Always on the lookout for good Italian food, I was eager to try BOTTEGA CUCINA (46 Morgan Road, West Springfield, 732-2500, www.bcucina.com), a small restaurant one block from the Showcase Cinemas in West Springfield.
We were a little early for our Friday-night reservation and the place was crowded. While we waited, I read the specials blackboard. Butternut squash ravioli with spicy cilantro butter, barramundi with a spicy pancetta stuffing, veal in pasta sauce # not your standard red-sauce menu. Looking over the sides –artichokes francais, sauteed rapini, cauliflower and butternut squash mix as well as green beans and a mushroom risotto – I started to get a very good feeling.
The feeling grew after we were seated. Our server managed to bring off the combination of friendly, helpful and unobtrusive. She was there to help us have a good time rather than become our new best friend. She ended up doing both.
The four of us ordered rather a lot of food, starting with the butternut squash ravioli and the mushroom crostini. The ravioli were clearly homemade, folded like tortelloni, and filled with a squash puree that was slightly sweet but was not seasoned like a pumpkin pie. The nutmeg-clove combo is a common failing among restaurants that don’t trust diners to enjoy the flavors of the squash itself. The sauce was a touch spicy, with hints of cilantro and a red cast that might have been some red bell pepper. The mushroom crostini were a surprise as well: button mushrooms in sauce, sitting on sautéed baguette slices. They tasted like they had been cooked in a combination of veal stock and Marsala, and finished with a bit of cream. It’s been awhile since I wanted to go home and recreate a restaurant dish, but those mushrooms are on the list. The salads were a nice mix of mesclun greens with homemade salad dressings.
Owners Phil Hillenbrand and Brian Aussant were determined to start small. The former chef and general manager, respectively, of Mulino’s in Northampton, their goal was to recreate the experience of the original Mulino’s, on Center Street. I’d say they are just fine being themselves.
Italian restaurants tend to break into two categories: southern Italian red sauce places, serving tomato sauce and pasta with the familiar Parmesans, meatballs and so on, and northern Italian white sauce places with risottos and rich brown and white sauces. Bottega has a good balance of both.
For starters, we split an order of Bilancio (Italian for balance), strips of smoked ham and chicken and spinach lightly dressed in a tomato ricotta sauce and served over shell pasta. The ham gave the dish a slightly smoky taste, the pasta was exactly al dente and the whole was more than we could finish, knowing what was coming up.
Our entrees included the barramundi with spicy pancetta stuffing, chicken picatta, the veal and pasta special, and porchetta, a double pork chop topped with a honey, apple, Gorgonzola and walnut stuffing. Each was cooked exactly right # the pasta, again, was al dente, the pork juicy, the chicken piccata featuring several nice scallopini in a lemon caper sauce.
The sides were good, too. A cauliflower mix was cooked perfectly; the artichokes francais were tender and flavorful; the rapini was sautéed just until the edges were crispy; the risotto tasted dark and mushroomy. The only part of the dinner that I thought was unnecessary were the stuffings: Neither the barramundi nor the pork needed them.
For dessert Bottega Cucina serves traditional choices # crème brulee, tiramisu # but we decided to try coconut-flecked cheesecake served on a pool of strawberry sauce. A dense New York-style cheesecake would have finished us off, and this airy version was a perfect ending.
Chef Phil Hillenbrand is a local boy. After graduating from the culinary program at Smith Voke, he went on to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., then returned to the area to cook at Mulino’s, the Deerfield Inn and the Silk Road Café. Brian Aussant worked in various social service agencies, including a Department of Mental Health gig where he was the kitchen manager, supervising clients who helped prepare meals for other clients and staff. At Mulino’s, he started in the kitchen, went on to book bands for Bishop’s Lounge and eventually ended up as general manager for all three of Tony Bishop’s places # Mulino’s, Bishop’s Lounge and Brasserie 40-A # when they opened on Pearl Street.
Hillenbrand and Aussant wanted their next venture to be their own. They started small intentionally, a move that looks prescient today, when the restaurant industry is feeling the economic pinch. “We’re paying the bills and paying our salaries and doing what we love to do,” Aussant told me.
Bottega Cucina is a member of CISA (Community Involved in Supporting Agriculture) and much of its produce comes from local operations like Red Fire Farm in Granby. Virtually all the food it serves is made in-house, including the stocks and sauces. “Why go to restaurant school if you’re just going to buy stuff?” says Hillenbrand.
Appetizers run from $4.50 to $9.50. Pastas are $7 (for butter and cheese) to $16 (Bolognese or shrimp scampi). Entrees are $16 to $21 and include two sides. Desserts are $5 to $6. Bottega is open Tuesday through Saturday, and serves meals until 10 on Friday and Saturday nights, making it a great choice for an early movie and late dinner or vice versa. There are occasional wine dinners on Sunday nights. Bottega is also open for lunch, serving panini sandwiches and pizza-like flat breads.
Originally Published, Daily Hampshire Gazette, January 16,2009.
