Bottega Americano is Fantastico

I had anxiously been awaiting the opening of Bottega Americano, a new restaurant and mini Italian market in East Village, and the wait was well worth it.  It was around June that I first heard the restaurant was under construction, and the concept sounded so good, I could hardly wait.  Many say it's a little like Eataly, Mario Battali's creation in Manhattan, but on a smaller scale.  Having not been to Eataly I can't really say, but I don't think so.  Bottega Americano is a restaurant, with a few Italian food products and some gift items for sale, plus a great take home menu, including many items from the restaurant menu.  The owners hope that the community will find this a place to stop often to either pick up dinner or eat in.  Also, the Thomas Jefferson Law School is next door, and they hope to get many students to stop in for lunch or coffee.  They have great coffee and pastries.  Then there will be people like me, that will make the journey down from North County every so often for a real treat.

First, I must tell you about the design.  It is 8,000 feet of beautiful.  Everywhere you look something catches your eye.  The supporting pillars on the interior are made from logs, like something you might find in a log cabin.  The pipes are all exposed, the floor is bare, the copper and steel tables are sleek and gorgeous, the lighting is interesting, and there are photos over many walls.  There are huge family style tables for large groups or singles, and there are menus posted to entice you to try the salumeria and cheese choices, or pasta choices.  It's a bit noisy, and I can imagine at night when the restaurant is full it is REALLY loud, but it was fine for lunch.

I was there with Charlene, Regina and Debbie, three friends that enjoy food as much as I do.  The "oohs and ahs" were heard after each new food was tried.  We decided to order a variety of foods, and share them all.  This way we'd get a taste of everything.  We were greeted by our friendly, informative waiter, who we felt took special care of us.  We were presented with a platter of breads with a marinara type dipping sauce to start.  Olive bread and pizza bread, and the sauce were quickly gone.  There were so many delicious sounding items on the menu that we couldn't make up our minds, but here's what we ended up with.  To start, we had a homemade ricotta, infused with lemon, drizzled with honey and honeycomb.  This was served with chunks of Italian bread.  I could have made a meal of that.  Then we had a salad made from butter lettuce, pork cheeks (cut up), bread crumbs, tomatoes, and a hard boiled egg cooked on the soft side.  This was served with a buttermilk dressing, and again, I could have eaten the whole thing.  Next, a mushroom pizza, thin crust, crispy and so flavorful.  Delicious.  Then we ordered a plate of mussels, perfectly cooked in a pink sauce (we took the remains of the sauce home, it was that good), with chorizo and chopped tomatoes, and served with pieces of crusty bread that had been charred on the grill, for dipping.  Wow, what a dish.  Although we were stuffed, we had to order the chocolate budino for dessert.  It was a combo of chocolate and caramel, a little whipped cream and some delicious crunch stuff (maybe nuts) on top, completed the budino.  What a great ending to a fantastic meal.

Although it's quite a drive from Carlsbad, maybe 40 minutes, I've driven more for a great meal, and I will do it again.  I cannot wait to go back to Bottega Americano again, maybe this time for dinner.