I went to Piatti on the Square in Sonoma last night. My friend Andrea and her sister dropped by the house yesterday afternoon and invited me, along with a group of folks, to dinner. I haven't gone out for some good vittles in a while, and I really enjoy Piatti's fairly simple menu. Nothing is too snazzy; the combinations are "rusticated" Italian, but with the snobbified flair that so appeals to foodies. The tastes are not overly complex, which is fine by me. I prefer my pseudo-Italian food to not mix mango paste into my bistecca, thank you very much. A squeeze of limone, perhaps, and some fresh ground black pepper, and leave the taste of the steak pure. I had the Baby Spinach Salad with marinated chicken breast, roasted peppers, crispy onions, balsamic vinaigrette. The vinaigrette was rich, the spinach greens were crisp (not slimy, thank goodness, which can happen if they sit dressed just a tad too long before they're served), and the roasted red bell pepper was delizioso! The chicken breast was moist and the whole schmiel was topped with grated Grana. My main dish was a risotto with oyster mushrooms, baby zucchini, and shaved corn. Creamy and rich, I could probably have eaten the whole pot if they'd stuck it in front of me. Risotto is so flippin' tasty! I ended with their creme brulee, which I found to be a little on the eggy side. I prefer the custard with a rich cream finish that is complimented so nicely by the fired sugar top, but it wasn't bad.

All I had to eat all day was some lowfat microwave popcorn and a ton of water so I could indulge at dinner. I flippin' love food, especially good food, but let's face it - indulgence of that sort can widen the waistline faster than an airpump to the Goodyear Tire man. These infrequent sojourns to Foodie Land are so worth it, though.