Crepes And Corks: Bottega Americano

I planned a last minute trip back to San Diego for Valentine's weekend to catch up with family and friends. My sister wanted to try one of the newest restaurants in town, Bottega Americano. A new Italian hotspot on the outskirts of downtown, Bottega Americano had my eyes intrigued and my mouth watering from start to finish. The open space has a uniquely modern vibe with a rustic touch. We sat at the chef's table, which is a hightop bar looking into the pizza prep area next to the woodfired oven. Each corner of the restaurant had a different specialty - one area for fresh pasta, one for fresh fish, another for cheese and charcuterie with a huge chalkboard menu above it, etc. As an appetizer, we ordered the octopus with braised bacon, frisee, fingerling potatoes, cipollini onions and romesco. We split a pasta and a pizza for our main course. Our pasta was with braised octopus, basil, lobster stock and radicchio. We chose the pistachio pesto pizza with taleggio cheese, mozarella, pears and truffle honey. The pizza was heavenly and sweet. I watched them make this pizza in front of us - everything from the chunks of cheese to the thick truffle honey was scrumptious. I can't wait to go back to Bottega with a big group so we can sit at one of their large family style tables and try even more of their tasty selections.