Pesto, Salmon, Pasta And A Bucket Of Cream

Piccolo Mondo
(Italian/Lebanese/Night Club)
Idejo, Victoria Island

One of the restaurants in Lagos with which I am currently conducting a love affair is Piccolo Mondo, though it would be fair to say that our honeymoon is over and that we’re slowly getting a little sick of each other. Piccolo Mondo, like Roberts, is yet another one of my homes away from home. Perhaps the comfort is in the high-backed armchairs in bright colours ranging from dark pink to lime green with neon swirls? Or in the friendly banter with their brilliant team of very capable waiters? I’m not sure. Whatever it is, it is clearly not something that is felt by me alone, as Piccolo (well upstairs at least) is consistently full, even on a Monday night when most people are to be found at home, mourning the fact that the weekend is 5 days away.

On Monday at Piccolo, I faced a tough decision. The fettucine pesto or the pennete al salmone? At least I think that’s what they’re called. I couldn’t decide what I was in the mood for. Cream? Or cream with a bucket load of pesto thrown in for good measure?

The pennete al salmone is penne pasta, cooked to perfection (just a little softer than al dente), smothered in a creamy, lightly cheesy sauce and topped (very generously I might add) with salmon and onions. I think it is perfection! The formula never changes, and it is exactly the same each time.

The fettucine pesto on the other hand is a little more temperamental. Some days the ratio of pesto to cream is just fantastic, and the diner is presented with a deliciously moist plate of flat (but not thin) fettucine, covered in grainy, dark green cream (because the chef has been oh so generous with his dollops of pesto). And on other days, the diner’s bright red bucket (those things are neither bowls nor plates) comes bearing thin, awkward noodles interspersed with pale (and almost invisible) green flecks, that all the helpings of parmesan in the world couldn’t turn into a decent plate of pasta.

With all this running through my mind on Monday, you can no doubt imagine that the decision I had to make, was killing me softly. I was clearly in the mood for cream (heck I’m always in the mood for cream) or else I would’ve been looking to the deep fried calamari as my friend Olu was. But what I wasn’t in the mood for, was mediocre pasta. I wanted the fettucine pesto, but the fettucine at its absolute best! The little piggy in my head was teasing and taunting me, “go with the salmon pasta, you know they won’t mess that up, but… oh! the fettucine on a good day is so much more wonderful!”

The waiter arrived, and I did something I haven’t done in a while – I took a gamble and went for the fettucine. Ok it wasn’t exactly a gamble, as my friend Rukks had settled on the salmon pasta and so I knew I would be able to just lean over and dip my fork into her plate if I ended up with Grade D as opposed to Grade A fettucine.

The wait is never long at Piccolo, and so fortunately not much time was spent wringing my hands in anticipation. My huge bowl arrived shortly afterwards, and what did I find nestled within? Fettucine... just as I had dreamt it would be! Delicious, creamy, grainy pesto, making sweet sweet (and very generous) love to a helping of perfectly-cooked fettucine pasta.

Bellissima!

P.S. Did I mention that I had a caipirinha with my pasta, that I could actually drink? I was shocked out of my wits! Any Piccolo Mondies out there will appreciate just how momentous an occasion that was.