Ask The Fat Guy
Trattoria Cattaneo | August 30, 2009
Okay, so TFG has eaten in several lousy places in the intervening time between the last posting and this one. He has also eaten in several yummy places but until tonight has not felt the urge to report or to post, to yell from the (digital) mountaintop his gustatory experiences.
So this place has been the Annadeli for as long as I have lived here in Santa Rosa and I’ve not managed to make it inside the doors for the simple reason that I am not a big ol’ fan of Boar’s Head meats. Start off with ingredients I don’t like and it is hard for me to imagine you are going to end up with a result that will please.
Imagine how pleased I was that the line was too long at the taqueria, forcing me to seek my dinner elsewhere and ending up in this latest little wonder (for me at least) in town.
To begin with, being welcomed as warmly and effusively as we were always primes me for a pleasant evening. If that hadn’t done it, the warm Franco American bread with floral olive oil and a fine tracing of balsamic vinegar. In the back of my mind I pined for some urchin roe but it was wonderful nonetheless.
TFG’s daughter, all of six, has a great and only slightly abnormal love of Gorgonzola cheese so the linguine with Gorgonzola sauce and balsamic glaze brought great enthusiasm. Unfortunately, warmed, it was a bit much for her but not for her mother who also ordered it and was delighted. Truth be told, my daughter loved it also, but later that same evening, once it had cooled. It had rich aroma and a creaminess difficult enough to achieve without breaking in a sauce like this one. It was really quite yummy.
Now TFG’s mother-in-law had the eggplant parmigiana. She remarked that she seldom ever ordered it anymore because of the tendency in more pedestrian preparations for the eggplant to either disappear into mush or to standout from that sauce with its characteristic bitterness. She was quite pleased.
You know how some people try and convince you to try things with some objectionable ingredient by promising you “You’ll never even know it contains eel livers!” which always makes me wonder why they bothered adding them in the first place. Well, the eggplant held its own, showing off its earthiness and texture, fitting in nicely with the slightly more acidic sauce. The Parmigiana was clearly not the dried-out too-old version found in the grocery stores, you could still perceive the nutty creaminess of fresh Parmesan.
TFG had the special of the day (I often order the special, if they think its special, then they are trying to show you something) which was linguini Vongole. I love the fresh taste of the sea and the cockles in my dish were crisp and tasted very fresh. The sauce was well balanced with the garlic sharpening the sweetness of the shellfish. I was delighted.
Need I mention the tiramisu? not too sweet, with the marscapone just smooth and lovely atop the just barely-soaked lady fingers. Delightful with a cup of post dinner coffee. Mes. FG had the creme brulee, also wonderful.
TFG thoroughly loved this place and our dinner. 
Santa Rosa, CA
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