Fresh
Lake Victoria perch filets, sauteed and marinated with vegetables; served
over mache $6.95 Soft polenta, gorgonzola and sauteed chanterelle
mushrooms $7.95 Butternut
squash and potato soup with taleggio sfilatino crouton $4.95 
Fresh pasta filled with pork and beef; brown butter, parmesan,
sage and pancetta sauce $12.95
Fresh buckwheat pasta with potatoes, savoy cabbage, swiss
chard, fontina and parmesan cheeses $11.50
Baked crepes filled with roast duck, chicken and bechamel;
parmesan cream sauce with mostarda di Cremona $12.50
Risotto with fresh crawfish, butternut squash and watercress
$14.95 
Milanese Braised veal shank served with a saffron risotto
cake $20.95
Coho salmon sauteed with Franciacorta sparkling wine and
red grapes; mache and roasted fingerling potatoes $18.95
Grass-fed New York strip steak with porcini mushrooms; served
with soft polenta and baby zucchini $19.95 
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Bellavista Franciacorta Brut, NV
$9.75 glass $47 bottle |
Castello di
Luzzano This dry, full-bodied red wine is produced from croatina grapes cultivated on the slanted slopes of vineyards in two different areas in Lombardia, Oltrepo Pavese and Colli Piacentini. Castello di Luzzano’s Bonarda is full of intense violet and ripe berry aromas and flavors. Its excellent balance and depth of flavors make it a good choice to match with Casonzei alla Bergamasca or Controfiletto ai Porcini. $4 half glass $8.75 glass |
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 Donato Scotti Chef-Partner |
Donato Scotti grew up in Villa d’Almè
in Lombardia. His culinary career began early; by the time he was twelve
years old he was employed summers in a bakery in his hometown, delivering
bread on his bicycle. At the age of fourteen his love of food brought
him to the kitchens of the local restaurants. By the time he came to Los
Angeles he was a veteran of restaurants in Bergamo and New York City.
He joined Il Fornaio in 1997 as a sous chef in Sacramento. Now he runs
his own kitchen at Il Fornaio in Palo Alto. |
| The cooking of Lombardia is primarily the cooking of Milan, the region’s capital. Milan is industrious, and has always prospered throughout its history, so Milanese cooking tends to be robust and substantial. It also happens to be one of the most elegant styles of cooking you will find in all of Italy. Cream and butter are used to finish off dishes, truffles are readily available, soft creamy cheeses are used instead of drier grating cheeses and there seems to be a de-emphasis on tomatoes. While Milan has such a cosmopolitan atmosphere, it still has the strong
influences of an agricultural region. The Po River Valley runs right through
Milan; both corn and arborio rice are grown here. In addition, you have
the proximity of the Swiss Alps, which supplies excellent beef and game.
These are just some of the ingredients that make up the classic dishes
of Lombardia. |
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It is the preferred rice for the compact style of risotto popular in Lombardia,
Piemonte and Emilia-Romagna. Polenta, made from cornmeal, is another staple
of the Lombardian kitchen. It has practically reached a cult sstatus on
Northern Italy, with festivals honoring it in many regions. Finish your meal with Sformatino di Panettone, (panettone bread custard). Milan is the home to panettone, the festive Italian holiday egg bread. Legend says its shape was created to honor the towers of Milan’s great Duomo. A ritual surrounds this traditional bread: each family member takes a taste from each of the first three slices to ensure luck for the future. Buone feste e buona fortuna! |
| cheeses, the most famous being gorgonzola, a creamy blue cheese made from cow’s milk. Polenta Taragna con Funghi (soft polenta with gorgonzola and chanterelle mushrooms) features this flavorful cheese. The rice in Risotto ai Gamberi di Fiume (with crawfish and butternut squash) is arborio rice, and grows abundantly in the Po River Valley. |
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Coming January 6-19
The food and wine of Trentino-Alto Adige
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