Well I said I'd forgotten the names and didn't I prove it! :rolleyes:
And, yes, that's the place. Thanks for that.
While I fully endorse the "terroire" approach to food, I have to say, the offerings at Obica were delicious at least to my perhaps unsophisticated palette.

I just received an invitation to dine at Obica, Santa Monica tomorrow night. Will report back.

From someone who used to live in that very part of the Alps, putting tomini - there are tens of varieties of them in Piemonte and VdA - over pizza or vegetables is a cardinal sin :)

Tomini are meant to be grilled by themselves and to be eaten with lard, salame, paletta or, even better, lard and dried plums. They used to be cheese that could be consumed 'on the go' by lumberjacks - boscaioli - hunters, shepherds and so on. All you needed was, besides said tomini, a flat slab of stone (such as the ones that are still used in the Alps as roof tiles), fire, dark bread/chestnut bread, lard and off you went.

Slightly different is toma, which is has a common root with tomini but is larger and can be quite seasoned, up to vomit-inducing stench (or enough to turn your dog away from the fridge). That can be put over vegetables, say carved courgettes cooked in the oven, or over polenta to make polenta concia. Obviously every single province has a different way to do polenta, but that's another topic...

There used to be an Obika restaurant in Turin's Quadrilatero district, and in the Schenghen airside area of Milan Malpensa, but I think both closed down.

Right about the Caponata. Had it tonight at Obica in Santa Monica, Ca. Best I have ever eaten. Found the other dishes to be rather bland but I can understand why someone who is crazy about mozzarella would enjoy the dining experience.

I'm in Italy now and had lunch at one of the Obica restaurants the other day. They have one not far from me in NYC now, but I've only eaten at two of their branches in Italy. Their burrata is excellent!