I did end up going to Bella Trattoria, although not for lunch as I planned. In all honesty when I hadn't heard from anyone I thought that our plans fell through but it just turned out that everyone slept in late.

Sonya called around 16:30 and asked if we were still going and I told her I'd be ready in half an hour but it turned out to be more like an hour and change. I took the BART to Civic Center, then the 5 to Fulton & Central and walked over to Lyon and met Sonya & Hendricks at their place. Jonattan called but Sonya didn't feel like hanging with him and I was already at their place, so I made excuses.

We took the 49 and then the 38 to 3rd & Geary and we were there. It was smaller than I expected and I didn't even notice the Venetian mural until I looked for it. It seats about 40 people and has a nice warm atmosphere, wood panelling and white table service. The staff is small, 3 cover the entire floor and I'm unsure how many man the kitchen but I'd hazard five at the most.

The food was in a word, fantastic!

Sonya selected a 1999 volpicella for us to imbibe during our meal. It's a light summery red with hints of citrus that I'd never heard of until that moment but I'd gladly have again when the opportunity arises. We liked it so much we drank two bottles of it.

We ordered la polenta di bella and carpaccio for appetizers. The polenta was luscious, light & flavorful with shitake mushrooms which were bursting with flavor and a gorgonzola sauce that reminded me of a light wine reduction. It melted in our mouths and we were oohing and aahing until the last bite. The carpaccio was venison and a great representation of the dish although not quite as delectable as the polenta di bella.

For our entrees we had agnolotti, mare e monti and sorrentina. Sonya had the agnolotti, a Dungeness crab ravioli stuffed with ricotta and served with an asparagus cream sauce. Hendricks had the sorrentina, potato gnocchi with crumbled italian sausage, tomato and fresh mozarella and I had the mare e monti, spinach gnocchi with smoked salmon in a light creamy mascarpone sauce. I'd never had gnocchi before and enjoyed the new textural experience, the sauce was ideal and while tasty on it's own allowed the gnocchi and salmon to shine through. Hendricks gnocchi was even better, the tomato sauce was simple but divine and the sausage added a nice richness to round out it's flavor. Sonya's ravioli had a nice bite to it and the asparagus sauce was subtle and smooth.

I wasn't planning on dessert but Sonya was in the mood so she ordered a tiramisu and I had a latte to round out the meal. I was only going to have one bite of her tiramisu but then was floored by the execution. I ended up having about half of it. It was light, creamy, cool, smooth and delightful.

Our server was personable and friendly without being obsequious and we did not want for a glass of wine, table bread or dipping oil for our entire meal.

The bill was reasonable, about $20 a person not including the wine. The vino was $30 a bottle and we tipped about 22%.

I'm definitely going back as soon as I can to sample the rabbit and the duck ragu.

Bella Trattoria
3854 Geary Blvd San Francisco, CA 415.221.0305
4 licks out of 5 (fingerlickin' good)