I thought Sostanza only opened for dinner, but discovered it also opens for lunch. And that it’s easier to get a reservation at lunchtime.
We took Phil’s parents for lunch.
We had the exact meal that the elderly gentlemen instructed us to order in 2019.
There were two small additions: a small cup of chicken brodo for me, and a bowl of raspberries soaked in red wine that we shared.
A middle-aged Italian man sat next to me, playing games on his phone while drinking a cup of chicken broth. A small child sat with his parents at the table down from us and was allowed to have two slices of cake.
The food here is so simple, so refined. The point is good quality ingredients, cooked well. Nothing more than that.
I liked that the two men who were serving customers always served the women first: Phil’s mother, the eldest, first; then me; then Phil’s father; then Phil.
Respect for ingredients. Respect for women. A motto to live by.