During lunch at Osteria Stellina on a recent Wednesday, chef-owner Christian Caiazzo hunches over the menu with a felt-tip pen, marking every local item with a black star.

Seared black cod? Check. Stinging nettles? Another mark. Lamb livers? Those get one, too. By the time he looks up a few minutes later, it's nearly impossible to decipher the words underneath.

At first, it may not seem so groundbreaking - in Northern California, the buzzwords "local, sustainable and organic" don't carry the same weight that they did a decade ago. But for Caiazzo, local goes one step further. At his rustic Italian restaurant in Point Reyes Station, nearly everything on the menu - around 90 percent during prime growing season - comes from within about 50 miles, or no farther than the confines of Marin County.

"A lot of places will say they do these sorts of things, and they put a couple of lines about a farm on their menu," says Caiazzo. "But then they still have pallets of Sysco (the mega food supplier) coming in the back door." Local for most places is still often three hours' drive away, especially if they're in a city.

Point Reyes Station, flanked by water, pastures and farms, might be one of the few places where Caiazzo's concept can actually work. Plus he's turned the restaurant into somewhat of a gallery, where producers can have their hyper-local goods showcased in a more personal and creative way.

"There's much more of a one-on-one connection," says Cow Track Ranch owner Liz Daniels, who supplies items such as her red Merlot lettuce to Osteria Stellina and other restaurants. It's different, she says, from dropping off a delivery at the back door and moving along.

Fresh bread, meat

In addition to what Daniels supplies from her Nicasio farm, fresh bread from Brickmaiden - a tiny commercial space with no retail outlet - is wheeled around the corner in a faded red wagon. Cheese comes from Cowgirl Creamery's original location just down the street. And spring lamb is picked up from Barinaga Ranch in Marshall, sometimes just after slaughter.

"I'll bring back the liver and it's still warm and I'm portioning it for the lunch menu. It's unreal," Caiazzo says.

For the 41-year-old chef, hours-old lamb liver is a far cry from his earliest culinary experiences. Growing up in a preppy central Connecticut town, his first brush with the stoves was toasting Monte Cristo sandwiches at the local country club.

But his father's Italian side of the family instilled in him a passion for food and cooking, and with a fast-paced, East Coast mentality, Caiazzo quickly worked his way up through restaurant kitchens, including San Francisco's Postrio at the height of its popularity.

Peppered with trips abroad, Caiazzo's resume was similar to those of other aspiring chefs. Then two successive accidents - one that crushed his knee and another that left him temporarily paralyzed with severe neck injuries - derailed his career, forcing him to slow down.

He moved to Point Reyes Station, where he worked for Cowgirl Creamery and opened Toby's, an espresso bar. But, he says, "I always used to think how great it would be to have a restaurant in town that would represent the local producers in a way that I thought simple Italian food could do it. People don't know the full extent of what's really going on out here."

He was ready to get back into the kitchen when the corner spot that housed Rosie's Cowboy Cookhouse opened up. He jumped on it.

"I wanted to go hyper-local from the beginning," says Caiazzo, "but I knew it would be a challenge." Even now, he admits it's not always the smartest move for the business.

"It's especially hard with fish," he says. "I have customers begging me to cook tuna, but there's just not much variety out here" and he can't support overfishing. "People trust us to do the right thing."

Realistic ambitions

Still, he's realistic about his limitations.

"We need fruit, so I'll get stuff from Fresno," he says. "We're not always right-around-the-corner local, but the next best step is supporting the people who are going to farmers' markets and can grow things to help fill our menu that we just can't grow out here."

Now Caiazzo is getting into the growing game himself. Last month, he moved to a 3-acre farm. If he can grow a few things he's not getting otherwise, it will be yet another way to bring the operation even closer to home. And maybe add a few more felt-tipped stars to the menu.

Osteria Stellina, 11285 Highway 1, Point Reyes Station; (415) 663-9988 or osteriastellina.com. Lunch and dinner Wednesday-Monday.

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