Catelli’s has been around since the 1930s in Geyserville, CA.  Opened by Italian immigrants, it is now run by third-generation siblings in the Catelli family.  They feature local ingredients, hand-craft their ravioli and have many local wines.  They currently offer patio and indoor seating as well as takeout on Wednesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner. Located in a two-story brick building on the main drag of Geyserville, it is a large place.  The entry room contains a long bar and the other 2 rooms have bench seating around the walls with bare wood tables  and some center tables and chairs.  Tables are set with a cloth napkin that contains the flatware.  Music is in the background, acoustic tiles are in the ceiling and windows are uncovered to the street.  Some decorations and art are placed about as well as historic photos.  Service was friendly and efficient, but be aware of numerous upcharges on innocently offered personalizations.

Interior

 

Beverages

 

Food

 

Nonie’s Minestrone contained organic cannellini, garbanzo & kidney beans, veggies and was finished with parmesan.  It was well seasoned  and was packed with stuff.  The beans were all cooked nicely as were the vegetables giving it a good depth of flavor.  It came in 2 sizes and we got the small which was plenty to give a good taste to both of us.

 

The Basil Caesar contained organic romaine hearts, chicories, garbanzo beans, carrots, celery and Catelli’s original house dressing.  The server offered to include anchovies and we agreed but I think we got something more like sardines instead.  The taste was not salty and briny that adds to a Caesar salad.  Instead for $3 we got a strong tasting fish that was too large to blend in easily.  The salad had small croutons and was well dressed but the basil was too mild to taste.  I’d call it okay but nothing outstanding.

 

Catelli’s Homemade Cheese Ravioli are paper-thin handmade pasta filled with a 3 cheese mix of Bellwether Farms ricotta, Laura Chenel goat cheese and parmesan.  You can choose your sauce or have two (for $2.50 extra) and we picked Domenica’s and Mushroom Cream Sauces.  The Domenica’s (chef) is made with organic California tomatoes, garlic and extra virgin olive oil and was said to be a bit spicy but came off as sweet.  It was nice but I wouldn’t call it spicy.  The mushroom cream was made with local cream, lemon zest, garden thyme, Duncan’s shiitake, cremini and porcini mushrooms, garlic and then topped with crispy prosciutto and parmesan. The ravioli was incredibly thin and tender and not over-stuffed, so they stayed intact.  The mushroom sauce was definitely my favorite and had a wonderful intense flavor that was terrific with the fine ravioli.

 

Michael’s Pasta was made with penne pasta with spicy house-made sausage, Domenica’s sauce, Duncan’s mushroom, local cream, garlic and parmesan.  The large dish was said to contain housemade pasta by our server but they seemed much like a good brand of dried pasta.  The dish contained a lot of ingredients whose flavors blended a bit too much for me.  It should have had a rich, lovely composure but fell short.  The sausage was not spicy and the mushrooms had little flavor.  It was a large portion.

 

The server brought house bread to eat with our pastas.  It was served with sundried tomato butter.  The butter was quite mild but the bread perfect for picking up any extra sauce.

 

Farmers Market Fruit Crisp with organic seasonal peaches baked with a house-made  pecan and brown sugar crumble is served warm with whipped cream.  We added vanilla ice cream for $2.  The Dry Creek peaches were well cooked and tasty but the real star was the tasty and crispy topping.  The nuts added a great touch and depth whereas the thyme was quite mild.  It was good and a nice end to a mixed meal.