2004 Europe

Homemade Pasta with Tomato, Basil & Feta



May 20 – Today is a lay-low day to rest up from yesterday’s excitement. We got up, had breakfast at the hotel, and then took the local bus to Positano, the closest city. The bus travels about 25 km to go 10. It climbs up the hillside several times to make stops and then retraces its route back down the hill. The bus took us as far down into the city of Positano as you can drive. From the square it’s about a half mile walk down to the harbor along a street lined with cafés, boutiques and a few real businesses like drug store or tobacconist. Lots of people here smoke. It’s been that way all over Europe. I went to see the church and walked down to the harbor. We had lunch in a small teahouse. Their sandwiches were 10 times better than the ones yesterday in Rome and only cost 4.50 Euro, less than half the price.



Lots of English speaking tourists here as well as some German and Japanese. I was early getting back to the bus stop and sat on a bench there to watch people. Two women who spoke English soon joined me. They were military wives whose husbands are stationed in Germany. One had planned the trip as a welcome home for her husband who has been away on an assignment. But his tour was extended and she couldn’t get her deposits back so she came with another wife. They seemed to be having a good time.



I learned a valuable lesson today. No matter what it is, order the fresh seafood appetizer and entrée in the dining room for dinner. All the food is very good but the seafood is fantastic.



The cooking at the Onda Verde is done by Franco, a large man and one assistant. Franco (on the right in the picture below) usually arrives during breakfast to start dinner preparations. He makes almost everything from scratch. His assistant arrives in the afternoon. When you go down to breakfast in the AM each table has a leather folder on it with the evening’s menu inside. You mark what you want for dinner and it gets collected when you leave breakfast. You get a first course and a second course that comes with a side dish and they give you three of each to pick from. The first courses are usually pasta, soup or a vegetarian salad of some kind. The secondi are usually seafood, meat or a vegetarian dish accompanied with a salad, vegetable or potato/rice dish. It takes about 2 hours to eat dinner.



The waiter, Gianado (below), looks every bit the Italian Godfather, and is definitely on the Amalfi Coast pace. He’s of indeterminate age but I suspect over 65. He has that classic British butler way of moving. He seems to float on very small strides. He wears black pants, white shirt, black bowtie and a white jacket every night. He’s very formal and yet very friendly. His English is ok and anything related to the food he can deal with. Here in Italy, and most of Europe for that matter, a waiter is viewed as a professional, like an electrician or plumber in the States. Gianado exemplifies why that is true. Everything is done with great elegance and style. He presents the food as though it is a work of art to be enjoyed not just something to wolf down. He’s not ostentatious or showy. He lets the food be the star. You can just tell that he takes great pride in what he does and wants you to have a great dining experience every night.



Tonight I had large pasta squares with sautéed mixed seafood (mussels, clams (at least 2 kinds) and shrimp. The pasta was great, even more al dente than I risk making mine. I always figured I was not getting it soft enough. Turns out, I’m in the minor leagues. These guys like their pasta with some chew. Wonderful!! Be forewarned; if you eat pasta at the Longenberger’s in the future be sure to bring your best dentures. The olive oil here is a spice in its own. It has so much flavor and they use it on everything. Same for the small olives, a cross between a green and black (looks kind of purple), they put them in everything…well almost everything. For the second dish I chose grilled seafood (below), a white fish fillet (may have been sea bream), a cuttlefish (the whole thing, the body had been sliced into rings, the wings had been cut into strips and the tentacles were split in two vertically letting me decide how to approach them), a prawn and a langoustine. I wish I had taken my camera, it even looked great! The side dish was escarole with olives, also good. The desert was a very light white cake with lemon icing. The roast beef the first night was good; henceforth I’m sticking to the seafood. This coast is famous for it and I’m going to choose it from now on.



I’m feeling a little under the weather and I think Diana is too.

(c) 2004 Rod Longenberger