I always have a favorite in my restaurant experiences when I take these trips. Davanti Enoteca would have to be mine. It’s just the way they do everything here, it’s all very special, and each dish is just remarkable.
They tell you that this is not your typical Italian restaurant; most of them serve huge piles of pasta on one dish. Here they serve little dishes of all of their food, which I found more then satisfying.
Beverages:
Gimlet Fresca with cucumber vodka, limejuice, simple syrup. A great beginning cocktail, will get your taste buds ready for this fine cuisine.
Chardonnay, Buehle, Russian River, CA. (Butter Bomb). This wine will make you have great dreams especially when you pair it with the scallops.
Sauvingon Blanc, Duckhorn, (Classic & Balanced). You could do this wine with the risotto or the carbonara; it will enhance the creamy flavors of both dishes.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Spellbound, Napa Valley (Blueberry & Vanilla). I would do this wine with the polenta and ragu, it would be the perfect combination.
Syrah, Clayhouse, Paso CA (Smoke & Cherry). I liked this one with the tomatoes and burrata.
Paste:
Risotto Carbonara with Aborio rice, pancetta, farm egg yolk, pecorino, and chives. A very soft subtle risotto, its like velvet in your mouth.
Cacio e Pepe with Spaghetti, pecorino, and black pepper. So simple and delicious, it just goes to show you what great ingredients can bring to the table.
Insalate:
Roasted corn, cremini mushrooms, toasted walnuts, aged goat cheese. The corn was very sweet and the balance of the goat cheese really brought this dish to life,
Roasted cherry tomato, buratta, basil pesto. What makes this dish so incredible is the tomatoes are cooked and are still on the vine. The pesto is on the vine branches. I have never had a burrata dish where the tomatoes are whole and slighty cooked, wow!
Per la Tavola:
Mascarpone polenta, ragu of the day. They come to the table with a pot for the polenta and one for the ragu and they pour them onto each other. The flavors are unbelievable, one of my favorite polentas ever!!
Focaccia di Recco & honeycomb. My waiter said its like Angels Wings, and he was right. It’s oozing with warm cheese and the sweet honeycomb is so decadent.
Piatti:
Capesante e Favewith Seared diver scallops, fava beans, pea tendrils, guanciale vinaigrette. These are huge scallops with lot of flavor, the fava beans and bean tendrils just round out all of the goodness this dish has to offer.
Dessert:
Cioccolato pb&j, fourless dark chocolate cake, fudge sauce, raspberry compote, peanut butter whipped cream, salted peanut brittle. How do you say remarkable, I am hooked!
Biondo Torta del Burro Bruno with Brown butter blondie, maple gelato, caramel sauce, and marcona almonds. This is my kind of desert and I loved it!
Scott Harris Chef-Owner is from Chicago and has established himself as one of Chicago’s most iconic restaurateurs. There are 20 Francesca’s restaurants in the Chicago metropolitan area as well as locations in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona and soon, California. Mr. Harris has also created a number of other concepts, including Davanti Enoteca, a cousin to Francesca’s and another smash success. Scott is a native of Chicago and currently lives in the Chicago and San Diego areas with his wife and two children.
General Manager Joshus Zanow most recently served as Manager at PlumpJack and CADE Wineries in the Napa Valley, where he was responsible for overseeing the guest experience, wine sales for 40,000 visitors per year. Mr. Zanow sees Thomas Keller, Rick Bayless, Scott Harris and John Conover as his key sources of professional inspiration.
The interior reminded me of an Enoteca in Venice, or Florence, clean simple lines with arched partitions It is a very warm and inviting atmosphere, but really who cares about the interior, here the food will outshine any atmosphere. Really I highly recommend this stellar restaurant.
Davanti Enoteca
1655 India Street
San Diego, CA 92101
http://davantienoteca.com/sandiego/
