You Oughto Try Botto

Funny old Richmond is getting lots of new restaurants lately - and some of them aren't half bad. My Beloved and I have been trying them out, one by one.  The latest to us is Botto, a casual sort of a place in a small strip mall next to a dry cleaners and a CVS pharmacy. If you drove by, you wouldn't stop, but My Beloved does water aerobics with a guy who had tried it and liked it, so we made a point of going in on "fish day," Wednesdays, to give it a whirl.

It's Italian. In fact, it's so Italian that the chef has a little trouble with English. I don't hold that against him, as the man can cook!  When you go in, you give your order at a counter, pay up front, and carry your dishes to your table where you find silverware wrapped in paper napkins waiting for you. No tablecloths, no placemats, just a silently running TV showing soccer matches. If you are hoping for fancy, this is not the right place. But if you are looking for good, reasonable Italian food, have a seat!

The only seafood entrée on our Wednesday night was fettuccine with a small whole lobster tail and shrimps in a very buttery sauce with fresh herbs. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the herbs lent a freshness to an otherwise very rich plate. I have to admit that it was saltier than I care for and a little too rich, but My Beloved inhaled his portion and mopped up the rest of the butter on the plate with his bread. Both were man-sized portions, so I had to leave part of mine - although I didn't leave any of the shrimps or the lobster!

We have eaten there three times now, on fish night and on other nights, and enjoyed each occasion. This is good food, perhaps not great food. However, the combination of reasonable price and pretty darn good cooking will see us back there from time to time when we are in a casual sort of a mood - or when we have dry cleaning to pick up or need something from the drugstore.

Reading that over, it sounds like too tepid a recommendation. We really do think you oughto try Botto. There's nothing wrong with "pretty darn good."