.

The restaurant is small. Upon entering, to your right is a raised seating area. Further back are additional tables, and on the left is the open kitchen. Reservations are recommended since there is limited seating.

I was coming here a lot around 2003, and recently decided to make a trip back to see if Caffe Giostra was as good as I remember it. For things I had recently, you'll see a detailed account, otherwise, for the other items, I’ll write generally. In 2003, I found them to have four star food, and service and atmosphere were both between three and four stars. Since then though, I've had to downgrade their service. Repeated trips and my most recent visit revealed things I didn't like seeing. Too bad - I always am on the lookout for places with the best combination of food and service.

White tablecloths cover red and white checkered table coverings. Each table also has one of those olive oil/vinegar glass containers shaped like a cylinder where there is another container shaped like grapes within. I don't want to think too much about how these things are cleaned, but aesthically, the balsamic in the grape cylinder and the olive oil outside with small corks to top off the spout for both is a cute addition to the table setting.

Upon our arrival, we were brought a nice basket of both loaf bread and focaccia (soft and with olive oil drizzled on it) along with a small ramekin filled with marinated olives.

- Carpaccio di Manzo - Thin slices of raw beef are topped with a drizzle of mustard, drizzle of olive oil, capers, shavings of parmesan, and served with a wedge of lemon. I really wanted to like this, but it lacked flavor. If it weren't for the toppings, I probably wouldn't have eaten it at all. While the beef is tender, it tastes like it's been frozen or refrigerated too long. The meat flavor is missing and it tasted a bit watered down (like when you have ham pumped with too much saltwater). I wouldn't get this again. Ever. $9.50

- Pasta dishes – Pasta is freshly made and sure to please. I have tried a number of dishes and am always impressed by the sauce and the quality of pasta. If you’re looking for lighter fare, you may consider splitting dishes (I split a seafood pasta) which is allowed for an additional charge.

- Lasagna of the day – Upon entering the restaurant, you’ll see a specials board. Each day is a new lasagna. I have separated the lasagna from the pasta dishes because their lasagna is exquisite. Knowing that it’s so good, I always have a difficult time deciding whether to get the lasagna, or take the chance to try another item. The lasagna is hand rolled, making the layers so thin that the sauce is wonderfully absorbed in each layer. Excellent. Today's special (September 2010 visit) was Chicken Lasagna. While the sauce is still just a touch sweet (oh so good), the chicken reminded me a bit of eating an enchilada, so it wasn't as authentic as I hoped. It wasn't my favorite, but certainly not bad. The noodles are just as tender as I remember them to be though. $13.95

- Profiteroles – These pastry puffs were filled with vanilla ice cream decorated with chocolate sauce. The presentation is great, but I didn’t find the profiteroles outstanding, though they were good.

- Osso Bucco - Osso bucco, in Italian, means bone with a hole (which refers to the marrow inside). Traditionally, it's made with veal. I was therefore expecting this dish to be made with veal, but instead, found out that it was pork after ordering (why the server didn't clarify with us that it was pork, I don't understand). Served on a bed of polenta, this large piece of meat was juicy initially, but began to dry out as the evening wore on. The polenta was standard as well. Okay. $18.75

Service at Caffe Giostra varies depending on the server and the time you arrive at the restaurant. During peak hours, though the staff does a good job of checking on you, I did feel neglected several times. My most recent visit though was pretty pathetic in terms of service so I had to downgrade their rating. It started from the moment I was brought to a table - first we were brought to the rear, and then moved back to the center (not a big deal). Then, as we were waiting for the server to come and take our order, the manager came over to say our server was on her way. He then proceeded to take our order and then when the server came, he interrupted us abruptly and the server's tone then became a bit rude as she asked us 'are you going to drink anything?' I was a bit surprised that a seemingly seasoned server would ask this in a somewhat irritated tone and use that wording in this environment. Things didn't get a whole lot better after that. However, Caffe Giostra still makes a great lasagna which is certainly worth a try (maybe takeout is the way to go though).