San Diego Restaurant Week 1 (Davanti Enoteca)

San Diego Restaurant Week is such a great time. So many restaurants get the chance to lure in potential customers, and us hungry folk get to try different places for awesome prices. Last year, SDRW added lunch to their awesome lineup, and though I didn't have the chance to try anything out then, I did this year!

With so many affordable options, it was hard to narrow it down, but my best friend and I decided we'd go with Davanti Enoteca, because they had so many dishes to choose from. I'd been to the restaurant once before, for a quick snack (the ricotta and honeycomb vasi- it was super good), so I was even more excited to further explore the menu. 

I had some serious issues trying to choose my first course, but after noticing the dish at the table next to ours, I knew I had to get the roasted corn + walnuts + aged goat cheese + arugula + wild mushrooms. The mixture of smoky and sweet corn, the peppery quality of the arugula and tanginess of the goat cheese married so well. I only wish there were more mushrooms, but even still, l loved the dish.

The bestie decided to go for the truffle egg toast + fontina + asparagus. While the toast smelled divine, it kind of made me wish there was actual truffle shavings on the egg. It was a solid effort, but I guess I was just too in love with my own plate to care about the toast. I did like how the yolk was ever so runny, though. Not so runny that it was completely uncooked, but enough to sop up some of the toast with when it was cut. 

For my entree, I went for the Paccheri con Salsiccia e Pomodori al forno (giant rigatoni with sausage and oven roasted tomatoes). This is a classic dish that was done right, and the serving was huuuge, I couldn't even get through half of it. The pasta was perfectly al dente and I thought the spiciness of the sausage stood up well next to the thicker tomato sauce. 

My girlfriend got the Davanti burger, which came with bacon jam, roasted tomato, cheese curd, arugula, roasted garlic mayo and shoestring fries. There were a lot of flavors going on in the burger, but I couldn't really get a taste of the bacon jam because the garlic mayo was slightly overpowering. I feel bad saying that because I'm one of those people that puts garlic in practically every dish I make, but sometimes garlic should step back to let some other ingredients shine, right? With that said, the bit of burger I had was still delicious. 

At $15, the two course meal was a steal, so much so that I almost wanted to come back to try out the rest of the menu, but I'd definitely recommend this place, even outside of restaurant week. Davanti Enoteca is one of the restaurants that's having the promotion for two weeks, so there's still a few more days to try out this place! Quick tip though: during the day, you might not want to eat in the back (even though the booths are adorable and comfy) because there are a number of flies that are not shy about trying to get at your food. Maybe it's not so much of an issue when it's not a trillion degrees out, but it's just a thought. 


Davanti Enoteca- Little Italy (there's also one in Del Mar)
1655 India St
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 237-9606