Sampino's Towne Foods- Friday Night Dinners

Sampino's Towne Foods- Friday Night Dinners

1607 F Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916) 441-2372. http://www.sampinos.com/

I know I promised to tell you more about the Foodbuzz Festival and I will, I promise...but we're about to take a teeny tiny diversion today because I want to tell you about Sampino's Friday Night Dinners. Why? Because I'm pretty sure they have healing powers. Really, I think they do. So, ugh, yesterday...yesterday was one of those days where I would have been better off staying in bed all day with the down comforter pulled over my head. Mainly because I felt craptastic. I woke up about 2am from a dead sleep with a migraine that I can best describe as feeling like I was getting the bejesus squeezed outta of my head. Like "curl up in the fetal position-clench your teeth-and squeeze your eyes shut tight" kind of nuclear pain. None of my prescribed migraine medications were working and all I could do was try and ride it out. Unfortunately that didn't come until almost dawn and even then my sleep was minimal. I got about 3 real hours of slumber in before my phone started ringing and the landscapers started leaf blowing outside my window. Time to start the day. Gah! My body ached anytime I moved an inch and my head was pounding (maybe from the barometric pressure drop?), yet somehow simultaneously I felt like I could fall asleep standing up. Have you ever had that feeling? Pain and exhaustion going through you at the same time? I kept taking the migraine meds and drinking cups of coffee and by midday I felt slightly human. Thinking I had to do something productive, I figured I would go to Home Depot and purchase a specialty light bulb I had been meaning to buy. So I rolled off the couch and threw on a fleece and headed out looking like something the cat dragged in. Found the light bulb. Score...check one to-do item off my list. On the way out, I decided to hit up IKEA...giant bad move. I had forgotten it was a holiday, the place was busy. The coffee began to wear off rapidly, the drumming in my head began to increase tenfold. The dishtowels I wanted turned out to only be available as breadbasket liners (really?!!). Nausea was starting to set in. I ran into some people I knew. Trying to exchange polite pleasantries when you feel sick to your stomach is pretty awkward (I guess you could just always puke on them and explain later). Then I couldn't find a catalog anywhere in the lighting department. The drumming was turning into a full blown Riverdance pounding. Okay, maybe getting these errands done wasn't so important after all. I just wanted out of the IKEA labyrinth. Ahhhh, fresh air--gulp!Gulp! So I finally got home and laid down...at this point, I was in a bit of a quandary...I had dinner plans with friends. Dinner plans at a restaurant we booked weeks ago...dinner plans at a restaurant that's full and has been turning people away. What to do? I decided to choke down some more migraine meds, drink some more strong coffee and take a short nap.

Dinner time rolled around, I was still feeling achy and my head was thumping like the bass in a T.I. song but I put on a smile and head over to Sampino's. The place had been transformed from it's usual daytime deli into a small, quaint trattoria and though the eatery was a bit congested (tables and chairs are literally squeezed in there back-to-back), you're greeted with a feeling of friendliness and family when you walk in. Dinner is one seating (6pm), so everyone's arriving all at once. They give you time to exchange hugs and hellos then everyone settles in and gets down to business.  We started out with some fresh baked foccacia and zesty antipasti (assorted olives, pickled vegetables and pepperoncinis).

Once our tastebuds were whetted, we're presented with a delicious zuppa- a Venitian white bean and sausage soup...our table much like the others around us at this point is busy yakking and laughing and that's when I noticed it, my migraine was slowly dissipating and my nausea had all but subsided.

Next for the primi, a slice of timbale is brought out to each of us. As I dug into the multiple layers of pasta, marinara, salami, cheese and other assorted goodies I look up and notice that "The Big Night" is quietly playing on a small TV in the corner...I find myself grinning at the subtle bit of humor.

At this point we're getting pretty full and we haven't even gotten to the main course. We get a brief intermission from stuffing our faces when the large dinner party next to us, whom are celebrating grandma's birthday, perform a toast and have one of their younger guests sing "Happy Birthday" and a song in Italian. At this point it truly feels like we are attending an actual Italian family dinner. (I'm just waiting for a drunk cousin Giovanni to pinch my butt and then it'll be truly authentic!) Next up from the kitchen is is a creamy plate of risotto (tre formaggi and leek)...delicious! My migraine at this point has completely disappeared (possibly because the tightness of the waistband of my pants has cut off the blood supply to my upper body).

The main course (the secondi) is presented then, half of our dinner party has the braised veal shank with roasted vegetables in a red wine reduction, the other half- a garlic and herb marinated snapper on a bed of onions and bell peppers with sauteed asparagus. I take a few bites of my snapper and immediately ask for a box (it's tasty but my stomach's about to explode from food overload).

To cleanse our palates we're given a fresh mixed green insalata tossed with dried cranberries and a vinaigrette (no photo...a side salad's, a side salad folks). The evening concludes with my favorite dish, the dolce--a pumpkin gelato parfait set atop an eggnog custard and glazed with a chocolate ganache. I can attest that pumpkin did not die in vain---that gelato was sheer bliss on my tongue.

Driving home last night I was tired but amazed at how much better I felt...maybe the belly truly does rule the mind and body. After a night of deep sleep and dreams of meatballs and cannolis, I woke with still no migraine or nausea. Of course I'll take it easy (I'm not crazy)...but I really think there's something to that Sampino's place and their hearty Italian fare. ;)


* Friday night dinner $25-$30 pp.
* Reservation only.
* Beverages,Tax & Gratuity not included.
* Sampino policy requires credit card information to hold a reservation, 50% fee will be charged for any no shows.

Cascina Spinasse

Cascina Spinasse

1531 14th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122. (206) 251-7673  www.spinasse.com

Tony Bennett may have left his heart in San Francisco but I think I may have left mine in Seattle this past weekend.  Mr. S. and I went for an early holiday getaway and the foodie in me just fell head over heels for Seattle’s food scene. We hit up a few well touted casual food places like Salumi and Paseo (which I will review soon, I promise!) but the highlight of the trip was our dinner the first night at Cascina Spinasse. It was truly a magical night.  Although the trattoria was a bit difficult to find (it’s quite inconspicuous) and parking in Capitol Hill was a nightmare; once we stepped out of the rain and through the doorway, we were transported. The restaurant reminded me of a warm hunting lodge or a rustic cottage that you’d find tucked away in a European forest. I fully expected a staff member to greet us wearing jodhpurs and carrying the night’s game in one hand.

What appealed to me most about Spinasse’s ambiance was that although it’s high end, it’s a no muss, no fuss place. Simple plank tables, dark wood shelving and wrought iron serve as the foundation for the décor. Most shelves showcase the various bottles of wine they offer; although, every so often you’ll find the odd quirky knick-knack wedged in. There’s something about the place that makes it feel charming and cozy rather than cluttered. We had made reservations ahead of time and were lucky enough to score seats at the chef’s table where we could have a front-row view into the farmhouse kitchen. It was quite interesting to be able to watch all the hustle and bustle and interworkings…not to mention that I loved how “authentic” the kitchen looked. Hanging cast-iron pans, butcher block islands, a blackened range—all utilized…it was truly a beautiful rustic kitchen. Now, reservations are not required but more than likely you won’t get in without one. We watched several patrons get kindly turned away throughout the course of our night as the dining area was full. Spinasse has quite the reputation in town! Anyhow…Jason Stratton, Spinasse’s chef, was voted Food and Wine’s Best New Chef for 2010 and we were eager to experience everything Spinasse had to offer so we went with the Menu Degustazione ($90/pp), a “family style tasting of every antipasto, primo and secondo” on the night’s menu. Instead of small bite sized portions, you receive one full order of every dish on the menu to split between the two of you. It’s a lot of food, so be prepared to be there for several hours.

So, Mr. S. ordered his customary sparkling water and I went with a nice dry chardonnay that Ana, our server recommended and from there we got comfortable and began our culinary adventure.

Antipasti

For the first course, we were brought:

Insalata di pera (Asian pear with aged pecorino and celery)

‘Pio Tosini’ prosciutto di parma (prosciutto with marinated apple)

Insalata russa (Russian salad “winter variation’ with roasted celeriac and delicate squash with tuna maionesse, caper and pickled carrot)

Insalata de barbabietole e radicchio di Treviso (beet salad with local Treviso, crushed egg, breadcrumbs and parmigiano-reggiano)

Sformatino di porri (roasted leek flan with fonduta)

All of the dishes were wonderful but my favorite was the beet salad. They used these tiny baby beets that were so flavorful that I almost didn’t want to swallow and instead just roll them around in my mouth, savoring the taste. I think the highlight for Mr. S. was the leek flan, it was delicate and luscious and seemed to slide across your tongue. One of those dishes that makes you want to close your eyes in bliss after you take each bite.

Primi

For the next course, we were brought three dishes of handmade-in house pasta:

Tajarin al ragu o burro e salvia (fine cut egg pasta with ragù)

Mezzalune di carote  (carrot mezzalune with cumin and caper butter)

Tagliatelle con maiale all latte (tagliatelle with pork shoulder braised in milk)

All three pastas were superb but the tagliatelle and the tajarin really stood out. The pork shoulder served with the tagliatelle was so tender, it literally melted in my mouth. The tajarin was so wispy and the ragù, oh the ragù! It was so scrumptious that even as my stomach was saying, “No more!” I couldn’t stop twirling another bite onto my fork. All of the pastas were made perfectly. Stratton knows his pasta, there’s no doubt about that!

And just when we thought we couldn’t eat another bite, out came the…

Secondi

Pulcino con cavolini de Bruxelles (roasted young chicken with shaved Brussels sprouts and toasted pinenut sauce)

Polpette di coniglio (rabbit meatballs wrapped in caul fat, with caramelized turnip puree, pickled horseradish and crisp rosemary

Capriolo al forno (roasted venison with lentils and salt-roasted persimmon)

Good god! All of these dishes were mind-blowing. I’m not sure where we put away all the food but we couldn’t resist the tender rabbit meatballs, crisp young chicken and I’ll be honest I was quite enamored with the Brussels sprouts. Each dish you could tell was made with care and skill. Undoubtedly, each and every dish that came out from Stratton’s kitchen to our table was perfect…every component was in harmony with each other.  They’re such simple dishes made from local, organic ingredients but offer up such complexity in taste.

Now, don’t think I’ve forgot about the service. Ana, our server, was engaging and attentive not to mention knowledgeable and passionate about the food. Our dinner was flawlessly paced and we were never in want. Water was constantly filled and our needs met without a word uttered. She did talk us into dessert and as we were still basking in the afterglow of our meal and not ready to venture back out into the cold, wet evening, we agreed. We chose a Gianduja semifreddo with dark chocolate and feuilletine. The semifreddo was sinfully creamy (thank you Lactaid pills) and the feuilletine added a nice nutty taste. Mr. S. also requested an Italian coffee (which arrived in an adorable mini-Bialetti) and I opted for a glass of Moscato to cleanse my palette. The Moscato was the perfect finishing touch—slightly sweet and effervescent.

Much like a fairytale, every great meal must come to a close. As we donned our coats, Mr. S. smiled and stated that he was pretty sure that this was one of the best meals of his life. I whole-heartedly agreed. We took one last look at the candlelight dancing atop the wax-covered candelabra on our table, clasped hands and made our way back into the rainy, Seattle night.

Spinasse, you surpassed our expectations…thank you for a memorable evening.

Buon appetito! : Bolognese Sauce

Buon appetito! : Bolognese Sauce

There'll always be days that you're too tired, too sick or just too lazy to cook. So when you do have days when you feel the urge to bust out your apron; you should take advantage of the mood and whip up a big batch of something so that you can freeze a bunch of it...or if you're like me, feed all of your friends. I mean really, who doesn't love a homecooked soup, sauce or casserole?

One of my favorite sauces to make and share is bolognese sauce. It's simple to make and quite healthy. When I first started making it, I used Ms.Big Head's (aka Giada De Laurentiis) recipe from Everyday Italian as a template. Over time I tweaked this and that and found a version that worked for me. 

You can find the original recipe here:  Giada's Simple Bolognese. My version complete with tweaks is listed below.

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil
2  (28 oz.) cans of crushed tomatoes (I like to use Muir Glen's Organic Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes)
2 medium onions, diced
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. ground beef
½ cup flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped
¼  cup basil leaves, chopped
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Tapatio sauce
Red pepper flakes
½  cup red wine

Instructions

* In a large skillet heat the olive oil.  Add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until the onions become very soft, about 8 minutes.

* Raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Saute for another 10 minutes, until all the pink is gone.

* Add the tomatoes, parsley and basil. Stir.

* Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add red wine and a couple splashes of Tapatio.

* Allow the sauce to simmer on medium low heat until it thickens, about 30 minutes.

Gianni's -- CLOSED

Gianni's -- CLOSED

2724 J St, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 447-1000

Ever watch one of those antique shows, where some poor schmuck brings on a rare "antique" lamp on to be appraised? You know the lamp that his Great-Great-Great Grandma Gertrude strapped to her back and brought with her on the boat from Poland that's supposedly 100% gold? The lamp that the appraiser inevitably flips over and rubs the bottom with his thumb to...lo and behold...uncover in tiny script the words, "Made in Taiwan"? Well, that's what Gianni's reminds me of. At first glance, its sleek Tiffany blue colored tables and exposed brickwork radiates an oh-so South Beach hipster cool but a little rub with the thumb uncovers a multitude of imperfections in its polished facade.

Let me explain...Gianni's was our choice for our January girls' night out. We entered the establishment around seven o'clock on a Friday and were greeted by a polite silver haired gentleman within seconds and were assured that we would be seated shortly. True to his word, the host ushered us over to a nice roomy booth within five minutes. Wonderful! From that point on though, the night pretty much went downhill. Now I'm a pretty easy going customer, I don't expect my waiters to channel Mr. Belvedere and wait on me hand and foot but our waiter that night took the term piss poor service to a whole new level. Seriously, when the service wasn't non-existent it was horrendous. Our waiter would disappear for extended lengths of time and we had to flag him down to order both our drinks and our meals. Had the restaurant been even remotely busy, I could understand but not only was it barely full but I could see the waiter slacking off a few feet away. In addition to this, our waiter actually got into an argument with us about what type of wine we should order and whether we should order individual glasses or a bottle. When we held fast and reiterated what we wanted (the Antinori Super Tuscan), his reaction was to pout and spout off a smartass remark...classy! Whatever happened to the customer's always right? At this point we hadn't even eaten and I was disgusted with Gianni's.

For our orders, we decided to share several appetizers and two pizzas. For the apps we opted for the house salad, the creamy polenta dish and the calamari. The creamy polenta dish was smooth and accented with a light hint of what I believe was truffle oil. The calamari was a good sized portion, marinated in buttermilk (unbreaded) and tossed with tomatoes, basil and chilies-- in my opinion, the best dish out of what we ordered. As for the salad and pizzas, they weren't anything to write home about but did the job of satisfying our hunger. During the course of our meal, the ex-waitress in me noticed that the silverware was dirty (I had to ask for another fork and knife because there were remnants from someone else's dinner encrusted on the tines and blade), the glassware was spotty and several plates had obvious chips and cracks. In addition, our busser was slow to refill our water and early in the evening had dropped a large hunk of bread in the middle of the table. I found it amusing that throughout the night, he continued to carefully bus around the bread as though it were a centerpiece. My guess is that bread is probably still sitting in the same spot on the table even to this day.

Now usually when I go to dinner with my girlfriends, it's customary for us to linger over dessert and some coffee, perhaps even an after dinner drink. At Gianni's, we couldn't get out of there fast enough. Although we did leave our server a tip, I sincerely felt it was undeserved and that he should have tipped us for having to endure his crappy subpar service and abhorrent attitude. I most definitely would not waste my money at Gianni's again nor would I ever subject anyone I know to such a hellacious dining experience by recommending it. It just goes to show that a restaurant can look pretty, but to get customers to return it needs to be able to offer up a pleasant dining experience as well. I believe Gianni's is what the Italians refer to as, "Tutto fumo e niente arrost," (all smoke and no fire) and places like that rarely stick around for long.

Il Forno Classico

Il Forno Classico

2121 Golden Centre Ln Ste #10, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670, (916) 858-0651

Ever have one of those days, where you're so deluged with assignments and surrounded by raving idiots that you don't know whether to start screaming, "Serenity Now!" (tm: Seinfeld) or crawl under your desk and curl up in a ball? That was my day today. After noting that I had so many cases on my desk that I appeared to be entombed in my cubicle, my wonderful co-worker took pity on me and suggested that we go out to dinner.

Once the prison yard bell rang... ummm, I mean, after finishing up in the office, we jetted over to a nearby strip mall where overshadowed by a mammoth Bel Air is a cute little trattoria in Gold River called Il Forno Classico. My coworker had visited this establishment before for their wine bar, but never for dining. It was still pretty early when we got there but we were greeted immediately at the front by a young man with a friendly smile and a strategically mussed hairdo, who ended up being our waiter (I think his name was Garrett?). He did a superb job of facilitating our meal. When asked which were better the crab cakes or the ahi for a starter, he recommended the crab cakes without missing a beat. The crab cakes were indeed quite tasty and I liked the pesto aioli topping. Also, he was quite conscientious about keeping our glasses full (we had vacillated between the Cakebread and Rombauer Chardonnays and finally opted to go with the Cakebread). During our meal, our server was the perfect balance of personable without being obtrusive. I appreciated that there was enough down time between courses that I didn't feel rushed, but not too much time where I was inclined to look around with a ravenous "Where the heck is our food?" expression.

Il Forno's menu showcases your standard California-Italian fare such as salads, pizzas, steak, pastas, chicken and wood fired pizzas. Entrees were reasonably priced from $11- $20 and appetizers from $8 -$14. I had a hard time deciding between the cioppino or the chicken scaloppini for my dinner. I finally went with the latter which came with a delectable marsala wine sauce intermingled with pieces of mushroom, garlic and bacon. This was served with creamy mashed potatoes and a side of green beans. The chicken would have been better had it been cut in medallions and the green beans were a tad salty, but overall it was a good meal. The coworker took a different approach and succumbed to the calling of some rich looking pasta---more specifically the artichoke and spinach ravioli accompanied by chicken, proscuitto and a lemon cream sauce. From the content sighs I heard radiating from the other end of the table; I will assume that the pasta was equally gratifying.

The restaurant boasts that it carries several hundred different kinds of wine and from the extensive wine list that I perused, I don't doubt it. They do also offer a wine tasting night on Thursdays from 6pm-9pm. This would be a great place to bring your favorite wine connoisseur. If I'm ever cursed with another rough day working for the Man, hopefully it'll be on a Thursday so I can have an excuse to hang out in the 'burbs and sample some wines at the IFC.