In his more recent venture at Toast, however, he takes a neo-classical approach with modern Enomatic wine-dispensing machines while injecting chic twists into recipes with rustic roots.<\/p>\n An antipasti of prosciutto di Parma, for instance, is paired with pineapple instead of melon. The tropical fruit appears also in a kale salad tied to Italy by its robust Pecorino cheese and extraordinarily refined, imported balsamic vinegar. Tasteful and seemingly innovative to American palates, Gonzalez plays on Italy\u2019s love of pineapple used in summer fruit salads. And it worked for us.<\/p>\n Italians do marvelous things with cauliflower, which Gonzalez spotlights in another appetizer by serving it roasted in a simple, lovely bath of thin tomato sauce, Chardonnay and garlic. A few shavings of Grana Padano cheese on top clenched the deal.<\/p>\n Rarely do I see red cabbage incorporated into Italian dishes. In our final starter, it was braised and stuffed into puffy \u201cfocaccia riplena\u201d along with excellent house-made Italian sausage and ultra-buttery mozzarella. Resembling a jagged calzone, the pleasing creation occupies a large plate and constitutes as a full meal.<\/p>\n Had we been visiting for dinner instead of a workday lunch, the ever-changing wine inventory would have snagged us. It\u2019s everywhere you look, starting from an iPad list presented upon arrival to the modern dispensing machines rigged throughout the dining room and behind the bar. Italy is naturally well represented. And volume options allow for 1-ounce pours, half or full glasses and whole bottles.<\/p>\n Pasta is made daily on the premises. In the case of fettuccine, the tender and ribbony noodles are presented \u201cal Burro\u201d style \u2014 or what Americans equate to Alfredo. But in the true Roman way, the cream is omitted as to not obliterate the flavors of the butter and Parmesan. We ordered it with the addition of shrimp, and not for a second did we miss the cream, although a little less salt in the dish\u2019s making would have raised it to perfection.<\/p>\n Bavettini is another cut of house-made pasta, which resembles linguine. Here, a tad of cream factored into the basil pesto sauce, which exemplified its herbiness but without necessarily adding heaviness. In both dishes, the pasta was cooked al dente, sparing their sauces the starchy interference that occurs when cooked too soft.<\/p>\n Unable to resist a pizza, we ordered one mainly to go, a pretty thing topped scantily with Pomodoro tomato sauce, colored sweet bell peppers, red onions, pine nuts and mozzarella. A few plops of Gorgonzola cheese spread across the thin-crust pie added tang while micro bursts of rosemary emerged from underneath the toppings. It hit all the marks you\u2019d expect from a fashionable Italian restaurant such as this.<\/p>\n![\"Stuffed](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Stuffed-focacciaweb.jpg\")
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<\/a>Toast\u2019s newly consolidated menu features paninis and $8 lunch specials (available from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.). The paninis reveal trendy fillings like kale, pork belly and freshly sliced tenderloin. Other items from the regular menu include seafood risotto in seaweed sauce, pork belly lasagna, sage-saut\u00e9ed beef, fresh fish and charcuterie boards.<\/p>\n