You know what I love about Italians? Apart from their ridiculous good looks and charming personalities. It is their absolute passion of all things. Of course they are famous for their passion for food and fast cars. But their passion doesn't end there.
But, I digress. We are here to talk about their passion for food. These Locals have been fortunate enough to travel Italy, and experience first hand authentic Italian food. Every region in Italy has its preference for how food should be prepared, what should be used and with what. Tonight we are dining on southern Italian fare. The staff are very authentically Italian. And most definitely are passionate about their food. Naturally this adds to the evenings enjoyment and positively lends to conversations about combinations of food and wine and so on.
We chose MariLuca's tonight, as I was out to impress my friends who aren't locals, but one is half Italian. Now the pressure is on. To impress an Italian raised foodie is not won over lightly. There was much thought and deliberation into where to dine. I settled on Maria Pia's, only to discover that they were closing and new proprietors would be taking over just days before we were to dine. Was this to be a too risky proposition? I decided that in my experience, new owners will try hard to live up to the highly regarded reputation of the previous owners, but also want to put their own stamp on what is now their own name. The new proprietors did not disappoint.
So, you want to know, what did we order? Are they doing Wellington on a Plate? How busy were they? And will they be able to live up to Maria Pia's reputation.
Everything. Yes. Very. Yes.
I have to apologise for the lack of photography of the meals. You can take that as a good sign. That some of my party didn't allow nor wished to hang about getting the lighting right whilst our meal sat getting cold. So, I hope to be able to describe the meal in a way that the artificial flash photography couldn't possibly purvey.
Wine first. Of course. Italian. Again, of course. When in Rome, as they say. My Italian friend chose for us, choosing the 2008 Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, a Poggio Ai Santi wine. Very fragrant and light and moreish a wine, as never I have tasted. Normally we go Central Otago Pinot Noir. And that is as far as I can venture into the red of wines. But, this wine had just enough body and character to please everyone at the table.
So, wine sorted, and half an hour in and we still hadn't settled on whether we would be doing antipasto, entrees, soup, pasta or mains. The Spanish had it right. Just start bringing food. So, we ordered the antipasto platter to share, some char grilled bread and a seafood plate. The antipasto was perfection, and completely stole the round. Olives, Parma ham, salami, grilled aubergine & zucchini, marinated artichoke & mushrooms, pesto, cheeses, beans, fritata, rocket, all with chunky char grilled sourdough bread - perfection.
An hour later, we are now onto the second bottle of Montepulciano and thinking we could manage something else to eat. So, bets are laid, rules established, it was to be couple-teams choosing the best meals wins. DH neutralised the carbonara by team USA with another carbonara. Team USA then stuck with seafood to have the clam linguine. Team Locals final choice was braised beef ravioli with crispy sage. Score!
The carbonara was made with beautiful thin strips of fettuccine, tasty nuggets of bacon, creamy sauce and Parmesan shavings on top. But the linguine with clams and garlicky chunky tomato really did steal the pasta round convincingly.
I was delighted with the ravioli. With its nutty butter sauce and crispy sage, braised beef inside the ample parcels was incredibly tender and truly delicious. But, I am a hearty beef person, and the rest out voted me.
All votes counted, the carbonara and linguine won the pasta round. So, one all. Reluctantly.
Desserts for the decider. Tiramisu for Team USA to share - brave! Only one vote. Team Locals chose an affogato and a triple gelato - FTW!
The Affogato combinations led to much discourse with the Maitre D'. He was adamant that one could not mix creamy vanilla pod ice cream with limoncello. I was happily swayed by his passion and reasoning of the bitter lemon would not sit well with the creamy ice cream. So, orange liqueur it was. The rest of the table chose amaretto for an aperitif. The Locals clinched the win by pouring the amaretto over the triple gelato. Sold! I stood firm on the espresso to go with the affogato. It was not condoned. I could tell he was not approving of my choice, but was interested to find out what my preference was after trying the affogato with or without espresso. His reasoning was for coffee and liqueur, or the ice cream and liqueur, or ice cream and coffee. All three, molto non-bene. But, more power to them for allowing my indulgences.
We are a happy and contended bunch, the Italian friend included. The Locals gladly recommend MariLuca Ristoro. And I wish them every success, for which I can be sure they will enjoy.
Viva MariLuca!
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