If you are wandering the Bay Area, craving traditional Italian pasta fresca, it might be time for you to visit Michele Belotti. Throughout the quarantine, this young (33-year-old) chef from Bergamo has continued to work tirelessly at his restaurant and pasta shop in Oakland, still producing staples like bigoli, ravioli, and casonsei (traditional dumplings from Bergamo).
Patrons can purchase fresh pasta to prepare themselves or they can order pre-cooked dishes, like Belotti’s luscious Agnolotti di Lidia, which are filled with beef shank, flat iron and escarole – topped with a reduction of arrosto, or “the most sensuous leftover” roasted beef sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and butter.
