Bella Trattoria

Today I had one of those "I am so depressed that it took me this long to find this place, but SO HAPPY that it's in my life now" dining experiences. After a long time of relegating it to the furthest back burner of my mind, I finally stopped in at Bella Trattoria at Geary and 3rd. I was in the area for groceries and had jogged 3 miles in San Francisco's summer chill, so I thought I deserved some carbs and protein.

I walked in hoping for decent, and I was completely blown away. This is, without a doubt, one of the top five pasta dishes of my life. I have absolutely no qualms ranking it among the pasta I've had at A16, Perbacco, Delfina, Flour + Pizza, Ideale, or any number of other places where it would have cost several dollars more. And when you factor in value, Bella Trattoria beats all those listed above.

The beauty of this dish lies in its deceptively simple appearance. It looks like just another tomato sauce. But everything about it is in harmony. There's just enough cream to balance the tartness of tomatoes, but not too much to make the dish heavy or cream-based like an alfredo. Every piece of pasta was perfectly cooked. I tend to hope for pasta to be cooked past al dente because I prefer too soft to too bitey. This pasta hit the middle ground perfectly, making it pleasant to chew without being a chore. And the aftertaste? Blew me away. The sausages and sauce left a mild fragrance of fennel and light red wine on my palate and in my sinuses. I found myself scraping up every last drop of the sauce. I think David, the proprietor, was both pleased and amused by my enthusiasm. We exchanged names and I promised to be back. It's a promise I won't have any problems keeping. Have you seen me rave this much about a restaurant lately? I think not. I just hope Bella Trattoria achieves this kind of perfection consistently and across its menu.