Porta Bella, Carmel
This past Friday night I went out to dinner at Porta Bella in Carmel with my friend Father Dominic and our deacon friend John. We sat in their quaint, heated back patio that is painted Tuscan clay red and has plants creeping on the walls. One of the co-owners of the restaurant, Faisal, who is also a friend of Father Dominic’s joined us.
One thing I always do when I go out to eat—after looking over the menu and picking one or two things that sound good—is ask the waitress what her favorite item on the menu is. The response is one of two things: without skipping a beat she tells me her favorite item or she says, “that’s a tough one!” and lists a few items she likes or are popular among diners. If what she recommends lines up with what I was looking at, I definitely know what I’m ordering. If not, well it depends on if it was her favorite item in which case I’ll consider ordering it. This time I had the luxury of asking one of the restaurant owners. One of his three favorites, the Lamb Ossobuco, was one of the items I was considering so I knew I’d be having that for dinner.
But of course, it was Fridaynight and Father Dominic and John, like myself, are epicures so we started withsoup and appetizers. I had the roasted corn and crab bisque and it wasspectacular: rich, warm, and creamy on a cold rainy night. I appreciate a slowmeal and this was just that. We talked and caught up on life and for those ofus who were not already friends, we got to know each other a little more. Next,we shared the skewered grilled jumbo prawns served with a lemon aioli, thelobster ravioli, and the beef tenderloin carpaccio. I love beef carpaccio—a rawdish of thinly sliced meat typically served with lemon, olive oil, parmesancheese, and truffle oil. Porta Bella’s also adds arugula and capers and they’reperfect accompaniments to the raw meat. Interestingly enough, the dish wasinvented in 1950 by Giuseppe Cipriani of Harry’s Bar in Venice for countessAmalia Nani Mocenigo when he heard that her doctors had recommended she eat rawmeat. The name—carpaccio—comes from the Venetian painter Vittore Carpacciowhose work is characterized by red and white tones, reminiscent of raw meat.
The main course, the LambOssobuco, was served with a potato gratin and vegetables while the lamb itselfwas cooked with red wine and white raisins. The meat was spectacularly tenderand the flavors were perfect. We enjoyed a local cabernet with the meal and itwas the perfect complement.
As the evening and meal went on, more people joined or replaced others and our table was buzzing with people and lively conversation; as the plates were cleared, a backgammon board appeared and a game was started. You see Faisal comes from a big family and network of restaurateurs in Carmel and as some got off work they would come to check out Porta Bella…seeing the owner seated for a change inspired people to come chat, pull up a chair, and join us. And even more so after learning that we had a priest at the table.
The discussion grew philosophical and Father Dominic was questioned on issues of morality which he answered in stride…as a Catholic priest, this is what he does for a living. It became a regular occurrence for someone seated at the table to apologize to him after saying something off-colored. Which brings me back to my initial point, “how you do anything is how you do everything.” I don’t believe that we ought to alter our behavior or our self in the presence of a Catholic priest or anyone for that matter. Sure, there is discretion and professional behavior but who we are ought to be who we are always. I find the idea of behavior-altering more troublesome than the off-colored comment, in other words, I appreciate integrity of the self. If I say something and feel I must apologize for it, maybe I oughtn’t have said it. Don’t get me wrong, I have said my fair share of things that I shouldn’t have said and will probably do so many times over in my life but, in an effort to grow and constantly improve myself I like to remind myself that how I do anything is how I do everything, to be intentional with each little thing because the culmination of all of those little things is me and my character. So here’s to being true to oneself when nobody is looking or even in the highest profile of company.
