IL Fornaio and Gelateria Naia

Located in beautiful downtown Walnut Creek, close to fantastic shopping and great people watching is IL Fornaio. This is an Italian chain restaurant, but since I've never been to one, I thought I'd give it a try. Joining me for lunch was my friend Adelei. When we walked in we were greeted by three hostesses and we opted for the patio dining area. Two glasses of Ice Water magically appeared (yes it was that fast). We had menus, water, and a great view into H&M to watch people shopping. Great for the voyeur in all of us.

The menu offered a plentiful selection of pizzas, flatbreads, salads, fish, meat, and pasta dishes. We decided to split the Insalata del Fornaio and the Canneloni Al Forno.


The Insalata del Fornaio was just as the name implied, the house salad. Basic but flavorful, it was mixed greens, garlic croutons and shaved parmesan with house vinaigrette.


The Canneloni Al Forno is usually one of my favorite Italian treats. This version included large pasta tubes filled with rotisserie chicken, spinach, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and smoked mozzarella; bechamel and tomato sauces. The first thing I noticed was that the chicken was large chunks of chicken meat. Typically this dish is prepared with a minced chicken or veal. I found the chunks of chicken really threw off the texture of the filling, which is normally my favorite part.

The menu description of the Canneloni really made it sound as if the flavors were going to explode my tastebuds. Instead, the flavor was more of a "Mish-Mash" of bland sauces. The highlight of the dish was probably the mushrooms, and I think they actually forgot to add the sundried tomatoes. Adelei commented that she felt the dish had a certain "Fishy" taste to it.

For me, this would be a place I would dine at simply take in a fantastic setting, enjoy a glass of wine, perhaps sample the calamari. If you are looking for authentic Italian food, the search continues. Also noteworthy is the exceptional service, we wanted for nothing, our server and the bus staff kept our glasses full and checked in with us often.

You can visit IL Fornaio online at:

http://www.ilfornaio.com/

Or in person at:

1430 Mt. Diablo Blvd
Walnut Creek, CA 94596



After lunch we saved some room for some mid-afternoon dessert. On my short walk from the parking garage I noticed a new Gelato shop, or Gelateria. It is located on Broadway, right around the corner from IL Fornaio.

Gelateria Naia is a local gelato shop that makes fresh handmade gelato in small batches.

Each flavor is labeled and actually has the base ingredients
resting either in bowls or loose on top of the Gelato.

This Geloteria is high class all the way. When you order a sample they scoop it for you in a real spoon, when you are done, clunk goes the spoon in a metal bucket on the counter. There were many flavor varieties to choose from, I sampled the Scherffen Berger 41% Chocolate, Strawberry Cheesecake, and the Nutella. All three were delicious, I really wanted the Nutella, which is a chocolate hazelnut flavor, but I couldn't decide what flavor would compliment it well. With a small order you get two flavors, I made an executive decision and went with the Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake.

It was absolutely exquisite, the flavors worked perfectly together, the texture was amazing.

Adelei sampled the Rhubarb, and Raspberry. She ended up with a Waffle Cone filled with Raspberry and Vanilla.


If you are in Walnut Creek and in the mood for something sweet, it is mandatory that you stop by Gelateria Naia!!

You can visit them online at:

http://gelaterianaia.com

Or in person at:

1245 North Broadway
Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Other locations are posted on their web-site.