I enjoyed a great dining experience while visiting the Sonoma Valley a few weeks ago. While there are plenty of top restaurants in the area, this meal was enjoyed at a fairly small establishment in the tiny town of Geyserville in a rustic but charming building. The secret to the great food is Chef Dino Bugica’s committment to the concept of cucina povera: using the most basic locally available ingredients plus recipes proven through the centuries. Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Chef Bugica learned to cook in his grandmothers’ kitchens and then spent seven years in Italy where, among other things, he apprenticed with two butchers. The menu provides a pleasing but not overwhelming choice of a few appetizers, salad specials, pannini, pizzas, antipasti, pasta and entrées.

Divola Pizzeria & Salumeria‘s dining room boasts dark wood floors, a pressed tin ceiling, local artists’ work on the brick walls and a wood-fired oven on the back wall. Right away you notice the deli case to one side, filled with housemade salumi, sausages, cheeses and olives. It was a no-brainer to order the Salami & Cheese platter to start our meal, which was served with the house-baked bread (hearty and rustic without being too hard to chew) and olive oil. Along with a couple of different varieties of salumi and local cheeses, we sampled Chef Bugica’s 18-month-aged prosciutto. (If I understood correctly, the source for this and the sausages and salumi are the wild boar that roam the hills throughout the region and are a general nuisance to everyone.) Heavenly!

Harry then moved on to the leek and potato soup (creamy and savory — he allowed me a taste) while our friend June and I enjoyed the house salad of mixed greens and a delicately applied gorgonzola vinaigrette. It was a hugely generous heap sprinkled with walnuts and slivers of red onion, but I still had plenty of room for my plate of spaghetti with leeks, kale, shrimp and bay scallops. There was just enough cream and cheese to make the dish rich and tasty, and the scallops and shrimp were done to perfection. Harry and June each had a pizza from the wood-fired oven: Harry opted for the Salsiccia, with house sausage, red onions and pecorino; while June dove into the Diavola, with roasted red peppers, provolone, arugula and house meatballs. My sampling of each found a light, crispy crust and an interesting and unique marrying of textures and flavors.

We each enjoyed a glass of wine from a wine list heavy on local and Italian wines, with a generous percentage available by the glass. I couldn’t resist a slice of a delectable chocolate torta for dessert, although it was hard to pass up the tiramisu and the pannecotta. And you can be sure that we did not get out the door without a stop at the deli case to select a package of sweet Italian sausage, one of a spicier blend, and a smooth paté. Unfortunately, Diavola doesn’t sell the prosciutto, or that would have made its way into our bag as well.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor