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FROM ITALY TO PERU
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 fo
cused 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 deli
cacy. 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 re
quest it, was simple and lovely on my first visit
but not up to the chefs exacting eye on my
second.
Antonio Spadea seems both constantly in the
dining room and constantly in the kitchen, mak
ing 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 paninu, confident that the grilling process
and the cured meat it's been paired with will
cover up flavor flaws, but Spadea seems inca
pable 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, de
spite 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. 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 im
pression. The rainbow interior hasn't changed,
’out the burritos are stuck at the back of the mul
tipage 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 ben
efit 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
powerful enough to defeat even Listerine. So is
Peru taking over the culinary world? With its em
phasis on French fries as an important ingredi
ent, love of seafood and onions and wide-ranging
tastes, it sure would be a good thing.
What Up? Stan's Bar & Grill and Orange Fanners
Market Etc. on Baxter Street have both closed.
Chapel, the new bar on College Square, is
open and reports are very positive. Espresso
Royale Caffe has a downstairs room again. 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 (www.BrewFest.net). Casa Mia,
the tapas place in the old Rouge space down
town, is doing brisk business already. And the
Rubios plan to open another location of Cali N
Tito's at 3875 Jefferson Rd.
Hillary Brown
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www.painandwonder.com • (706) 208-9588
2St \V. W.iN|im<*tnn Sired • Athens, (ieoryi.i HVn2 1
CkaAtaiK, Jeukm
8 LeatkeM
706-559-4520
706-354-1000
120 Xendene St
Pulaski Heights
Neighborhood
$189,900
First St.
Closest New House
To Downtown Athens
Lyndon Ave.
Boulevard Historic District
$289,900
For information call 706.559.4520 J
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