The spirit of Italy

Marisa Cuomo’s 2010 Falanghina “Ravello” at $39 would be the wine to pair with Campo’s perfect Burrata ($12.50 ****), a selection from the all-day menu. Burrata is a pouch of fresh mozzarella filled with scraps of mozzarella and cream, then tied up. When you cut into the pouch, the creamy, dissolved mozzarella inside spills out invitingly. Here it’s dazzled with crystals of sea salt, served with crusty, toasted, rustic Italian bread; an eggplant and fig ragu; Calabrian chili; and a touch of smoked olive oil. And if breaking the burrata open didn’t elicit oohs and aahs, spreading some on the bread with a little ragu and chili and taking a bite should do the trick.

Honey Roasted Carrots

The impulse to keep it simple but really good shows in the Honey Roasted Carrots ($8.50 ***½). Each of the eight or nine carrots in the oval dish is about seven inches long, from the cut stem to the tapered root end. These are splashed with honey and roasted, then given a light dusting of ground coriander and bits of panko.

If you’ve never had octopus, try the Charred Octopus ($13.50 ***½) and become a believer. Tender morsels of sweet octopus consort with rounds of fingerling potato, black olives and broccoli raab in a dish so seaside Italian you can almost see the Mediterranean if you close your eyes.

Pizza Salsiccia

Perfection in a pizza is in the mouth of the muncher. Some like deep dish, others like floppy and sloppy. My idea of a perfect pizza is the Pizza Salsiccia ($13.50 ****) at Campo Fina. The house-made sausage is limited but delicious; the cheese (you can specify buffalo mozzarella for $3 extra), broccoli raab, and tomato sauce are all used judiciously, and this restraint with the toppings allows the perfect, thin, exquisite crust to shine through.

Among the little bites on the all-day menu is one not to be missed. Roasted Cauliflower, Pine Nuts, Currants, and Anchovies ($6 ****) is an adventure into the heart and soul of Italian food. The anchovies are not salty filets or filets rolled around a caper — they’re fresh-pickled, their silvery skin glinting in the light. They taste of fish, not salt. The dish is intense, odd and ultimately delicious.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta ($8 ***½) shimmered on its plate and on the palate.

To sum up: Campo Fina is so serious about its Italian food that it’s great fun to eat there.

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review for the Sonoma Living section. He can be reached at jeffcox@sonic.net.