Dinner

La Botte Ristorante Santa Monica

Maybe Michelin is relevant in Los Angeles. Maybe. Truth be told, we probably wouldn’t have tried La Botte in Santa Monica if it hadn’t received a Michelin star. It’s not that we trust Michelin, it’s more that we were a bit surprised that La Botte made the list so we decided to go taste for ourselves. Our verdict? Devastatingly divine.

This was also mile one of the pre-infant dining marathon.

How tough is it for a restaurant to open the door and greet its customers? How much more welcome to I feel when a host/hostess actually greets me before I have to chase them down? I’ll answer that: it’s not tough, and I very much appreciate feeling welcome — particularly at a place where I am about to spend the next couple of hours eating in.

Our La Botte batism starts with doors opened wide for us and a cheerful “Buna Sera” which could have come off like a line from an Olive Garden commercial, but in this case is genuine.

The owner offers us a larger table so that we would have some extra room to accommodate my wife’s baby bump. The two of us sit down at a four top and almost immediately, a busser brings bread. Our Sicilian waiter, Antonio, pops in to greet us and give us the specials. One sounds particularly enticing - home made papparrdel with rabbit ragout.

I browse the wine list, and settle on a half bottle of 2004 Terrabianca Campaccio ($30). The wine comes out quickly, and we are still doing some heavy debate on the menu so our server gives us a few more minutes. The Campaccio is a
70/30 Sangiovese/Cabernet blend and is a very smooth and enjoyable Tuscan. The wine is a friendly companion throughout the meal. (yes, I can make it through a whole meal on just a half bottle of wine, I’m no chugger).

As we are reviewing the menu options, we decide on a game plan. Two appetizers, share two pastas and split a meat dish. We also want to save room for dessert.

Antonio returns, all smiles and full of Italian gusto. As we rattle off each order, he has one compliment after another. “Perfecto”, “It’s amazing, I just had a bite in the kitchen”, “That is my favorite salad”… This could come off as terribly insincere, but we are caught up in his enthusiasm.

Before too long, our appetizers come out. I have a large plate of Prosciutto D’Anatra ($17), which is a house cured duck breast, sliced very thin and drizzled with a Gorgonzola dressing, then highlighted with a top shelf olive oil. It’s no secret that I love duck and that given the choice, I order duck about 75% of the time when it’s offered. This is an entirely new duck presentation for me and it comes off perfectly. I feel a bit ignorant as I take bites of the prosciutto by itself and atop bread. Which is the proper method? Antonio tells me that as an Italian, he eats everything with bread. I like it both ways. By itself, I can really appreciate the duck and the olive oil, the flavor of the meat is much milder and not as salty as prosciutto of the pork variety.

My wife starts with the Insalata Di Crescione ($16), a watercress salad with avocado, hearts of palm, roasted pine nuts, shaved parmesan in a balsamic dressing. She had hesitated going for the salad, but watercress is one of her favorite greens and the salad comes out as a terrific starter for the meal. If the duck was treasured for the time and preparation that went into it, the salad was notable for it’s simplicity and the freshness of its ingredients.

With our first course cleared by efficient and friendly bus staff, we chat for a bit before our pasta course arrives. Good thing, because when the two plates do arrive, it’s difficult to concentrate on anything except the food.

We are sharing the two dishes, it starts with the Pappardel Ragu’ Di Conigl ($22) in front of me and the Cassunziei All’ Ampezzana ($18) in front of my wife.

The Pappardel is the pasta specialfor the night. Wide, home made flat noodles topped with a rabbit ragout. The rabbit is lean, but flavorful, the pasta itself seasoned with some herbs in the dough. If I was in a less gluttonist mood, I might have been satisfied with just this dish for dinner.

The Cassunziei All’ Ampezzana may have been the superstar of the evening. Traditional Cortinese red beet stuffed pasta with brown butter, Parmesan cheese and poppy seeds, it’s something that I have not seen on a menu before. If you’re going to order just one dish at La Botte, make it this one. Another example of a few choice ingredients coming together to form a perfect harmony. The sweetness of the beets, the tang of the Parmesan cheese, the decadence of the brown butter and the subtle pop of the mini poppy seeds is magic.

At this point, we look at each other. Is that enough? Should we throw in the towel and go home? It couldn’t get a whole lot better.

Then the Agnello Alla Senape ($38) touches down. The Roasted Colorado lamb chops with corn pudding, black Tuscan kale and rosemary in cherry sauce has been split in the kitchen. The casual observer, however, would probably think that we each had a full order of the dish.

Again, top notch ingredients arranged with creative simplicity. The smells and sight were our first treat. I literally sit with my nose hovering above the plate, just taking in the bouquet of the fragrant lamb and cherry sauce. That doesn’t last too long, however. I dive into the rare-medium/rare lamb chop. Lightly crispy on the outside, succulent and juicy on the inside. Plump cherries dancing on top (and in my mouth), the perfect combo. The meat is fatty in parts, in a good way, the flavor spilling into the meat.

The kale and corn pudding are excellent accompaniments. The corn pudding is something like a smooth polenta with pieces of whole corn mixed in. It is a great treat, on the sweet edge of savory.

And so again, we sit satisfied, but still curious about dessert. My wife is hoping for a pannacotta, I am hoping for some Italian coffee or espresso.

Antonio comes back. By this time he is incredibly busy, literally running around the restaurant. Not so much in frantic way, because as he moves, he is directing bussers and expediters, observing what his customers need. He launches into a description of the desserts, peppered with his commentaries (”It’s very sweet… like me”). There is no panacotta, per se, but there is a vanilla creme topped with caramel and fresh berries.

I get my espresso (hellloooo bitter) and we chat for a bit while waiting for dessert. The restaurant is packed by this time, completely full. It’s noisy, but not too loud, more lively than anything. We watch the owner wheel over a wine barrel to serve one of the fish dishes. It’s a table service where he shows the fish, removes the bones delicately and precisely, then replates and serves. It’s a bit ceremonious, but is a nice touch, I think.

The Crema Di Vaniglia ($8) arrives. A deep ramekin of vanilla creme, topped with a hefty layer of home made caramel. Fresh blueberries and a raspberry are embedded in the top of the caramel. I’m not a huge fan of pots of creme, but the caramel makes this dessert for me.

The well paced meal allows us to have room enough to finish the dessert. There wasn’t a plate in our meal that didn’t leave completely cleaned. We are both more than satisfied, probably unable to eat another bite, but not feeling stuffed or like we overate.

Dining at La Botte does not come cheap, but at no time do we feel overcharged. It’s a great feeling to eat fresh, high end ingredients prepared with great care and attention to flavor. We leave the restaurant with smiles on our faces, through the door which has been opened by the owner. I shake his hand and thank him for a wonderful evening. Buna Sera indeed.

La Botte Ristorante
620 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Ph: 310 576 3072

By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.

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