17th August 2012
Today we went to a small place by FC road called Little
Italy. I first went there when it had newly opened in Goa; probably in 2000 or
2001. At the time I had never tasted Italian food in my life, and I don’t even
remember tasting it.
In 2011 we went to Italy on a family vacation. It was one of
the most beautiful countries I’ve ever seen. I’d say it’s my favourite amongst
all the places I’ve visited. I had never
really enjoyed Italian food before I went to Italy. I found pastas too heavy,
fatty and bland, and the pizzas I’d tasted at Dominos (the first and only pizza
joint in Goa) were so dry and had such thick bread and less vegies that I had a
strong disregard for Italian food.
Of course when I came to Pune for MIT, I tried some
delicious Italian pastas at good restaraunts, although I was still not fond of
all the pizzas after trying local pizzas as well as the popular pizza brands
like Dominos, Pizza hut, Smokin’ Joes and Papa Jones. Maybe I’d just ordered
the wrong ones. When I am home I often experiment with different types of
pastas, their sauces, herbs and vegies. Most of the time they turn out pretty
nice, and I’ve gotten a hang of cooking it. Al dente. ;)
Now I hadn’t had great Italian since Italy, and I had given
up eating Italian food in India, until my sister Raina decided to take us to
Little Italy in Pune, today. I don’t know if this restaurant was under the same
management as the one I dined at in Goa 13 years ago; but it was infinitely
more memorable. When we got there, there was Valet parking. “This is fancy?” I
said to Raina. “Yeah! Haven’t you come here before?” she asked. I shook my head
and we went to claim our reserved table in the open air section. The place was
packed!
We didn’t get a great place, it was in the corner with dim lighting; so we shifted to a table ahead.
We ordered Sangria port wine (which was nice, but a little
too sweet for my liking). For the food, Pasta Perivama (red sauce with sundried
tomatoes, olives, zucchini, broccoli, capers), Pasta Barcalava (white sauce
pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and broccoli), and two delicious wood
burnt pizzas (cottage cheese, coriander, capsicum, tomato and parmesan) and the
other (sun-dried tomatoes, basic, mushroom and parmesan). The menu was
completely out of the world. I smelled the delicious aromas and it was so
beautiful to look at while being served. Every bite I took was taking me on a
trip. My taste buds were having an orgasm. The flavours were so popping and so
well combined, I was blown away. First I had the pastas and then the pizza, and
I ended with the delicious wood burnt thin crusts.
My family was enjoying the food too, with good conversation,
but I was in another world. I was quiet, and I couldn’t help but stay with the
food. I think I went to Italy and came back. When I took the last bite, I was
so content, so happy and elated, I didn’t even want to drink water, for it
would wash down the taste. My parents and aunt looked at me in amusement,
enjoying my quiet ride to heaven. I did a small gesture of touching the feet of
the chef (something we Indians do out of respect and love). I shook my head in
a loss of words. My family laughed cheerfully.
After a paid the bill, we sat there for a few minutes and
then decided to leave. My parents waited near the car, but I couldn’t leave
without saying thanks. I told the waiter to pay my compliments to the chef. I
wish I could do it personally, but I guess they were having a busy night. He
told me to wait, and came back with a feedback form. I wrote a comment, “Thank-you
so much for the wonderful food. Every bite was worth it and took me to Italy.
It was perfect.” The waiter smiled, said
thanks and went off to give it to the chef.
(There is more than one reason why Ratatouille is my favourite 3D Animated
feature) I wish more people looked at the finer aspects of eating great
food.
My friend, Ishan understands and appreciates food the way I
do. He may not stare at it for that long, but he loves food the way I do. He
quoted once, “Food is the highest form of art one ever made. It involves all
the human senses – we hear, we smell, we see, we touch, and we taste.” Touché,
Ishan.
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