Finding a cozy little neighborhood spot that serves generous portions of good, moderately priced, home cooked-style food--run by warm, friendly people--isn't easy. The restaurant business is a tough one--especially for the "little guys."Judging by the full dining room--and our meal--at Aurora Ristorante Italiano in Novato on a recent Sunday evening, it appears that owners Aurora and Carlo Scatena (known to Marin diners from his longtime fixture in San Rafael, Café Arrivederci) have found their niche in the neighborhood. (Well, it's not really in my neighborhood, but I think it's worth going a little out of the way for…)
The Scatenas took over the former site of Christopher's (which in its previous incarnation--until the co-owner/chef's death--was the homey Antonio's), and what a welcome change. The small dining room is much more inviting now, the cheerful yellow walls adorned with local artists' work (for sale) and the tables set with bright white tablecloths and napkins. The outdoor patio, with umbrellas and plenty of greenery, adds to the ambiance.
I'm starting to feel like an old lady, though, because the one thing that marred my experience here was the seat. The big, high-backed, lacquered wicker chairs (a Christopher's leftover) look OK; in fact, they look as if they might be pretty comfy--however, they are anything but. I'll feel foolish walking in with it, but next time I'm bringing a cushion.
A mix of reasonably priced California and Italian wines provides enough choice without being overwhelming. A number of American and imported (including Italian, of course) beers are available as well. Our soda drinker was a little disappointed that he couldn't get root beer, but he did not go soda-less.
From the antipasti menu we chose the polpettine di granchio ($10.50), a homemade crab cake served with wild greens, and bruschetta ($5.50), rounds of bread topped with fresh, diced tomatoes, basil and olive oil. The large crab cake, with far more crabmeat than filler, was moist and piquant from the quantity of capers--which most of us enjoyed, although one in our party declared it too capery for her. We also liked the tangy dressing on the greens. The bruschetta was a little puzzling because the bread didn't appear to have been toasted, so it was too soft for the topping--which was fresh and flavorful. The bruschetta comes with four slices of bread, but our waiter offered to bring us another so each of us could have a piece, which we appreciated. We found everyone on the staff to be attentive and courteous--we were made to feel "at home" as soon as we walked in.
We sampled two salads as well, the caprese ($9.95) and Cesare ($6.50), or Caesar, and liked them both very much. What's not to like about thick slices of creamy cow's milk mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes drizzled with basil and olive oil? And our Caesar salad aficionado was impressed not only with the size of the salad, but also with the liberal amount of fresh Parmesan, the dressing that was "just right" (as in not too fishy), as well as the romaine pieces that were bite-sized, requiring less work on his part to enjoy the salad.
We decided to "challenge" the kitchen by ordering some favorite dishes to see how they measured up to our standards. We picked out a couple of specials, too. The gnocchi al piacere (we opted for pesto rather than meat or Alfredo sauce) and rigatoni with meatballs (both $11.95) were deemed delicious. The small potato dumplings were excellent, and the pesto pretty rich, though quite good. The rigatoni came with two large meatballs, bathed in just the right amount of tomato sauce--our meat-lovers were very pleased. The fettucine alla carbonara ($13) was fine, with a creamy, if not-too-exciting sauce and plenty of pancetta. The carbonara orderer did refuse the proffered Parmesan--which may have made a difference--although we all agreed it was rich enough without the extra cheese. The specials--halibut ($19.95) and veal scallopine with prawns ($20.95)--came with sliced potatoes cooked in plenty of butter and sautéed zucchini, broccoli, carrots and spinach--cooked through, but not at all mushy or overdone. The generous piece of halibut was covered in a delectable--and mildly astringent--mixture of diced tomatoes, capers and parsley, which kept the fish from tasting dry. The veal--several thin slices dredged in flour and sautéed--and four "meaty" sautéed prawns were blanketed in the same sauce as the halibut.
We could have quit right then and been quite content, but the desserts ($6.50 each) sounded too good to pass up. We went for the apple pie (warm, with vanilla ice cream), a dense, chocolate ricotta cheesecake (what can I say?), a rich, not-too-sweet chocolate torte and a dish of vanilla ice cream (the purist). My advice: Save room for dessert. We liked them all.
As we got up to leave, we half expected "Mama'" to come out of the kitchen to see us out. Maybe we were carrying the Italian family thing a bit too far, but we were certainly feeling well nourished and nurtured--already thinking about our next family get-together here.
