Davanti Enoteca Del Mar

Our anniversary was way back in February, and Davanti Enoteca in Del Mar had just recently opened.  I looked at their menu on line and determined  we should try it for our anniversary dinner.  Unfortunately, they do not take reservations, we couldn't get it and so we ended up at their sister restaurant next door, Mia Francesca.  We said we'd try Davanti Enoteca another time.  Well, two or three times we tried and failed to get a table without a long wait.  We don't like to wait. 

It was Vivians's birthday recently, and Paula and I met her the Del Mar Highlands shopping center.  We decided to try Davanti for her birthday lunch, and I can tell you that lunch is the meal to try.  No wait, great hostess, waitstaff and food.  I am sorry I wasn't more persistant earlier when we couldn't get a table, as I missed some great meals.  This is a restaurant I will go back to again and again.  Everything is creative and delicious.

It's a rather small restaurant, serving predominently small plates, although they do have pasta dishes, chicken dishes and some fish entrees.  The star of their menu is the appetizers.  We decided on 2 salads, and a foccaccia that I liked so much I asked for the recipe.  We had a roasted corn salad with walnuts, goat cheese, arugula and wild mushrooms.  It was out of this world.  We also had a grilled romaine salad, with fresh anchovies, burrata cheese and tomato.  Excellent.  Other salads include escarole, gala apple, pecorino dolce, celery and hazelnuts.  They serve shaved brussel sprouts with pecorino parmesean vinaigrette.  The foccaccia we ordered is Ligurian style.  Here's what it is:  a thin layer of foccaccia dough filled with spoons of soft cow cheese (riccotta), then another layer of dough is added, and it's cooked.  The dough comes out soft and flaky, like phyllo dough, and they cut it in squares.  The whole thing is topped with a nice piece of honeycomb, for a little sweetness.  Oh, was this good.  I can't wait to go back and order it again.

Other popular appetizers are the saumi and cheese options.  You can mix and match various salumis and cheeses, add a nice glass of wine and bread, and who needs dinner?  Also included on their appetizer list are asparagus  with black pepper marscapone and pickled rubarb, truffle egg toast with fontina and asparagus, heirloom tomatoes with watermelon and avaocado+ vinaigrette, and white anchovies with celery, pecorino sardo and olives.  Did I say unusual?  Yes, all this and much more.  Those that love to try innovative combinations will realize that one visit to this establishment is not enough. 

I'm just looking at their menu as I write this and realize they also have Saturday and Sunday brunch from 10am-2pm.  Now that sounds interesting.  Our lunch for Vivian's birthday was wonderful, and I can't wait to go back again for an early dinner or a late lunch.  Anything to avoid waiting.  We don't do that, but we do like good food, and this has some of the best I've had in North County in a long time.