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Dal Bon and Valpiani came to Todos Santos from northern Italy six years ago, after an earthquake leveled their restaurant in Lago de Guarda. The artistic town, which has long had a hunger for Italian cuisine, as evidenced by institutions like Café Sante Fe, quickly embraced the vibrant couple’s efforts at Tre Galline. Why the name? Dal Bon said, “We have to call the restaurant the Three Hens because they were waiting for us,” referring to the poultry-inspired painting that was already on the building’s front door.

The brick front shields views of art-lined, purple and red walls, a spacious patio and wood beam ceiling. Violet tablecloths hosted ceramic hen centerpieces.

We ate spiral rolls and transitioned to housemade salume, which Dal Bon hung on the wall.

We started with sweet coppa (cured pork neck) paired with strawberries.

Glistening loncillo (pork loin) graced acelga (Swiss chard) wrapped packets of olive oil infused, Parmesan-rich breadcrumbs, and a topping Parmesan and olive oil.

Dal Bon simply dressed translucent bresaola (beef prosciutto) with arugula and olive oil.

We toppled an eggplant Parmesan tower that would have been good even without two unique tweaks: crispy fried basil leaves and sweet caramelized squiggles of eggplant skin.

Dal Bon makes several pastas in-house, including macaroni, angel hair and…

…spaghetti.

Dal Bon intended to rely on Grandma’s recipe for ravioli with pumpkin, Amareti,and mustard, but he couldn’t find those ingredients in Baja, so he opted for ravioli with camote – sweet potato – and a sauce of butter, sage and “juice” from the ravioli. He garnished the thin-skinned pasta with shaved almonds, which added good texture.

Plump gnocchi went great with crunchy green beans, savory shaved Parmesan and pesto made with local basil, but we saw no need to add big chunks of boiled potato.

Fresh shaved Parmesan fell on (and off) a bowl of delicate angel hair with julienne zucchini. This dish would have worked me, if not for my severe aversion to truffle oil.

My favorite main course consisted of a firm sea bass fillet slathered in a piquant sauce with anchovies, basil, pepper, cocktail onions, and green chile. For his base, Dal Bon prepared a nearly glutinous polenta, which was a good match.

Plump meat from our spiny friend from Punta Lobos appeared with sauteed snap peas, snap pea sauce, basil. Dal Bon said, “I don’t know if it is good, but I’m sure that it is fresh.” It was certainly fresh, and the crunchy peas were a nice touch, but the pea puree muted the lobster’s sweetness.

Before dessert, Dal Bon touched on the Tre Galline philosophy, which is “to save the real flavor of the local food…don’t forget the real flavor of the ingredients.” That touched a chord with a table full of food writers who tend to favor site-specific food. Only Chilean olive oil and Italian Parmigiano Reggiano aren’t local.

Dessert was an interesting ice cream trio: including chocolate with dehydrated strawberries; earthy pea with pea skins; and Damiana, which mixed sugar and dried Damiana leaves. Damiana’s an herb that’s unique to Baja and supposedly has aphrodisiac qualities.

Dal Bon and Valpiani surprised us with a bottle of herbaceous housemade Damiana, which tasted great with the Damiana ice cream and on its own.

We concluded our consumption with brutto e buono, “ugly but good” almond meringues.

We wouldn’t necessarily have eaten at an Italian restaurant if we traveled to Todos Santos on our own, but it’s hard to argue with house-made salume and pasta paired with local proteins and produce, prepared by an accomplished chef.

Our visit to Tre Galline was part of a Baja California Sur tour sponsored by Baja.com.