From Italy to Peru

originally published February 14, 2007

Dolcissimo: It’s wise to keep your expectations low in this business; that way, when the new kid on the block has even one good facet, you’ll be happy with the small amount of good rather than disappointed. And when something truly special comes along, you’ll be pleasantly thrown for a loop. La Dolce Vita (323 E. Broad St., 706-353-3911), which opened in January in the space formerly belonging to Gandolfo’s, above Broad Street Bar & Grill, should make you do that loop. It’s entirely fresh for the Athens scene, an Italian restaurant that doesn’t rely on red sauce and the same old piccata this and parmigiana that, but instead serves a light menu mostly focused on panini and carpaccio.

If La Dolce Vita can just make it through the winter in Athens, when people may not be inclined to order a large plate of thinly sliced raw beef, arugula and fresh curls of parmesan dressed with a little oil and vinegar, no matter how beautiful the quality of all the ingredients. The restaurant may find an audience in the spring, when an eater’s fancy turns to thoughts of delicacy. Make no mistake, the chef is tremendously concerned with quality, which is why the prices may seem slightly high (although the portions aren’t small). The arancia nuda (“naked oranges”) appetizer, a plate of sliced orange rounds dressed with olive oil and a touch of pepper if you request it, was simple and lovely on my first visit but not up to the chef’s exacting eye on my second.

Antonio Spadea seems both constantly in the dining room and constantly in the kitchen, making stops by every table to explain this or that, and he was emphatic that he feels he cannot serve dishes that are not up to his standards. It would be easy enough to hide an inferior cheese in a panino, confident that the grilling process and the cured meat it’s been paired with will cover up flavor flaws, but Spadea seems incapable of that sort of routine deception. Bread, filling and homemade potato chips (baked, not fried, and awesomely chewy) are all seriously up to snuff.

If you want to get insanely picky about it, the carpaccio could maybe be sliced a weensy bit thinner, but who else is doing this kind of thing in town? There are about 10 choices in that section of the menu, about half raw and half cooked, each with its own appeal and the former almost less like meat than the earthy latter, despite its more frightening red appearance to veg-heads, and while a platter of meat may not seem super-healthy, it’s much closer to a salad than you think in terms of lightness and leanness. Good reports have been filed on the lasagna and the desserts, and even a basic mixed greens salad impresses, seeming more carefully constructed than the usual handful from the salad barrel. La Dolce Vita is waiting on a license to serve wine and sells meats, cheeses, dried pastas and more from a deli counter and a set of shelves at one end of the room.

Peru Invasion: That’s what it seems like lately in Athens, and the recent shift of Los Pepes (1074 Baxter St., 706-353-1093) from to a Peruvian and Colombian restaurant only adds to the impression. The rainbow interior hasn’t changed, but the burritos are stuck at the back of the multipage and multi-pictured menu now, and the TVs are constantly tuned to Latin stations. So where is it pitched? The menu is much larger than Cali N Tito’s and more the equivalent of a meat-and-three than the slightly fancier Las Conchitas Caliente (reviewed in the previous column).

The lomo saltado is served swimming in meaty juices that the fries sop up nicely, but the meat itself is a little too chewy and could benefit from some tenderizing acid. The fried fish (in patties) with garlic sauce, which comes with rice, fries and an optional two fried eggs for a dollar extra (an option with almost every dish), on the other hand, is delicious but suited to those who rank tastiness much higher than getting kissed for the next few days. The garlic sauce is spicy, raw-flavored and powerful enough to defeat even Listerine. So is Peru taking over the culinary world? With its emphasis on French fries as an important ingredient, love of seafood and onions and wide-ranging tastes, it sure would be a good thing.

What Up? Stan’s Bar & Grill and Orange Farmers Market Etc. on Baxter Street have both closed. Chapel, the new bar on College Avenue downtown, is open despite not being completely finished, and reports are very positive. Espresso Royale Caffe has a downstairs room again, to assist with overcrowding. Fire Mountain Grill, on Epps Bridge, has reverted to Ryan’s. Terrapin Beer plans to open its own brewery in Athens, and Brewfest is coming up Sunday, Apr. 1 (visit www.BrewFest.net for details). Casa Mia, the tapas place in the old Rouge/ Mia Madonna space downtown, is doing brisk business already. And the Rubios plan to open another location of Cali N Tito’s at 3875 Jefferson Rd.

Hillary Brown