Once in a while I find a restaurant that makes me never want to cook again. Last night, after eating my takeout from Bottega Fiorentina I found myself calculating how meals there a week my budget would allow.
Bottega Fiorentina's two locations are easily accessible by the Green Line C and D trains and ridiculously convenient for people like me who live smack dab in between Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village. Though primarily serving takeout gourmet Italian dishes, both Bottegas also have small, rustic seating areas in which you can seat yourself after ordering your food at the counter.
A standard set of pastas (penne, spaghetti, linguine, farfalle; $6) are regularly offered along with a variety of sauces (puttanesca, bolognese, marinara, carbonara) and some antipasti plates such as the caprese (fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil; $8) or the proscuitto di parma ($9). Prices, as you might have noticed, are remarkably low, and even better deals can be found with the over-stuffed deli sandwiches. Panini like the imposing Bottega (proscuitto, sopressata, mozzarella, peppers, olive oil) and the Tacchino (turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, olive oil, vinegar) come in small ($4.50-5) and large ($5.50-$6.60) sizes, though I think I'd pity the fool who'd order the latter.
The rotating set of daily specials, however, seem to be real stars of Bottega's menu. On Friday, I sampled the pumpkin tortellini ($6). The delicate, homemade pasta enclosed a sweet, creamy squash filling that was greatly complemented by the light butter and sage sauce. Whole sage leaves infused the entire dish with a wonderful fragrance that lingered in my kitchen long after I had wiped my plate clean. Perhaps it's just my gargantuan appetite speaking, but I assert quality most definitely exceeded quantity with this dish, and I was grateful a thick, crusty slice of Italian loaf came along with my meal.
Because I plan on returning very soon to Bottega Fiorentina to try the antipasti and some of the more meat-centric dishes, I'm holding off on issuing a rating. No offense to Barilla in a box, but this place looks to take "pasta and sauce" to a whole new level.
The Info
Bottega Fiorentina
313B Harvard St., Brookline
617-232-2661
www.bottegabrookline.com
