Bob S.
Yelp
Some places have great food. Some have great prices. Some have great deals (pretty good food, pretty good price). This place has great atmosphere. I don't mean, like, the romantic candlelight kind, but literally the delicious aroma inside. The air in this little white barn results from about 90 years of thousands of wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano, thousands of yards of cured salamis and pepperoni, untold numbers of loaves of fresh bread pastas olives tapenade, and of course olive oil. I began dropping in here during the 60s, regularly when I lived here in the 80s, and even today... things haven't changed much. Check this scene out, though admittedly it's something of a dream, an anachronism from days when Italians had made it to the west coast. Some left the city to do the same agrarian work they knew from back home, but they couldn't get certain food items in the valley they were accustomed to in the city. So the proprietor found the need and filled it, and with minor changes the need is still being filled. Except the customer base has changed considerably, meaning it's you needing to escape whatever you have to do in the city. And here's proof that life can be even better without a master's degree, except you can't take it home with you. Instead get a jug of olive oil, a loaf of bread and some take-out malfatti from Val's in Napa on your way home. And enjoy the atmosphere, air is free.