We had a wonderful dinner at Bottega Restaurant this last Tuesday night. What recession, we thought as we entered the restaurant. Bottega has been open since last December 5 and I doubt it has been anything but a full house since. Part of the reason for the popularity of this restaurant is the star power of celebrity chef Michael Chiarello. He is TV chef on the Food Network, winery owner, cookbook author, and proprietor of the Napa Style store. It also helps when Bottega gets great reviews from food critics like Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle or inclusion in the Chronicles’s Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants. Michael Chiarello seems so natural as he roams the restaurant from the kitchen to the dining room greeting diners. We were seated at the bar waiting for our table when suddenly there is Michael to introduce himself to us and learn a little bit about ourselves. It is a very nice touch and one that brings back the customers.

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