Feast at Farina

This picture, taken with my iPhone, having repositioned two water glasses and a half-full water carafe in front of our table's little tea-light candle to refract/direct as much light onto the plate as I could, (as discreetly as I could), still turned out lacking-- it does the presentation of this dish NO justice. Here, the famous Mandilli di Seta al Pesto--the renowned Handkerchief Pasta with Pesto, a real honest-to-god invention of Genoa, Italy finally sits before me. I cut into it and almost took a bite before I remembered that I was going to write this blog post specifically about this dish. See the cut in the lower corner? Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself here. There's definitely a lead-up to this moment and it turned out...well...

Full Disclosure: This meal was a gift from the Dining Room Manager of Farina Restaurant--his name is Gabriele Originario. We got a gift certificate for two to his restaurant so that my husband-"D", a Concierge at a SF hotel, would recommend, naturally, Farina to enquiring guests. I heard the whole story at dinner that night. Gabby the Original was, apparently, quite "dreamy". This marketing effort on Gabriele's part coincided with the same-day distribution of the magazine San Francisco Dining: an advertising vehicle for San Francisco's hottest/"it" restaurants. On the cover?--a plate of Mandilli di Seta al Pesto from Farina, San Francisco.

"OK" I said, scowling, "You have to take me. I'll forgive you your mooning over Gaby O if I'm the one you take to Farina" --knowing full well that I would be the one.

Well it happened on my birthday and it was better than I had dared to hope.

Farina: met at the door by none other than Gabriele Originario. Yep, he was very handsome. I couldn't blame D. We were treated like kings and everything put before us was a surprise and a delight.

First: Scallops --two fresh half-dollar sized East Coast scallops seared with salt, no pepper upon a dollop of sautéed and then puréed radicchio paired with a dry Prosecco--off to a great start.

Next: (pictured above) the long awaited and anticipated Mandilli di Seta.** We could see from our table, behind a stunning marble counter that ran along the whole kitchen, fresh pasta being prepared for various dishes--pizza, tagliatelle, and best of all, the handkerchief pasta of which we were about to partake. It was absolutely delicious and, dare I say it, better than I remembered our experience in Genoa to be (see the backstory ** below). Paired with a tart Chardonnay.

Followed by: Tagliatelle with a Chanterelle mushroom wine reduction sauce. Awesome. Paired with a heavy and robust Red.

And then the Main Event: Marinated, crusted and seared tuna-belly with an eggplant and red/yellow pepper compote (D had to tell me to slow down and savor this--I was practically inhaling it). Paired with a Rosé that was a shocking reddish-pink color (best wine of the night).

And finally, a Sangria-like effervescent wine served first and then the dessert Panna Cotta with berries.

I'm going back again. And if you find yourself in SF, you should, too.

**Handkerchief Pasta al Pesto: I had this a few years ago in Genoa, the birthplace of Pesto. D had researched the best pesto restaurant in Genoa which turned out to be Da Rina, a family-owned restaurant where Rina, the matriarch, made a daily appearance. The pasta that the pesto was served with was the strangest and most intriguing I had ever encountered--like big sheets of pasta, lasagna-like, coated with pesto and extremely tender and deceptively filling. I have looked for this type of pasta ever since and until Farina, I have always been disappointed. Now I can get it whenever I can get in at Farina. If Gaby O reads this post, that may be often.