| Taverna Santi 21047 Geyserville Ave. Geyserville (707) 857-1790 www.tavernasanti.com
Traditional Italian |
Describing Santi as “traditional Italian” is simply not enough. Santi is completely and authentically Italian. Chef Dino Bugica spent seven years honing his craft in Italy, including learning charcuterie and winemaking. Alongside Chef Emeritus Franco Dunn, Bugica today produces a variety of house-made salumis and other cured meats for the Santi menu.
My husband, Greg, and I started our meal with both affettati nostrali, a selection of three cured meats, and the antipasti della casa, a trio of choice nibblers. The meats—soppressata, vin cotto and coppa—were each distinct in texture and taste. My favorite was the vin cotto, which was both sweet and salty with a peppery finish. Our waiter, Allan, chose Lambrusco, a sparkling red Italian wine, to accompany the course; it cleansed our palates and cut through the oiliness of the meats. (Allan kept such perfect pairings coming for the rest of the meal.)
The antipasti included stuffed peppers with caciocavallo and prosciutto, lonza (another cured meat) with sweet onions and gypsy peppers, and roasted delicata squash with saba (like a smooth, very creamy polenta). Each element balanced sweet with salt in a different but delicious way, creating a light but satisfying opener.
Next, Greg chose a Tuscan peasant bread soup with kale, chard and canellini beans. It tasted like winter—chunks of broth-soaked bread, whole beans, veggies and greens in a thick, hearty chicken stock. The Bosc pear, pancetta and gorgonzola salad I sampled was both refreshing and decadent. The pears were lightly grilled, which married them nicely to the crunchy bits of pancetta; it was all offset by the gorgonzola’s fabulous sharpness. It was served on a bed of young spinach and butter lettuce, but I kept sneaking pieces of the fresh foccacia (golden and oily, with a crusty outside and perfectly soft center) and making little bites.
For our main course, it was specials all the way. Greg couldn’t resist the garganelli pasta with a ragu of wild boar, red wine, cocoa, potato, currants and pine nuts (if he hadn’t ordered it, I would have). The dense sauce coated the pasta with richness, and the boar was smokey and tangy with a texture like pulled pork. Pasta perfection.
Now, the Renaissance man I’m married to worked for a time as a pantry chef in the Santi kitchen, but like me, he’d never had the pleasure of dining there. He walked in the door wanting pasta, and upon tasting his choice, said it “couldn’t have been more satisfying.”
My grilled Ahi tuna (a perfect medium rare) was served on a bed of lentils with braised greens and a Sicilian eggplant relish. The greens had a bitterness (not a bad thing in Italian cuisine) that nicely balanced the earthy lentils and mild, buttery fish.
For dessert, Greg sipped a house-made Arancina (orange liqueur), and we shared a slice of walnut cake, served with a dark chocolate gelato and topped with an orange zabaglione. The nutty, not-so-sweet cake was a fine finish to an evening of savory delights.
