Or when in Rome, do as the Romans do
by Miss Terry Diner
The Dining Out Team has just returned from an Italian
night. One of those evenings where you forget preconceived notions about
what you are going to eat, and instead just go along with the flow. In this
case, probably the River Tiber, as it was a very authentic Italian night. It
passed complete with assorted grappas, including my favorite Limoncello, but
more about that later.
The oddly named Pane è Salute (which means “bread and
health”) is a little difficult to find, being in a single shophouse on
Pattaya Central Road, so it easy to miss as you drive from Pattaya Second
Road, heading upwards towards Sukhumvit. The marker is Soi Buakhow on the
right, and Pane è Salute is about 50 meters further up on the left. Park
wherever you can find a space!
The restaurant (in its current guise) has only been there for three months
and is run by a passionate Italian (aren’t they all) called Claudio from the
south of Italy. Now Claudio was just destined to be a restaurateur, with his
grandfather and father being restaurateurs of some renown in Italy. Making
pizza just came naturally. Of course to make an authentic pizza you need the
wood-fired pizza oven, and Claudio has a very large pizza oven. However,
what he does not have is a conventional oven, or even a gas ring. He cooks
everything in the wood-fired oven. If it is hot, it came from the pizza
oven, including the large loaves of a rather special crusty bread.
The
decor is a kind of over the top Mexican done with beach pebbles and wood,
the tables are covered with salmon/peach colored tablecloths, comfortable
chairs and the cutlery is good.
The menu is not enormous, but even a brief glimpse will show that this is
not an expensive restaurant. From memory, the most expensive item was B.
290, and there are the usual sections covering antipasti, salads, pizzas and
main courses. The wine list is at the back of the menu and we can recommend
the house red. Italian of course but eminently drinkable.
We left the ordering to Claudio and his first dish was a sliced eggplant
which takes two days to make, being left in salt for the first 24 hours and
then boiled with white wine and vinegar and mint and garlic added. This is a
great palate reviver!
The second dish was sliced garoupa fillet that had been marinated and
served. Again this was a superbly flavorsome dish. I asked Claudio where
they were on the menu. They weren’t. “These are special,” said Claudio.
After the starters we were presented with a series of dishes (hot from the
oven) including a garoupa in tomato and mushroom and white wine and another
with clams that had been opened and steeped in wine, then gratineed with
garlic. Simply fabulous, and I noticed that Claudio made some for himself as
well.
Other dishes came hot and fast, with a squid in tomato and garlic and a
similar prawn dish. We also enjoyed a crunchy baby prawn with salt, which
had to be washed down with some Italian red.
But we had not had a pizza! Claudio obliged with a beautiful cheese pizza,
which was washed down afterwards with the grappa(s) including a
“coffee-cello” and the Limencello.
It was a wonderful Italian night, so much so I was ready to sing O Solo Mio
by the end. (For students of history, Enrico Caruso recorded O Solo Mio for
the Victor Talking Machine Company on February 5, 1916.) This I believe is
one problem with grappa(s), it makes the drinker believe he is Enrico
Caruso. I am not!
We believe the best way to dine out at Pane è Salute is to forget the menu
and leave everything to Claudio. You will not be disappointed! We weren’t.
Pane è Salute, 85/7 Pattaya Central Road, (50 meters on the left past Soi
Buakhow on the right, heading towards Sukhumvit Road), tel 07 100 6843
(Claudio). Open seven days, 12 noon till 3 p.m. for lunch and 6 p.m. until
late for dinner. On street parking.
