Rigatoni

San Diego, April 7, 2011—

LUNCH TODAY IN THE zoo: a Caesar salad. I should set "Caesar" in quotes: no anchovies, no egg, no garlic that I noticed. Oh well.

Dinner was considerably more satisfactory: we split a house green salad, with quite nice vinaigrette, then I went on to Rigatoni Rugantino: rigatoni with green onions, wild mushrooms and light marinara sauce topped with sliced grilled filet mignon. This was a nice combination, the pasta just slightly underdone, the sauce in good balance. Dessert? Why not a ricotta cheesecake?

Pinot grigio, Bollin, 2009; Barbera d’Asti Superiore, Michele Chiarlo, ?vintage

Asti Ristorante, 728 Fifth Avenue, San Diego; (619) 232-8844