– by Doreen Marion Gee –
This is the last in a six-part series of profiles on some of the Saanich Peninsula’s wonderful restaurants and pubs.
In my walks down memory lane, extraordinary food experiences always stand out like silver stars on a night skyline. Food has always been a sensual pleasure for me (and my waistline proves it). The memory of an out-of-this-world omelet made with sour cream and chives I had on a trip to San Francisco many years ago still quickens my pulse. I remember the pure ecstasy of my mother’s spice cake as a child, that warm sweet marvel topped with melted butter and coconut. Recently I experienced the cuisine at the Latch Inn & Restaurant in Sidney. When I am 90, that memory will still excite me. Welcome to taste bud nirvana.
Luigi and Valeria Cisotto, owners of The Latch Inn & Restaurant, are true artisans in the crafting of wondrous food. For them, cooking is an artistic process, taking long hours or days of hard work with every single ingredient specially chosen to achieve a perfect result. A meal at The Latch is like a Picasso painting: the final result of a long painstaking creative journey. Their cuisine is a far cry from our Western fast-food mentality. The Cisottos are definitely “old-school,” providing a European dining experience that mirrors a grand old restaurant atop a sunny hill in Tuscany where fine cuisine is always the special of the day.
The stars were aligned on that beautiful March afternoon at the oceanside hideaway where forest meets sky. My special lunch, prepared by my charming hosts, started with “Minestrone Meat Ball Soup,” blessed with fresh garden tomatoes and sprinkled with aromatic cheeses. Valeria and Luigi prepare this hearty homemade Italian staple with all fresh ingredients: nothing from a package or can. Succulent broth from beef stock – a long labour of love – injects the flavour into the Italian dish. That celestial minestrone blossomed with lentils, asparagus, carrots, celery root and tomatoes. I know when food pushes the boundaries: the texture goes down easy like a warm caress in my stomach. Those veal-and-rice meatballs were tasty little inner kisses. Soft, savoury and luscious, they melted in my mouth. The soup was the gods’ nectar: creamy-smooth delicious with a burst of tangy tomato energy that gave me goosebumps. It was designed for maximum flavour and sensual pleasure. Valeria: “When my guests have it once, they come back and ask for it by name.” According to her, their unique family recipe is one of a kind.
Over six decades of treating my tummy to many amazing renditions of lasagna, the Latch’s offering wins gold as the best I have ever tasted. When I enter the Pearly Gates, the Cisottos’ lasagna will be sitting on a golden table with pink linen. Made with fresh beef, house-made pasta and sauces, secret spices and fresh tomatoes, it is a tantalizing thrill ride of heady flavours. “It takes a long time and a lot of work to make great lasagna,” says Valeria. When I dipped into that delectable dish, the magnificent flavour of cheeses, mellow beef, butter and sun-ripened tomatoes burst forth in a sensual explosion. That lasagna was dreamy-delicious: pure taste bud nirvana. Luigi uses two separate sauces – luxurious béchamel and tasty ragÙ – invoking an extraordinary rich creamy buttery dimension to all the tomato magic. Valeria: “If there is something that you have never tried and you want something unique and different, this is the place to come. This is not your regular lasagna.”
The Cisottos remind us of a time when enjoying and savouring good food was a revered and important experience in itself. In our fast-paced lives, eating has become just a quick routine task. Maybe it is time to reacquaint ourselves with the pure pleasure of relishing great food.
Intoxicating culinary excursions shine on in my memory. The Latch will sparkle there forever.
Luigi and Valeria send a sincere “thank you” to all their supportive patrons over the years!
Contact: www.latchinn.ca.
