Luce-Charlotte

Chris and Emily's first actual date found them taking a trip into Charlotte to eat at a restaurant called Luce. Chris had eaten there before with his buddy Foxy, so he had made a few acquaintances on the staff. The main host, Manuel, was a young man from Italy who was working at Luce to pay for business school at UNC-Charlotte. He was 5'8" with blonde hair, extremely friendly and an unbelievable host. During the course of the evening he came by and had a drink with Chris and Foxy, told them about his home town in Italy and explained exactly what to order. Foxy offered him basketball tickets and exchanged numbers but they could never hook up outside of the restaurant.

Chris, trying to impress Emily, thought it would be appropriate to take her to Luce so that she could think he was a semi-big deal. The restaurant has typical Italian decor, dimly lit with soft opera music playing in the background. The table was illuminated by a candle and most of the patrons wore collared shirts or dresses. Emily arrived in a beautiful black dress and Chris wore dark jeans with a yellow collared shirt and a sweater. When they arrived at the restaurant Manuel greeted them with a smile, he gave Emily a kiss on the cheek and Chris a healthy man hug. He led them to their seats in the middle of the room and brought out a bottle of wine without bothering to ask what they liked. Manuel had enough wine with Chris and Foxy the week before to understand exactly what taste he would enjoy. He also placed two flutes of Prosecco on the table to start their dining experience. Manuel left them both to read the menu and traveled around the restaurant stopping at each table to introduce himself.

They glanced through the menu knowing all the time that they were just going to take the waiter's suggestion. As the tall waiter with dark hair approached behind him came two plates of parmesan risotto sprinkled with balsamic vinegar. It came compliments of Manuel. It served as a perfect companion to the wine. Chris was still a little nervous being as it was the first date he had been on with Emily and the first date he had been on in general for a really long time. Nothing like parmesan risotto and wine to ease the nerves. He glanced across the table at Emily and she smiled, then directed her eyes right back to the Italian model who was moonlighting as their waiter.

They ordered the panzanella salad upon the waiter's description. Emily had her heart set on a gnocchi dish with mozzarella, basil and a simple marinara sauce so that is what she ordered despite the starch overload. Chris was trying to act like he had a clue so he ordered the sea bass much to Emily's surprise and his own. He tried as hard as he could to emphasize "branzino" with an Italian accent that was heavy on the New Jersey and less on the Naples. The waiter walked away as Emily and Chris took their first bite of the risotto.

The risotto came out as a small tasting, enough for a few bites for each of them. It was deliciously creamy, spiked with strong, sharp parmesan cheese and a drizzle of balsamic balanced the dish out perfectly. It was a perfect cliffhanger to the rest of the meal. As they sat and talked for a while, the waiter came over to clear their dishes and Manuel rushed up to see if we liked the risotto as if he had made it himself. They appreciatively sang the risotto's praises and anxiously waited for the panzanella salad.

The panzanella came as a bowl of yellow, orange and red tomatoes with large, homemade semolina croutons, topped with fresh basil and ricotta cheese. They had never had it with ricotta cheese, but the creaminess of the ricotta seeped down into the salad so that they could taste the cheese with every bite. It was much better than the traditional mozzarella that is usually used in a panzanella salad, and it added an unbelievable texture to the dish. By this time, they were both midway through their second glass of wine and they were beginning to feel pretty warm and excited.

They sat in silence, digesting and longing for the main course which would be coming any minute. Fabio, their waiter, came over to check on the two of them and then retreated to the kitchen to grab their meal. As it came out it was covered by a traditional silver plate cover, which added to their growing anticipation. The covers unveiled two fragrant, beautifully plated dishes still smoking hot from the kitchen. The gnocchi had a smooth, buttery texture and it was simply covered with the tomato sauce, mozzarella and a sprinkling of the freshly cut basil. It was an extremely basic dish, but the taste was extraordinary. It was a perfect way to end a great meal and an impressive first date.

Chris looked down at the branzino with disbelief. It was topped with black olives, capers and tomatoes, the colors accented by the white background of the fish underneath. He could not believe that he ordered such a thing, totally uncharacteristic of the usual staple of Veal Piccata. As he took the first piping hot forkful, the fish melted in his mouth as the flavors of the black olives, capers and tomatoes amalgamated with each bite. Emily tried it and she liked it. Chris had done a nice job.

Manuel came back over to try and talk the two of them into desert, but they had just ordered espressos and could not fit another thing into their stomachs. He would not take no for an answer and he brought them both pistachio gelato. It was 10:30 by this point and they were the last two in the restaurant so Manuel sat down with a glass of Sambucca. He was telling us a story about when Michael Jordan came into the restaurant a few weeks ago. Despite the fact that he was born in Italy, he could identify Michael Jordan pretty easily. They sat at the table until 11:00 talking and laughing, and then decided to make the drive back to Davidson. They thanked Manuel profusely as they made their way out the door. Emily stopped to pick up a box of matches and a business card before she left, a ritual that she would continue on every date with Chris to come.

www.luceristorante.net