The author’s lunch at a cafe in Galeria Vittore Emanuele while vacationing last month in Milan. Photo by Christina Waters
Au Midi Fête: When in Aptos….especially if it’s Bastille Day (July 14), you really must celebrate at the authentically French Au Midi Restaurant and Bistrot, where chef Muriel Loubiere has a brillliant little gastronomic party that begins with a thin goat cheese and basil quiche, moves into a seafood centerpiece of shrimp and monk fish with lobster stock, Cognac and tomatoes, and finishes up with Strawberries Melba, biscuit, ice cream and crème Chantilly. Oo la la—for $35 per person with reservation. So quick make one @ aumidi.com.
Also, one last time, don’t forget to join the other wild and crazy foodies for the 2nd Annual Soif Waiters Race, also on Bastille Day. Marie Antoinette would have loved this event, where our top local servers get to show off their best moves—all to help benefit Second Harvest Food Bank. The race begins at 1pm, in downtown Santa Cruz, at Walnut and Pacific. You might want to check out Soif’s 3-course, $45 Bastille Day dinner as well. Reservations are une bonne idée, as Marie would have said.
A Meal in Milan: Last week I sampled a 3-course lunch offering at Il Ristorante Trussardi alla Scala, recently awarded a Michelin Star. Chef Luigi Taglienti’s elegant, yet robust culinary style offered much to like. As did the view from the second story restaurant, which overlooks the fabled Teatro alla Scala opera house—where I spent four evenings soaking up 18th-century ambience and all four of Wagner’s Ring cycle operas, conducted by maestro Daniel Barenboim. Back to the food: Served by a smartly attired waitstaff, the meal began with aqua minerale frizzante and a glass of Querciabella Chianti Classico 2010.
I selected two pretty rolls offered from a linen-lined basket, and began with a bowl of saffron tagliatelle stuffed with foie gras and lightly sauced with ginger-watermelon juices. Utterly delicious. As was a main course of roast suckling pig accompanied by a large green fig stuffed with almonds, pork and dried fruits—all bathed in a balsamic reduction. Dessert involved basil ice cream—terrific!—and a lovely tart of tomato and strawberry. Great concept. Conflicting flavors. Espresso to die for finished me off…until Siegfried three hours later.
Pascarosa Olive Oil: Santa Cruzans (now Puglians) Brian and Catherine Faris brought one of their handsome sons and a lot of olive oil from their very own orchards to a tasting display last week at Soif Wine Bar. “Delicioso” was my first thought. Organic and extra virgin, this utterly delicious, light yet rich, very attitude-laden oil is now adorning all of our house salads. The Pascarosa packaging is superb—attractive 16 oz. cans with clever closure for roughly $20 each. The marketing is compelling, as you would expect from former UCSC University Relations Vice Chancellor Catherine Faris (who also, you'll recall, was ahead of the curve years back with a charming Capitola-based Mediterranean restaurant called Primizia). The information-driven website—www.pascarosa.com—is loaded with details about how the Faris family fell in love with the southern Italian region, acquired and cultivated the olive orchard, and are now enchanted with the entire olive oil process. So much so that they have put together two tasting tours at their estate for the fall of 2013. Check out the tempting website information. Meanwhile, the Pascarosa brand offers two delicious oils—the lighter one is 100% certified organic, while the richer, more complex and spicy version is grown organically in all but the official certification. Available currently at Soif. And soon, hopefully, at Shoppers.
