- A Michelin-starred chef shared crimson flags to look out for when eating at a pleasant Italian restaurant.
- Pasta should not be drowning in sauce, and bread should not be served with margarine.
- A foul espresso service and out-of-season substances additionally deter the chef.
Stefano Secchi, chef and proprietor of Rezdôra in New York, has many opinions in relation to what differentiates a high-end Italian restaurant from a gimmick.
“I believe that is most likely a very easy subject for me,” mentioned the chef, whose restaurant has held a Michelin star since 2021.
He travels backwards and forwards to Italy usually, so he acknowledges what it means to cook the way Italians do and goals to convey that ethos into his personal kitchen.
To that finish, he mentioned, there are a great deal of locations which might be “not even actual Italian eating places” however come throughout such and cost a excessive price ticket.
So, that will help you keep away from paying so much for meals that sounds authentically Italian however is probably not one of the best you will discover, Secchi informed Enterprise Insider his prime red flags for dining out.
This is how he differentiates the fabulous from the fugazi.
It is by no means a great signal when a restaurant is serving out-of-season substances
For starters, Secchi mentioned, an automated crimson flag is that if one thing on the menu just isn’t in season.
Caprese salad is an efficient instance. Though it varies by area, tomatoes usually hit their peak seasonality in the summertime months.
“In the event that they’re serving tomatoes in the course of, like, December or January, then you definitely’ve most likely received a difficulty, proper? That is most likely not the fitting place to be,” he informed BI.
Moreover, if the chef is serving a diminished balsamic condiment with that caprese, the restaurant is “most likely much more the flawed place to be.”
An actual aged balsamic has some viscosity to it, however it should drip and go away a path. You do not need a thick, goopy glaze together with your caprese.
Over-saucing pasta is a giant no-no
As Secchi put it: There are 20 regions in Italy, however no matter which delicacies you are cooking, pasta should not be drowning in sauce.
“That is an enormous crimson flag,” he mentioned. “As a result of in case you’re cooking high-end Italian, you know the way to sauce the pasta appropriately.”
It isn’t a great signal if a restaurant focuses extra on the sauce than the pasta itself.
The chef defined, “Take into consideration a nonna rolling out pasta for 2 hours, three hours, for his or her household, proper? And she or he’s taking without end to do that on a Sunday. She’s taking her time to make the pasta, she’s taking her time to roll it out, she’s taking her time to chop it — so the pasta is at all times a very powerful factor.”
“In Italia, we name the sauce a condiment — a condimento — that is what goes with the pasta,” he added.
He mentioned good Italian restaurants will attempt to showcase their pasta and steadiness the sauce appropriately.
If the classics aren’t ready and labeled correctly, the restaurant is a tough promote for Secchi
Secchi mentioned he’d additionally ask a server about menu gadgets as a result of quite a lot of eating places “do not know what they’re doing” and incorrectly name pasta dishes.
For instance, he mentioned, it is not unusual for eating places to say they’ve a tortellini however serve one thing that is the dimensions of his thumb or greater. That is truly a tortelloni.
The kitchen can also be “dishonest” if it has fettuccine Alfredo or carbonara on the menu that is being made with cream as a substitute of the normal Parmigiano and butter.
Take note of the bread course
In Secchi’s eyes, the presence of bread service is not what separates the nice from the nice. As an alternative, it is the standard of the bread and what it is served with if it does come to the desk.
“If there may be bread service, simply style the bread,” he informed BI. “And style what they serve it with as a result of folks will take shortcuts left and proper with that.”
If the restaurant serves crappy bread with blended olive oil as a substitute of the actual deal or with margarine as a substitute of butter, he’d most likely move on it.
Secchi mentioned you’ll be able to inform if a restaurant is serving blended olive oil (50% olive, 50% canola) based mostly on the flavour profile.
“It is one thing you’ll be able to style instantly,” he mentioned. If it is darkish in colour however uninteresting in taste, it is most likely blended. But it surely’s a great signal if the oil is bursting with actually wealthy and sophisticated flavors and fragrances.
A top quality Italian restaurant ought to have a correct espresso service
Secchi at all times orders espresso on the finish of a meal. He mentioned if a restaurant just isn’t being attentive to its espresso, it is probably not being attentive to the ritual of Italian eating.
Employees ought to be capable to pull an espresso, espresso should not be watery, and it shouldn’t be served with packet sugars.
Espresso service is a last likelihood to go away a great impression on visitors. If there is not any care taken there, Secchi mentioned, it is a signal a restaurant will not care in regards to the particulars wherever else.