Unless you’ve lived under a rock your entire life, you’ve
heard of Tex-Mex food (or if you are in a country that is nowhere near Tex or Mex). Well, today I had a Italo-‘Merican dinner. We started off
with a mix of salsiccia e verdure arrosto (roasted sausage and vegetables) left
over from yesterday, including pomodorini (little tomatoes), cippole (onions), basilica
(basil), melanzane (eggplant), zucchini, and pepperoni rossi (red peppers). I
cooked it down it a little, then added some ditilini pasta. The result was a
magnificent burst of vegetable flavors. It was truly a divine dish. That was
the Italian part. The American part was that I dry rubbed and roasted fresh (I had
to pull out lots of feathers) ali di pollo (chicken wings). I even made up a
hot and honey sauce using a Colombian hot sauce that I found at the market the
other day. Mixed with butter and honey, it was like I was sitting at a bar in
New Jersey. It totally hit the spot.
The night before, Mom, Erik, Zia and I headed out to the
Ristobar, a favorite spot for local cammionisti (truckers). They know how to
eat, and the Ristobar is filled with delicious food. My pasta course was spaghetti
allo scoglio, which has gamberi (shrimp), langostino (a small lobster-like
shellfish), vongole (clams), and cozze (mussels) in a sugo di pomodoro (tomato
sauce). Ristobar makes one of the best scoglio I’ve ever had. It was full of
flavor all the way to the last bite. Erik had homemade gnocchi Bolognese, and
Mom and Zia both had penne Bolognese. Their Bolognese sauce is the best we’ve
had all summer. One other thing that sets this restaurant apart is the olio di pepperoncini
(hot pepper oil). Most places have a bland, pre-seasoned olive oil. Ristobar
has a container with oil and fresh peppers and it is potent, but delicious. 