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Grazie Café Italiano 823 Grant Ave. Novato 415-878-0202
California-Italian |
When my friend (and co-worker) Alex and I walked into Grazie Café shortly before the lunch hour, we had a choice of several tables at which we could sit. Had we arrived only 10 or 15 minutes later, however, we wouldn’t have been so lucky. The place filled up faster then we could read the entire menu. Not that it’s a large space, by any means (it’s a former specialty coffee house), but even the outside tables were full by the time we’d made our order.
The room still has the coffee bar counter, which is enclosed in glass and now displays offerings from the dessert menu. There are shelves along the walls (filled with wine and other accoutrements) made of dark wood, a long bar along the outside window with tall stools up against it and a couple of tall tables on the opposite wall. Once the place fills up, so does the noise level, but to an overall effect of a lively, casual, friendly atmosphere.
We started the meal with crab cakes, which were served with a generous portion of mixed green salad on the plate. The cakes had a crisp exterior and were thick with a creamy, spicy interior that had a nice, slow-building heat. They were dressed with a spicy aioli that had quite the kick.
Next we shared a roasted beet and chicken salad, which came with creamy goat cheese, spiced pecans and chopped red onions. The large portion of chicken was breast meat spiced with rosemary and other herbs. The red beets were sliced large, almost an inch thick and two or three inches across. They were sweet and fresh, and it was a nice change to have them cut as they were. I ordered the salad because its ingredients stretched beyond the more traditional beet salad (you know, thin-sliced beets, a tiny portion of feta or goat cheese sprinkled on top with a few basil leaves for color), and it stood up to my expectations well. If I lived in Novato, I’d be headed back for this salad, which is large enough to eat as an entrée, on a regular basis.
We also had the pancetta and arugula salad, which was more of a purist’s meal. The salty flavor of the pancetta was dominant. It was shredded and thin-sliced rather than crispy, which was a nice switch. The mild arugula served as a backdrop, and there was a small amount of diced red onions and fresh shaved Parmesan on top.
The menu’s pastas come with a choice of sauces. I went for the potato gnocchi with creamy tomato sauce. The generous portion was ideal for the tomato lover in me and was thick, rich and filling.
Alex chose the risotto with prawns, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. It was quite the contrast to the gnocchi, and had a light, al dente texture. It came with four large, butterflied prawns. Overall, the dish was buttery and flavorful—unlike the heavy, sticky risottos I’ve had in the past (although I like those too, but this was a nice change).
There are also a lot of paninis on the menu, which are probably a popular choice because all the breads and pastries Grazie serves are baked fresh daily. Additional entrées range from seafood to filet mignon. But for us it was time for dessert. And since there was such a wide selection, we opted for the sampler platter.
Now, in my mind, a sampler platter is a small plate with even smaller portions of each dessert item. But the folks at Grazie don’t see things that way. This was an actual platter, with large portions of carrot cake, seven-layer chocolate cake, half of a large chocolate chip cookie and a slice of mixed berry pie—all surrounding a large scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauces and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Just what the sweet tooth ordered.
