The Breadcrumb

One of the nights while Angie was in Ischia we went to another one of Gianni’s favorite restaurants, Il Briciola (The Breadcrumb). This restaurant is different from any of the others I have ever dined in. Giovanni, the chef/owner lives above the restaurant and when Gianni called up to let him know that we were coming over he literally walked out of his front door and down the stairs to greet us and find a table that would be to our liking. It wasn’t hard for us to find a table we liked as we were the only people eating in the restaurant that night. Gianni had already told me that he loves to dine here because it feels like home, and I immediately understood why. When most people walk into a restaurant they find their table, or go to the one that is designated for them, wait for the waiter to bring the menu over, and then make a decision. However, here, at The Breadcrumb, Gianni picks a table and then makes his way to the kitchen to open the refrigerator, as if he were in his own house, to sample some of the fresh, raw seafood and make the decision of what he would like to eat, or more appropriately, what we were going to eat that night. One decision was already made for us however, and that was that for our first plate we would be having Tagliatelle al Limone. This simple pasta dish is made with a little butter, fresh lemon zest, rich cream, loads of parmiggiano reggiano, and seasoned to perfection with just the right amount of salt and pepper. Sounds simple, and maybe it is, but when you are living on an island of 50,000 people and EVERYONE from the island says that you make the best Tagliatelle al Limone you have to have it perfected. That is the story of the dish at Giovanni’s. Just to prove this point when I told people the next day that I had eaten at Il Briciola, the first question was did you have the Tagliatelle al Limone? Followed by an explanation of how he makes it better than anyone else and everyone tries to get his recipe but hasn’t found a way to unlock his secrets. So after Gianni was done sampling the seafood we went back to our table and waited for Giovanni to come over with the wine, water, and see what we would like to eat other than his most famous dish. The meal continues as follows… Fresh bruschetta, octopus salad, and a plate full of raw mussels, followed by the pasta that was indeed one of the most flavorful and well balanced dishes I have ever had. As we were finishing the pasta Giovanni came out to ask us what we would like to eat for our main. Gianni had already told me that Giovanni had a special way of cooking his fish and that we should each have a small whole fish and some fresh salad. As you have probably realized by now, when Gianni suggests something you pretty much just say yes, so fresh fish and salad it was. Now I can’t tell you the secret to Giovanni’s technique of cooking the fish, but I will tell you that it was by far one of the most tender, moist, and flavorful fish I have ever eaten. If he made fish and chips I have to believe that they might even top that of the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Once again, if you don’t remember the fish and chips from Scotland stop reading now and go back to that part of my story, start over, or simply stop reading because you suck at paying attention. As we were finishing the delicate fish Giovanni returned to the table to make sure we were happy and open another bottle of wine. Pouring himself a glass he sat with us and chatted about the weather, football, my travels, the beauty of the paradise that is Ischia, and graciously smiled as we repeatedly complimented his food. The one thought that kept running through my head was where in America could you find a restaurant where you call the owner to tell him that you are on your way over for dinner, he walks down the stairs to greet you, seats you, invites you into the kitchen to raid the fridge at will, serves you a near perfect meal, then sits down and has a glass of wine with you! Unreal! But wait, it gets better. As I was telling him how much I enjoyed the pasta dish he casually says, “Well, next time you come in you cook it!” I didn’t take him too seriously, and to be honest thought I would be a little intimidated to be in the kitchen with him. However, less than two weeks later I found myself in the kitchen cooking with Giovanni. He stood over my shoulder telling me, in Italian, step by step what to do. A couple of time he didn’t like the way I would stir the sauté pan so he would step in to show me how it should be down, but for the most part I cooked the dish from start to finish carefully following his instruction. As we finished, we plated the pasta and I walked out to serve the dish. I can’t begin to tell you what an amazing experience this was, but what made it even more special was when I began getting phone calls from my friends around the island asking me if I really cooked Tagliatelle al limone with Giovanni in the kitchen of Il Briciola. When I told them I had they would all say the same thing, “My mom has been making that dish all my life, but it never tastes like Giovanni’s! She’s been trying to get his recipes for years! What’s the secret?” Of course, my lips were sealed, partly out of fear that if I shared the secret I would get a new pair of cement shoes, but mostly out of respect for Giovanni and the fact that he let me into his kitchen, his house, and shared with me one of the things that has made him famous in his own special way on the Island of Ischia. We dined at Il Briciola numerous times again before I left the island, and every time I walked away from the table I never once felt like I was leaving a restaurant, I felt like I was leaving a home. I will forever look back on the memories of the breadcrumb with a smile and a wish that I could find somewhere else in the world that would be just like it, and I am in a way sad to know that I won’t. I am however completely happy to know that I will someday be there again, not to eat at Giovanni’s place, but to enjoy a meal with Giovanni in his place.