Remember back in June when I convinced Kim to play hooky with me and we splurged on lunch at Mario Batali’s restaurant, Del Posto? I was impressed but not totally convinced that the food was worth the extravagant price. I’m even more convinced now that I’ve been to Donato Enoteca in California.
It hit me by surprise. The thing about a lot of these press trips is they stuff you silly. Every meal is terrific, and by the time we got to Donato’s it was the third day of our tour and I was nearly full up on rich fancy food. I resolved to have a light lunch, but this completely fell apart as soon as we sat down and our waiter told us he was actually from Piemonte.
Donato Scotti, the owner and head chef, is himself from Bergamo. He grew up on fresh local food, which he now provides in true Italian style here in Redwood City, California. The restaurant is a cross between modern and rustic, with a concentration on authentic Italian flavors using local California ingredients. Also, unlike Mario Batali, Donato will actually come out and talk to you while you eat.
But on to the food:
(BTW I went into some sort of food trance and forgot to photograph about half the meal, so some of these photos are from the great Erica Kuschel).
Not only was Donato’s incredible, it was also a heck of a lot cheaper than Del Posto, without many of the silly frills that made me so uncomfortable there. No pretentious waiters, live piano music or weird surcharges, just lots of good food. Which is really what the focus should be on right?
I visited Donato Enoteca as a guest of the San Mateo County and Silicon Valley tourism board. All pictures and opinions are my own.
