Patricia Unterman
Toss 'Little' Italy to the wind

Italian eating so big you'll forget you're still in Sausalito.


How does he do it? At Poggio, Larry Mindel's new Italian dream restaurant in Sausalito, diners get a mouthwatering choice of authentic dishes made with top-notch ingredients, vivacious $24 Italian wines, evocative northern Italian appointments, free parking and a dinner check for under $50 per person, tax and tip included. Maybe all those years of opening Il Fornaio branches and other Italian restaurants, of traveling to Italy, of loving all things Italian, resulted in this personal culmination. When I ran into Mindel one night at Poggio he told me that it happens to be a five-minute walk from his home, and how excited he was about the organic garden he's cultivating that supplies the restaurant with herbs, wild arugula and vegetables.

At last, this man has achieved complete Italian immersion right here in America. I get the feeling that he mounted Poggio just for himself. Lunch runs all afternoon right into dinner every day. And next month, Poggio will be open early in the morning for espresso and cornetto. So Mindel can walk down the hill, conduct business, read the newspaper, taste dishes, entertain his friends and family, hold court -- live a whole life in his restaurant.

And we, the public, are the beneficiaries. Poggio does it all, for him and for us.

Credit must go to chef/partner Chris Fernandez. He makes the difference at Poggio. He breathes life into this idealized outpost of Italy. He's the one who makes me want to eat there. No Mindel restaurant has served better food. Fernandez worked with Paul Bertolli at Oliveto for two years and subsequently revamped the menu for one of Stars' incarnations.

To prepare himself for this project, Fernandez spent several months living above da Delfina near Florence, cooking Tuscan.

That's where some elegant little dishes originated, like wild mushroom sformatino ($7.50), a delicate molded custard that sings of wild mushrooms surrounded by fonduta, a thick, rich sauce of melted fontina. Farinata ($5.50), a deep-flavored porridge of polenta with cavolo nero, (black Tuscan kale), and peppery Tuscan olive oil must also have been inspired by his stay. Many customers order a big pile of very crisp vegetable fritto misto ($8), thinly sliced artichokes, cauliflower, onions, winter squash and sweet potato. Of course, every Mindel restaurant offers wood-fired pizzas and flat breads. My favorite is a schiaccata ($5), rosemary and parsley scented flat bread licked by the fire and glistening with olive oil, fantastic with a glass of wine.

A little bit of California sneaks into the menu in the salad section much to my delight and approval. I still vividly remember a December composition of endive and arugula dotted with soft bits of creamy gorgonzola, balsamic marinated figs and a few toasted walnuts ($7.50) -- all the ingredients absolutely pristine, barely dressed, and alive with bright flavor. Don't overlook simpler arugula with shaved parmigiano ($4) listed in the contorni, or side dish, section of the menu. Dressed in shalloty balsamic vinaigrette, it works before, during or after the meal. Another contorno, buttery braised red chard with tender chopped stems and onions ($4), is another must.

The pasta dishes feature unusual shapes with appropriate sauces, many of them seasonally meaty. Gnocchi lovers will be intrigued by Poggio's light, pillowy spinach dumplings served on top of a sauce of red wine-braised shredded beef ($12.50).

The pork and chickens slowly turning on the handsome rotisserie in the dining room have irresistible, savory aromas. A plate of spit-roasted Niman pork loin ($16) brings white slices of meat, and a golden, crusty bone, and on a bed of creamy white beans. Squab, cooked over the wood fire grill, is rare, juicy and divine, on a bed of smoky lentils and roasted cipollini onions ($18). And for meatloaf aficionados, the Italian version called polpettone, meatballs of pork and beef, slathered in a tomato sauce, and served with celery root puree and a pouf of arugula on the side ($14), is one of the most popular dishes at the restaurant.

A thin, tasty, Niman rib eye steak ($23.50) arrives grilled to specification, slathered in chanterelles, with creamy pureed potatoes and a whole head of roasted garlic on the side. If it's available, a special of fresh North Carolina shrimp ($17.50), skewered and grilled, on a bed of fregole (toasted round couscous from Sardinia) must be ordered! Moistened with caramelized fennel, red onion and Meyer lemon salsa, the combination is sublime.

Poggio has a deep and exciting Italian wine list, full of regional choices that you rarely find anywhere beyond Italy. Some of the least expensive wines like several reds from Sardinia, (Argiolas Costera, 2001 and a Sardininan carignano, Isola dei Muraghi), happen to be soft, drinkable and charming food wines -- and there are scores of others. The wine list here is a real draw.

Dessert can be as simple as a plate of fresh, crisp Italian cookies ($4.50), so good with espresso; or my favorite Italian dessert, an affogato ($6): vanilla gelato with a double espresso poured over it. Heaven. A subtle ricotta and mascarpone tartlet ($6) with dried fruit compote on the side makes for another good ending.

The long, vaulted dining room has booths upholstered in glove-soft leather, and romantic little wall sconces. Some tables look out onto the sidewalk and marina through floor-to-ceiling arched windows. The details lend warmth: hand-crafted wood chairs with rattan seats; a welcoming granite bar where people sit to both eat and drink; and lots of polished dark wood trim. The tabletops are set with heavy silverware, big but thin crystal wines glasses and decanters of filtered still water or sparkling water, your choice. Poggio gives so many amenities for such a small price.

The wait staff and hostess on both my visits needed a bit more training, specifically some restrained European-style graciousness and professionalism to match the surroundings. But, after all, Poggio is in Marin, which raises an interesting point. For those who live in the northern part of San Francisco, the drive to Poggio just across the Golden Gate Bridge is quick, especially with free valet parking on the other end. With its location accessible even by ferry or bicycle, Poggio has become a new resource for San Franciscans, who always seem to be on the search for Italian restaurants.