Da Silvano

[Steve Plotnicki]

Robert - I think Italian food (in Italy that is,) is like Italian buildings. There aren't any new ones that have been built since the Colliseum in Rome. Of course that's an exageration but it's kind of true. Italy is a country where they do a great job of getting the best out of small and simple things. And their cucina matches. The French on the other hand are a bunch of Corbusiers, and their cuisine matches. And I think one of the saddest things about cucina Italiano is how the Spaniards have leapfrogged over the Italians to be on the cutting edge of cuisine with a cocina of their own.

[jaybee]

I ate kobe beef as one course of a kaiseki (sp?) dinner at Tarawaya Riokan in Kyoto.  I thought it didn't hold a candle to Peter Luger's porterhouse or a Tuscan style grilled ribeye.

A good example of hype and exclusivity creating an aura that, in my opinion, is undeserved.

[Robert Schonfeld]

Steve, Your observation about newness may or may not be accurate as concerns the Spaniards vs the Italians. It's neither my area of expertise, nor interest, although I would dearly love to do some extended eating in Spain. Besides, I'm just a surrogate, a fan for a culture that scarcely feels the need to explain itself. If you made your comment to a Roman, he  would shrug his shoulders, turn his palms upward, push out his lower lip, raise his eyebrows, and head for lunch, stopping on his way to admire the Colliseum.

[nikkib]

am struggling to find any recent posts about da silvano - is it "past it" or worth a visit? am thinking lunch on a weekday...

[Nathan]

like say, Barolo, it's a Eurotrash hangout. (but probably with a bit better food than Barolo.) worth going to for the food? no.

but if you must go, it's best in the summer with all the sidewalk tables and people watching.

[Luckylies]

I like bar pitti next door better...and I actually like the food there...or did a few years ago.