Davanti Enoteca – Brunch

I’ve done a previous post on brunch at Davanti Enoteca but here we go again. This time features a Bloody Mary bar and a bit of Restaurant Week action. But I still order the same ricotta and honey vasi I get here every single time….I am pretty sure every post I ever do on Davanti will have this little gem (or the focaccia di recco).

Davanti Enoteca

Oh and there’s a polenta-related gif too. Because why not.

DRINKS: As aforementioned, I got a Bloody Mary. This is a good Bloody Mary base and even if it wasn’t, you can add SO MUCH STUFF to it that it would become good by the time you were done. These add-ons include: horseradish, spices, lime, hot sauces, jalapeños, cherry peppers, pepperoncinis, pickled cauliflower, pickled radish, pickled romanesco, pickled asparagus, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, celery, pickled shallots, regular olives, jalapeños stuffed olives, blue cheese stuffed olives, and you can even drape freaking MORTADELLA over the top it of it all, like a comforting little pork blanket over your stuffed-to-the-gills Frankenstein Bloody Mary.

Bloody Mary Bar

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Its really hard to decide what to get and if you are a bit less confident in your Bloody Mary building skills, there is someone to help you flavor your Bloody Mary just to your liking.

My Bloody Mary

Friend’s Bloody Mary

…and that person clearly likes my friend A LOT better than she likes me -_____-

The brunch menu is pretty diverse and includes a lot of options that are available at lunch and dinner as well like all the appetizers, the pizza, and pasta.

Menu

Beverages

APPETIZER: Andddd here is my favorite appetizer. I know people are crazy over the focaccia di Recco, which is a crackly whisper-thin bread filled with oozy melted cheese and topped with honeycomb – and fear not I am a fan too. But my favoritest favorite is the Ricotta + Honeycomb Vasi.

Ricotta + Honeycomb Vasi

This ricotta is ultra-smooth, whipped and topped with olive oil and sea salt. They serve it with hot, toasted butter-y bread and a big chunk of honeycomb. Could eat this forever and ever. Note they always give you too much ricotta for the amount of bread so we always ask for more bread. This used to be complimentary but lately they have been charging for the extra bread.

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Our second favorite appetizer there, is the amazing Mascarpone Polenta which is served with a ragu of the day…which is almost always pork shoulder. This thing is a cheesy, creamy cloud and served with the tender pork in a flavorful tomato sauce….unreal. Eat it fast before it gets cold as polenta is approximately 60% less magical cold.

Mascarpone Polenta with Ragu

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This was actually the last day of Restaurant Week as well, and despite them first saying they were no longer doing it, they obliged us as on the SDRW website it did say Davanti was participating in Restaurant Week that day. As part of that menu, I got the Butternut Squash and Farro Salad which also comes with watercress, toasted hazelnuts, whipped goat cheese and an apple cider vinaigrette.

Butternut Squash Farro Salad

I quite like this, there could be less farro and more goat cheese (much like in life) but would order it again. Davanti actually does a really good job of making salads that are simple but have a great combination of flavors.

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ENTREES: For whatever reason I always adore the appetizers at Davanti but the main dishes (minus the burger of course…don’t worry burger) are a bit less exciting for me. Although I love the perfectly charred thin crust on their pizzas, the toppings can be a bit sparse. The Pizza con Prosciutto e Rucola is one of my favorites, but it is definitely not a boy-pleaser. The bf was not a fan and the sister’s husband also was disappointed with the lack of cheese and sauce. This has a salad on a pizza effect (thank you CPK), as there is lots of arugula, a decent amount of Prosciutto de Parma and very little of the mozzarella di bufala and fontina.

Pizza con Prosciutto e Rucola

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My entree (part of the Restaurant Week 3-course menu) was Paccheri con Salsiccia e Pomodori al Forno, giant rigatoni with oven roasted tomato, sausage and parmesan. It was good although I wish the rigatoni had been a tiny bit more al dente.

Paccheri con Salsiccia e Pomodori al Forno

My sister ordered the Cacio e Pepe quite simply spaghetti + pecorino + pepper. Simple but well done. When we were little my mom used to make a lot of spaghetti ali e olio (spaghetti with olive oil and garlic) and my sister looooved it (she’s not a tomato sauce person) so this pasta would be perfect for other fellow tomato haters.

Cacio e Pepe

We now briefly interrupt this restaurant review to bring you a picture of dogs in sweaters:

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Ok carry on.

For dessert as part of the RW menu I got the Lemon Tiramisu, this is perfect if you like the idea of tiramisu but don’t like coffee. Soft sponge biscuits with fluffy mascarpone cream folded with lemon curd and topped with blueberries. Its airy and light yet definitely tastes like dessert with all that mascarpone. Great dessert that doesn’t leave you feeling super heavy.

Lemon Tiramisu

Another good brunch at Davanti :) I would also like to add there’s rarely a wait here, even on Sundays which is quite nice. And remember to be extra nice to the Bloody Mary lady as clearly I was doing something wrong…. ;)

CHECK:
Bloody Mary x 2 $20
Ricotta Vasi $8
Extra Bread $2
Mascarpone Polenta (large) $18
Pizza con Prosciutto $15
Cacio e Pepe $12
Restaurant Week lunch (special) $20
TOTAL (w/tax) $102.60