Saluzzi serves up classic Italian handed down the generations. Above our heads, there's the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Outside the window, there's a firepit, and beyond that the glow of the sun as it melts into the Pacific just off the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
Down the road is Donald Trump (or at least his golf course). And, as a topper, we're in a shopping mall. This is a conjunction of elements, wondrous and befuddling, certainly unique in the universe, found at Saluzzi, a restaurant that has been anticipated for so long, it was on the verge of turning apocryphal.
It was back in December that an e-mail was first received, advising me that the restaurant was on the verge of opening. That was later revised to February. Then, to March.
Ultimately, Saluzzi opened in late May. Or at least, half of it opened #45 the outdoor patio is still a work in progress. And the half that opened is not the easiest space in which to land a seat #45 with only 40 seats, Saluzzi books up quickly.
Partly because of the food. And partly because of Michael Saluzzi himself. This is a guy with enough personality for 10 #45 only the aforementioned Trump fills a room more completely.
Saluzzi may be the most sentimental chef in town. More than a third of his three-page menu is taken up by a nostalgic reverie about his early life on Staten Island, an odd-man-out borough of New York that's more Jersey than it is Manhattan. He reminisces about how, "My mother, raising seven kids on her own, four boys.
..two girls.
..and a Pekingese named Muffy, began sautéing garlic in the kitchen.
..It was 7 a.
m. The scent of sauce slowly cooking on the stove, the faint sounds of my mother humming along to the music of Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Roselli, and the thought of what this day was to bring, made me scramble to get dressed..
.Today was the day our entire family got together, sat at the dining room table and simply ate all day..
.These were good time, times I'll cherish forever, and times I'll never ever forget..
." Saluzzi was blessed with a mother who convinced him that all happiness, or at least the greatest happiness, is based in food. He refers to her as, "the best chef I have ever known.
..as one person put it, 'I'm convinced that Marian can make your socks taste good.
' Her passion for food was unbridled, her creativity unmatched, and her love for people...
saint like...
" Saluzzi has followed a path west --from the restaurants of New York, to great acclaim in Kansas City (where his restaurant, Altizio's, was described in a newspaper "Best Of" feature as the "Best Place for a The-Hell-With-It Carbohydrate Binge"), to a scenic spot at the very edge of the western world. A few steps more, and you'd fall into the abyss. Far better to stop and, as the menu says, "sit back, loosen your belt and enjoy.
.." What Saluzzi has created is a classic Italian restaurant, an homage to the joys of the Old School, though he likes to add a New School touch wherever he can.
Back in January, he described his restaurant as, "old world Italian with a classical French flair...
white tablecloths and oversized goblets...
an upscale dining feel at a reasonable price." He's accomplished that, more or less #45 there's lots of Italian on the menu, though not a lot of French. Which is probably fine, for mix Italian and French, and you're in danger of being perceived as Continental #45 not a cuisine that's been in favor in this decade.
As I said, there's a coved ceiling overhead, in which the Sistine Chapel has been replicated #45 no doubt one of the delays was caused by Michelangelo's lack of availability. The room is formal, but comfortable #45 it's hard to feel as if you're in a stuffy space when the chef is walking around in shorts. And there's a lot of staff working here #45 hostess, manager, waiters, busboys and sommelier, along with the chef and his staff.
There's never a very long space during which someone isn't coming by to refill a glass, or bring a warm loaf of bread, freshly baked in the oven. They make their own mozzarella and butter as well. On a recent night, the butter was sweetened with bits of dried fruit #45 it made the bread taste like dessert, not that there's anything wrong with that.
The menu began small --just 13 dishes, four appetizers and nine entrees, plus whatever the dessert of the day happens to be. Within a few weeks, it had grown to seven appetizers and 16 entrees. Though the menu is supposed to be seasonal, and dishes are supposed to come and go, there are already plates that have achieved cult statusas.
It would be a shock to see them retired for a season or two. I'd miss the appetizer of sweet and spicy calamari, a variation on calamari fritti that's unique to Saluzzi. In this case, the little squidlets are soaked in buttermilk, then poached in clover honey, white wine and herbs from Provence (I guess there is French influence on the menu after all).
Then, they're "aggressively" dusted with rice flour flavored with chili flakes, and quickly fried. There's a basil-heavy marinara for dipping. The whole package is unique #45 as its descriptive says #45 "sweet" and "spicy.
" Crispy too. And impossible to stop eating. Saluzzi serves up classic Italian handed down the generations.
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