THE FOOD MILL

The Depot was a restaurant in Napa that served Italian Food family style. They have long since shuttered but the memory lives on. Clemente Cittoni was the cook and had a signature dish called Malfatti. Malfatti is the filling only of a ravioli.(Malfatti is translated from Italian to mean; "poorly made, or mistake'). It is gently simmered and served with a red meat sauce. We have never experienced such a taste, texture and delicious pasta dish that Clemente's created.  Clemente has a cult like following of Malfatti lovers. He did open a to-go only restaurant located in a Napa liquor store. He has recently moved to a new location in Napa called; The Food Mill. Have I mentioned that Clement is 84 years old?

We made the 1/2 hour pilgrimage to The Food Mill. It is a small restaurant (?). I question the restaurant part because they did have a mismatch of tables and a bar but we were the only seated customers. There was a constant ringing of the phone and lots and lots of people came to pick up their order to go. There was no bartender, waitress, silverware or ambiance to be had. Clemente's daughter Joanne took our order at the counter. She was very busy and it might of actually been easier to phone in our order. We ordered our beloved Malfatti. It was served in a to-go foil pan and we had to beg for some paper plates and plastic utensils. Besides the sparse and almost non existent service we relived a taste and memory from the past. Malfatti is something to be experienced. We were happy.