Originally published at Thus Sayeth the Lord…. You can comment here or there.

The Troupe is out, bravely following M through adventures and escapades, leaving me to hold down the fort.

To put it succinctly, the flowers are all dead, there’s nothing in the fridge, and I go home to an forlorn house that doesn’t feel like the home I know.

Empty homes are disturbing. There’s a feeling in the subconscious, a tinge of wariness…things are not as they should be. There should be noises, there should be…someone breathing here, someone talking here, a light turned on in that room, a smell is absent. It’s so subtle, you can only feel it at the end of the hairs on your arm, and at the end of each pump of your heart. Something’s not right. There should be more.

So, I escaped and went out for Italian.

I’m a very picky eater of Italian food– having lived in Turino, Milano, and Cuneo for two years, I’ve had the GOOD stuff. The thing that most Italian restaurants in America DON’T get is freshness. That’s really what I miss. The Olive Garden’s nice, but it’s not Italian; they think throwing extra garlic on a food and spritzing it with curls of parmesean cheese makes it Italian. Carrabba’s is okay, but again: missing the freshness of real Italian food. Chain restaurants almost NEVER get it right. I mean, they’re good for what they are, but let’s have none of this pretension of being italiano vero.

Here in my home town of Fredericksburg, VA, it’s sometimes a struggle for me to get real Italian. There is one place downtown– Castiglia’s– that’s good. There used to be a little shop across from Castiglia’s called Roma 52 that was delicious. (I’ve heard good things about Andrew’s Mediterranean Bounty, but I’ve never been there– a friend used to sell them gourmet vinegars…) That’s Amore died a horrible (and early) death in Frederickburg’s frugly Central Park; and Viva Italia suffered the same fate.
That leaves us with the chains– Carraba’s, Olive Garden, etc. And a couple smaller restaurants– like where I went last night, Bivio Luciano. It was okay. I have to admit that for me, part of the reason I go to an Italian restaurant is to talk with actual Italians, in Italian. I miss Italians. Bivio Luciano is owned by Italians, but they weren’t there when I went. Alas.

The food was good. It wasn’t exactly right, for Italian, but it was good. I had the antipasto for one– a good mix of red peppers, olives, tomatoes, and hunks of provolone. There may have been some type of herb sprinkled over it, but the herb wasn’t exactly fresh, so I couldn’t really taste it. The oil was very light, and there was not much garlic present. It was a cool appetizer for a hot summer evening.

The salad that came with my entree was typical Italian spare– a couple types of lettuce, a few radishes, and some thinly sliced carrots. Simple and delicious. I’m afraid I ordered bleu cheese for my dressing; I would have done much better to order a vinaigrette.

The entree was a hearty sized gnocchi treviso. The gnocchi were done perfectly. Honestly, compliments to the chef. I never could get them to come out right. The tomato sauce was excellent. I could have done with a bit more basil in it, but…eh.

Bivio Luciano is a bit on the pricey side; I splurged. But it’s better than OG. I’ll pay for quality.