(published in the VC Reporter on January 5, 2006)
Something for everyone
Enoteca is classy, but not snobby — and the food is fantastic
~ By MOLLY FREEDENBERG ~
(Illustration by Terence Ulrich )
With its menu of prosciuttos and bruschettas and carpaccios, and its claim to be neither a wine bar nor a restaurant but a "wine bistro," the new Enoteca Toscana seemed primed to be just another player in the gentrification of Camarillo’s old town. In fact, when my mom and I stopped in at the Ventura Boulevard eatery on a recent weekday, we scoffed at the menu’s promise to serve "simple, unpretentious" food. We wondered how that could be possible. Could a place with leather
furniture and arugula salads ever qualify as unpretentious?
The answer, we discovered, is yes.
Our first hint was the atmosphere of the place. It’s a small building on a corner of Ventura Boulevard, and the odd shape (with the doors facing the corner, rather than either of its perpendicular streets) gives it an interesting and inviting feel. On one side is a set of dark leather couches, which look like a classy, cozy area for waiting or wine-sipping; on the other side are small chocolate-colored tables with matching cushioned chairs; and along every outside wall are tall, uncovered windows, letting the natural light turn what could be a dark cave into an elegant, intimate den. The wine bar against the back wall was somehow situated so as to be separate from the other two areas, but also a comforting presence.
But the real treat, and the real promise realized, was the food. Mom’s bean soup was creamy, flavorful comfort food that tasted homemade but looked gourmet in its white ceramic bowl surrounded with tiny toasts like petals. The panini we shared — a basic vegetable sandwich on grilled ciabatta — also had the potential to be predictable and bland. But it, too, was perfect: It didn’t have too much filling, nor too little. The bread was grilled just to crispness, but not burnt — and the ciabatta was neither so thick it overpowered the filling, nor so thin it masqueraded as regular bread. The zuchinni and yellow squash inside were subtly seasoned, and a cream-cheese-like spread added the tiniest bit of richness without overpowering the vegetables.
And then there were the empanadas. When Mom asked me what an empanada is, I described the ones I’ve had in Latin markets, Spanish truck stops and Brazilian birthday parties: "It’s basically a gourmet Hot Pocket," I explained. And that would’ve been an accurate description almost anywhere else. But to call an Enoteca’s empanada a Hot Pocket is to call a Parisian éclair a Twinkie. The vegetable empanadas we ordered were savory delicacies, folding the same panini vegetable filling into layers of buttery, flaky pastry dough. The light, airy dough was folded into half-moons with scalloped edges, and so, looked like South American empanadas, but the comparison stopped there.
Our sparkling water was a bit overpriced, the soup spoon was too big for Mom’s dainty hands, and the ahi carpaccio with arugula — though tasty — wasn’t the best I’ve had; but overall, our experience at Enoteca was stunning and delightful in every way. It was so impressive that even Mom — the woman so uncomfortable in formal wear she calls it "monkey clothes" — inquired about the special New Year’s Eve menu.
If this restaurant can get Mom ordering "prosciutto," it must be doing something right.
Enoteca Toscana
2088 Ventura Blvd.
Camarillo
445-1433
$8 - $18 per tapa
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