If you follow me on Instagram I think it’s pretty clear how much I LOVE Italian food. The carbs, the sauce, the meats, the fish, the herbs, I love it all and crave it all. Something about Italian food feels like home, [cues laugh] hear me out. Black people love a spaghetti and meat sauce, especially when they don’t feel like cooking. It’s straight to the point, easy to make, makes you feel warm, it fills you up. After a good spaghetti and some garlic bread the chances of you watching your eyelids shortly after is high and I love it. 
I took a much needed solo staycation in the city and needed something comforting that would fill my belly and secure a goodnights sleep. I called Il Brigante for availability, last minute, in the heat of covid and got a reservation. Between the dim lighting, my cozy corner seat and the smell of aromatic flavors brewing in the kitchen of course I felt at ease.
Broccoli di Rapa e Salsicce
Naturally good meals deserve to be paired with good wine but I was conflicted, do I go with red to go with the sausage or white to go with the Salmon I was eyeing? My waiter, Lorenzo suggested the “Primitivo”. Now I’m no somlier but I know words mean things…
I thought, the primitive grape? The first grape? It did not dawn on me that there were original fruit species but alas, here I was, drinking Jesus’ wine.
Click the picture to learn more!
I had wild salmon sautéed with white wine, lemon, and capers, served with roasted potatoes and vegetables, Salmone al Vino Bianco e Capperi. I mistakenly added black olives and cherry tomatoes, don’t do what I did.
The “black” olives I thought I was going to get were actually Kalamata olives and go GREAT with branzino not so much with salmon.
Olives add salt, tomatoes add sweetness to plain fish like the sea bass. This salmon didn’t need allat, she’s good, was ready to go. Despite my request, the salmon was delicious (y’know after I moved the black olives out my way).
At the end of this meal I felt full, happy, content… ready for bed! I was able to enjoy a good dinner learn something new.
Where did you go for dinner comfort during Covid?
xx,
Yana
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