Bay Area chef shares secrets to eatery's successful decade

For a restaurant, staying in business — especially staying busy — for a decade is reason enough to celebrate. So Sausalito’s buzzy little Italian restaurant, Poggio, is doing just that.

Throughout this month and next, the restaurant is celebrating its 10thanniversary with “10 nights of Poggio.” The celebration includes a series of collaborative dinners with other Bay Area guest chefs, winemakers and friends of the restaurant. Each night, the menu will include a different prix fix and wine pairing.

Executive chef Benjamin Balesteri, who returned to re restaurant after a several-year absence to take over from chef Peter McNee earlier this year, is heading the celebration with a few fun dishes.

Before heading into the kitchen this week, Balesteri took a few minutes to talk about what it takes for a restaurant to stay popular and keep guests coming back for so long when the competition is so tough. Here’s what he had to say:

Only a handful of restaurants in San Francisco can boast that they’re still packed after more than a decade in business. What has Poggio done to stay on top?

It’s hard to say, but we’re really busy right now. We’re on top. Maybe it’s all the press we’ve gotten lately or our 10-year anniversary. We do have a few things that set us apart here, like a wood fire oven, all fresh pastas and charcuterie that we make in house, and that kind of thing. We’re a market-driven restaurant and we try to keep local and sustainable products on the menu as much as possible. We also get to change the menu all the time depending on what’s fresh.

Since I took over there has been a lot of change. And actually, people were hesitant about it it. But I’ve been getting great feedback from trying new things. We’re also just a great value. We don’t have anything over $30 on our menu. Most of our entrees and pastas are reasonable, so we’re the neighborhood spot. We’re not trying to go over top. We’re doing casual, locally driven menu so people are just enjoying it.

You worked at Poggio when it first started, then left for a few years. What brought you back?

My family is here, because I grew up in Monterrey. I left because I wanted to see what New York was all about. Then I realized that here in California we have so many resources oat our fingers. It’s a Mecca for the culinary world. And things just worked out. Peter was looking for a sous chef and it was an easy transition. And after six months, he left. So it all fell into place.

Is there anything the Sausalito dining scene is missing?

Yes, the late-night diners and the nightlife. We’re a sleepy tourist town. We’re not Soma or the Mission. We get tourist in the summertime and locals in the winter —that’s our client’s base. So I’m always going into the in the city at night.

Do you have a favorite place to go out in the city?

I got all over the place. I was at SPQR a while ago and it was awesome.

Can we expect any other big changes at Poggio anytime soon?

We’ve got truffles coming up in November. We’re trying to make almost everything on the menu have shaved truffles. It’ll be for about 10 days. We don’t make much on this thing, it’s just a cool experience to offer our guests.