All the Old Familiar Places

Ciao Lavanderia
226 East Olmos Drive

(in Olmos Park, just off the circle)

Being lately resolved (again) to lose some weight, my wife and I decided that the traffic circle in Olmos Park, a mile and a quarter distant, was not, in fact, too far to walk. And it being a really fine evening, with temperatures in the high 60s and a clear sky, it turned out to be a really enjoyable half hour's walk. (The return trip, being slightly downhill, was even nicer.) 

And it being such a great evening, the sort we expect here in Paradise South only during fleeting moments in April and October, we took a table outside of Ciao Lavanderia, a place we have been coming to, not frequently, but somewhat regularly, since it opened I don't know how many years ago. Being outside was particularly nice because, in addition to the perfect weather, we could enjoy the relative quiet — there's so little traffic on Olmos Drive that it's much quieter out on the sidewalk than inside the restaurant. Unfortunately, before long the restaurant staff propped open the front door, giving us just enough of the noise from inside to cause us to think about moving, but not so much that we were actually roused to do so.

And even better, that section of tables was being attended to by one Callie, an articulate young woman who may be, when it comes to restaurant food in this town, among the most intellectually straightforward people working in the business. It was still fairly early in the evening when we arrived, so she could discuss with us, unhurried, not just the menu at Ciao (which, in all modesty, we probably know as well as most of their more frequent guests), but favourite dishes at several other places in town. She was also very helpful in selecting a wine, and in selecting entrées, and even when the place started to fill up as the evening went along, she ensured that every aspect of our evening was as enjoyable as it could be. I was impressed enough that I almost — almost — left more than a 20% tip, which heretofore I've only done by math error, or when dealing with foreign currencies, or after way too many drinks. 

The new menu at Ciao is not extensive, but it is impressively more varied than some other nearby restaurants.* That was one of the reasons we chose it this evening; the other two places that we considered near the Circle had menus that I can almost describe as monotonous: one beef dish, one chicken dish, and ten kinds of seafood. Ciao offers pasta and pizza and a few traditional Italian dishes done with flair and verve, and quite a few unusual dishes that start with flair and verve and go from there.

I suppose it's a good thing that my favourite dish at Ciao, pappardelle with sausage and spinach, is no longer offered; it forced me to try something new. Being, as I said, newly resolved to shed some pounds, I liked the sound of the goat cheese and polenta salad. But our waitress was adamant that I would find that an insufficient meal (God bless her), so I gave her my second choice, steak fiorentina, one of the evening's specials. My wife, ever the sensible one, chose another special dish, the pasta primavera.

If Olmos Park does restaurant
inspections, they don't
publicize the results.

The pasta was excellent. The pasta was orrechie, the oil-based sauce was light, the vegetables were done tender-crisp, and the seasonings were deft. The quantity was sufficient for her to eat her fill and still have enough left for tomorrow's lunch.

This was also true of my meal, which was good but less perfect than hers. My steak was barely medium-rare, about eight or nine ounces thick-cut, but the quality of the meat should, I think, have been better, as it carried a $27 price tag. It was seasoned well for the most part, but a couple of bites were overloaded with black pepper. Underneath the steak was a bed of cannellini in a nicely seasoned sauce; and some familiar salad greens, possibly arugula, topped with a few shreds of hard cheese. The taste, except for those concentrations of pepper, was exquisite, but in the struggle between beef and blade, the blade was near overmastered.

* Specifically, Olmos Park Bistro and McCullough Avenue Grill, both of which we had considered as targets for this evening's foray.