Via Veneto Turks and Caicos | Eating With Ziggy

Posts Tagged With: Via Veneto Turks and Caicos

7 More Provo Bites

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Ziggy

A sample of some of Provos top dishes as featured in the summer issue of Where When How. For past Provo Bites, click here. We’ll be there in a week for another culinary adventure.

Wahoo Carpaccio at Caicos Cafe – If there’s anything as exciting as the left side of Caicos Cafe’s menu it is in my humble opinion the right side of the menu. All that excitement causing the specials on the board to look lonely and out of place, like the lone sock in your sock drawer missing its partner (Why do people keep the single socks. Hard to say goodbye or are they waiting for a miraculous appearance of some sort). At any rate, all sorts of food magic can also be found on that special board, and if there’s fresh Wahoo in the house there’s a good chance “Mad Max” will add it in this Carpaccio form. Expertly prepared, sprinkled with capers and pink peppercorns, perfectly cut, silky smooth, melt in your mouth buttery “When Harry Met Sally” seafoodgasm goodness, worthy of a run on sentence. Get this!

Conch Chowder at Le Bouchon. Yes, these guys make a killer Steak Frites. Yes, their escargot will make you slap your mama. Yes, the place is always full of beautiful people, and NO that’s not the main reason we keep going back there Mrs Ziggy, aka the most beautiful woman I know. And yes, even the simple stuff like the smoky, perfectly spiced, uncreamy Chowder is a winner at Le Bouchon Du Village. If there’s one dish that showcases Pierrick’s and Julian attention to detail, this may be the one.

Peruvian Conch Ceviche at Seaside. Here’s a fun tidbit for your next cocktail party. Most people don’t realize the role Peru had on our ability to function as society. Transportation networks, roped bridges, The Pisco Sour, all invented in ancient Peru. But the biggest contribution that most dont know about is the Ceviche, the grandfather of TCI’s national dish, Conch Salad. Young master chef Francois mixes in various peppers including Scotch Bonnet to give it the proper pleasant heat with just enough acid from the lime. And in true Peruvian style, he throws in plenty of fresh veggies including corn to make it the island Conch Salad to beat. The equally outstanding tuna Sashimi made this choice a tough one.

Romaine Lettuce at Lupo – We all have our routines right before heading to Turks and Caicos. Mine is having my fortune told. “You will choose wisely” was a common theme, and I have to tell you readers, those fortune cookies are correct more often than not. So I went against my comfort zone more often and ordered things that I normally never do, like this play on Caesar Salad. Quite possibly the best Caesar you will ever eat. Smoky Romaine, sharp Parm and crispy Pancetta bits round this piece of deliciousness. Nicely done Lupo!

Kerala Chicken Masala at Garam Masala – Garam is becoming a regular for us due to its splendid kebabs and colorful curries such as the Dal Makhani, Chicken Tikka Masala and this South Indian delight from the Kerala region. Bright, complex, flavor packed dish we couldn’t get enough of. In a strange way it reminded me of white Alba truffles as in a similar matter I was still enjoying this hours later via a series of pleasant little burbs. Much to the chagrin of the NJ couple I met on the Beach a the time. I suppose I could say its payback for the smells of Central NJ, but I’m too much of a professional to say or write something like that

Fettuccine with Guanciale and Black Truffles at Via Veneto – The fatty, deliciously salty Guanciale (pork cheeks) plays an important part here. But its all about that truffle essence that tells the brain “now this is gonna be yummy (foodie technical term)”. Just like when you put your shoes on and it feels sort of wet inside and you suddenly remember that your toddler was playing hide and seek again in the closet the night before and got a wee bit excited, your brain tells you its time to remove those shoes from your feet. Via Veneto is quickly becoming another Italian force to be reckoned with.

Sautéed Whole Snapper at Bugaloos (top)- A Snapper a day keeps the doctor away… and brings the creditors closer. Take your creditors to Bugaloos so they could understand. Freshly caught Red Snapper doesn’t require too much handling. Some coconut milk, onions, pepper, garlic, and simple seasoning is the best compliment for the mouthwatering perfectly flaky piece of fish. The inner barbarian Ziggy came out to attack this one with full force. While the inner feminine Ziggy required an emergency cookie stop 20 minutes later.

Turks and Caicos – Via Veneto

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Ziggy

“Do you come with your own plunger” my friend Elizabeth wondered once she saw me unpack my equipment after running into each other in Via Veneto. “Ahhm, not exactly, its actually my flash diffuser”. I realized right then that I need to add a new flash diffuser to Santa’s list (sitting besides me was the actual island Santa so it was convenient), right between a new car and Mensch on a Bench. This was actually an improvement over last year when I borrowed my brother’s camera bag which had sort of peculiar male genital shape. To any patrons after a few Chiantis sitting there it may have looked like I was really happy to be there. This year I walked everywhere with a plastic bag.

I’ve been waiting to eat in the new Via Veneto for almost a year, after just missing the coming out party in the spring. Luckily owner Aldo subscribes to the “do it right or dont do it at all” mentality, which meant delaying the opening. Coming from a competitive environment such as Rome is a big plus to Provo. Early reviews have been a little shaky but thats the Provo norm these days as building relationships with vendors can take some time. Everything except the meats is imported from Italy; From the chefs, the tiles, the paintings, to the girlfriend, all imported from Rome. Hence, app page a bit pricey but contrary to the forums chatter the rest not too bad at all. This is indeed the closest you get to eating in Italy. Perhaps one Cacio e pepe dish shy from a Roman Trattoria. As with any Italian establishment in the USA, sticking to dishes from one region only is quite impossible and a recipe for failure.

Once we were seated outside, the gods got angry and it started pouring. Those were the Italian tile gods going “go a in to a check out the a tiles”. Our tables were swiftly moved inside on top of the tiles. It felt like eating at a Russian family house without taking my shoes off. We were no there on a saturday which meant “No Pizza for You!”. The pizza is Roman which if true, and I have nothing to doubt its not, expect thin almost Matzoh like crust. The less toppings the better from my experience.

We started with a Coccetto app of mushrooms, bread and ham topped with cheese which was fine. While I’ve had various Russian/French variations of this dish, I never heard of Coccetto

As is often the case with Italian Trattorias the highlights are the pastas. Spaghetti Carbonara was as good as we’ve had in Rome. Creamy, a but runnier than I like, but still quite good. The Fetuccinne with Guanciale (pork cheeks) and black truffles (top) was best of show surprisingly considering its white truffle season at the moment. The dish had plenty of truffle aroma to satisfy all senses and convince the brain that its pretty darn yummy (foodie technical term).

The lamb chops as our shared secondi was slightly uneven but cooked well and quite delectable for the most part. We finished off with a nice ice cream duo, one topped with chocolates and the other with cherry sauce. Cherry won 3 “Mmmmmm”s to 1.