Bites Nearby: Taste of Tuscany in Sausalito

Every Thursday, Patch picks a great restaurant either in town or nearby that is worth checking out. Here's this week's choice:

Poggio Trattoria

777 Bridgeway, Sausalito

(415) 332-7771

Overview:

Chef Peter McNee does some of the most inspired Italian-inspired food in the Bay Area.

Décor:

The interior is a lush Tuscan-inspired celebration of materials like mahogany with beautiful marble touches.

The Drinks:

There is a full bar; superior wine list with many Italian favorites.

Appetizers:

Oak-grilled sardines; a spectacular pork terrine; housemade burrata (fresh mozzarella) has all the creamy goodness and is served on grilled bread with a sun dried tomato puree. Blood oranges highlight a salad with radicchio, sunchokes, hazelnuts and ricotta salata (a dried and slightly salty ricotta)

Entrees:

The roasted half chicken is fabulous and the whole Petrale sole is simply prepared and is everything it should be.

Also on the menu look for braised oxtail; a Porterhouse steak for two people is the perfect dish for a romantic dinner.

Desserts:

Always delicious from sorbets to affogato, vanilla ice cream topped with espresso.

Special:

Through the end of March, Chef McNee is preparing a wonderful special Meal for only $19 called Bollito Misto.

Bollito misto is a North Italian boiled dinner encompassing several kinds of gently boiled meats and the sauces or condiments that go with them. One story says that in the late 1800s Crown Prince Vittorio Emanuele and his friends would sneak off to Moncalvo, a town far from the stifling air of the Court in Torino, to enjoy a rich, flavorful bollito misto.

At Poggio expect a unique cart to be rolled to your table. It contains various compartments each containing boiled items like cotechino sausage, brisket, veal breast oxtail and beef tongue. The sauces include a bagna verde with anchovies and garlic and parsley, horseradish cream and house-made mostarde.

The waiter cuts selections of the meats as you wish.

Service:

Excellent

Cost:

$$$ entrees $18-$24

Handicap accessible:

Yes.

Noise level

Pleasantly quiet