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Cinecitta Italian Restaurant 901 B St. San Rafael 415-258-8590
Italian Cuisine
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Located on a busy downtown street corner, Cinecitta is like a refuge from the hustle and bustle outside. Its ambiance takes you on a trip to your favorite Italian hideaway—complete with hand painted plates and ceramics, mustard-colored walls and linens, flowing tulle window coverings and, yes, Italian movies playing on a flat screen at the rear of the dining room. (Aha, now you get where the name, which means “cinema city,” comes from.)
Not that you’d actually watch the movies (Il Postino was on while my friend Amy and I were there) because the sound isn’t turned on. They’re more to set the mood of the place, which to me was somewhat like being in my Italian grandmother’s living room—except my Italian grandmother wasn’t actually Italian, she was Polish. (She married an Italian—does that count?) Also she mostly hung out in the kitchen. But if she were Italian, I bet she’d put the family portraits, jarred preserves and flower vases about just like owner Enrico Sbolci did at his charming restaurant.
The wine list has mostly Italian choices (which I like in an Italian restaurant). We chose the Barbera d’Asti, which was a dry, food-friendly and medium-bodied red.
Our first appetizer was tronchetti, which were prosciutto “purses” (more like rolls) filled with mascarpone cheese, walnuts and baby greens. A dash of truffle oil added to this sweet, savory, unusual mix of flavors and textures. We were delighted.
Next came bruschetta provinciale, which was grilled tiger prawns with tomato bruschetta. They were perfectly seasoned with plenty of garlic, basil and olive oil. Very light and flavorful. For a salad we had the Caesar for two. We could really taste the anchovies in the dressing.
As an entrée, I chose the fish of the day, pesce burro in camicia, which was a basil-crusted wild butter fish sautéed in rice paper with lemon caper sauce and basmati rice. It was a simple and completely enjoyable dish. It reminded me of a baked fish recipe my father used to make. Very traditional Italian.
Amy went for the crespellini de mais, which were polenta crepes stuffed with roasted corn (also sprinkled on top), scallions, zucchini, spinach and basil-infused cream. The crepes were placed flat, one on top of another, and cut into quarters. Overall, the dish had a somewhat sweet taste. The crepes were very light in texture and had a mild sauce and lots of greens. It was a nice vegetarian option (as opposed to a traditional pasta or vegetable dish) that was certainly filling.
For dessert we chose the dolce per due (dessert for two), which included four different things. There was a tiramisu, which was very moist, layered with coffee and marsala-soaked cake and mascarpone custard, then topped with chocolate powder and sauce. The profitterols were small crème puffs filled with zabagione custard and topped with chocolate sauce (think tiny éclairs). The Sicilian-style cannoli had a crunchy outer layer and a thick, whipped ricotta and pistacio filling. Probably our favorite on the plate was the chocolate valentino, which was a piece of rich chocolate ganache soaked in Amaretto, then surrounded with strawberry sauce.
La dolce vita for sure.
