The true Italian experience in Africa

The true Italian experience in Africa: The subtle interplay of ingredients acquired over time gives you and unforgettable experience of Italy in the confines of Kampala at Mediterraneo Restaurant located on Acacia Avenue. We could not get enough of the exotic food. The best cooking in Italy is not, unlike in France, to be found in restaurants, but in the home. The finest restaurants in Italy are the very small, cozy family run trattorie of a dozen or so tables that have over the years refined the art of home cooking albeit commercialized. In the true sense of the word, there is no main course to an Italian meal, though one can argue that ossobuco with risotto as a dominant course is really quite alien to the Italian way of eating.

There are, at a minimum, two principal courses, that are never brought to the table at the same time. To get the true feeling of what I am talking about, the Mediterraneo Restaurant offers that true experience of what authentic Italian food is all about. It would be nice if the antipasti at the Mediterraneo were strategically displayed so that they could be seen by every arriving patron and frankly nothing plays so boldly upon the eye to excite the palate than fine antipasti. They need never be anything elaborate and can take the form of baked oysters with oil and parsley or perhaps a cold salmon mousse.

However, before delving into the Mediterraneo experience, one should be cautioned not to expect the every day run of the mill Italian food to which many are accustomed. Here, the food preparation combines nuances of a subtle interplay of the ingredients acquired over time and resulting in untold experience and knowledge that is manifested in the finished product. The Mediterraneo kitchen gets results because of the above, and of course the synergy of the staff and in the end we see lofty and sublime creations that borders on almost being esoteric. The food here is for the connoisseurs and those who have acquired a discerning taste for excellent food while at the same time having the wallet to pay. As the saying goes, you pay for what you get.

On a recent visit, courtesy of a good buddy and very successful business man, we chose to have a selection of four or five cheeses served with some vegetables and good crusty bread. This was followed by a vegetarian ravioli and spaghetti with fish, capers and squid. In either case the success of these two entrees lies in the delicate and careful preparation of the sauce which is then combined with the pasta giving it an excellent taste.

For dessert, it is not often that one comes across fresh strawberries in Kampala and fortunately they were full of flavour and sweet. I went for the profiteroles, rarely found in Kampala; they are cream puff shell filled with a delicious chocolate and nut sauce. Finally Café Americano which is quite simply put a glorified espresso that was so named by the GIs in America during world war two.