Leoci's: Faith in Tagliatelle Carbonara

A few days later...It’s St. Patrick’s Day and I have two friends in town, one from London and one from New Orleans.  My buddy Justin from New Orleans used to be one of my favorite dining companions.  As a result of living in New Orleans he and I both know good food just by totally passive osmosis. 

Rachel from London and Justin from New Orleans

And my friend Rachel from London, well, she comes from a country where the national fare is fried fish wrapped in newspaper – she shouldn’t be too hard to please.

After a string of personal failures of my inability to pick a non-chain restaurant and the bogus meals we’ve had, we decide to let Rachel from London pick where she wants to eat on her last night.

She decides on Italian.  She uses an app on her phone and comes up with three choices, Olive Garden, Leoci’s, and some other restaurant that popular opinion instantly vetoes.  Truth is, I love Olive Garden.  I could eat salad and breadsticks all day everyday.  But I lose the battle.  We decide to go to Leoci’s despite the fact that we know nothing about it.

It’s rare for me to experience a meal so great that I tell everyone I know about it.  But quite possibly the best meal I’ve had in the past 18 months was that night at Leoci’s.  And the inspiration behind finding such a truly hidden gem fuels me in this blog project search. 

Leoci's dining room

I am Italian, and I know what authentic Italian fare tastes like.  I also like some of the American variations.  This place is the best of both worlds.  On top of that, they make their own pasta.  On top of that, they rotate their menu so it’s never the same.  On top of that, they locally source their ingredients from Georgia and South Carolina.

Here is what our meal consisted of:

BRICK OVEN—ROASTED MIXED OLIVES 6
A mix of Mediterranean olives

INSALATA DI RUCOLA  7 / 10
Arugula salad, shaved fennel, cherry tomatoes, house seasoned croutons,
lemon vinaigrette

CLASSIC BOLOGNESE 16/ 22
House-made pappardella pasta tossed in a Hunter Cattle Co. hunter sauce consisting of beef, pork and veal ragu with a touch of Sweet Grass Dairy cream

TAGLIATELLE CARBONARA 12/ 18
House-made tagliatelle pasta, smoked pancetta, pecorino romano cheese topped with poached egg and parmigiano-reggiano

Mike also had some duck specialty dish that was to die for.  We each tasted the other’s meal and I decided that Rachel’s Tagliatelle was by far the best.  In addition, I had a really nice Argentine Malbec wine and some of the best cannoli I have ever had for dessert. 

So in one instant, Leoci’s restored my faith in Savannah’s dining culture.  Leave it to an out of towner to pick my new favorite restaurant for me.  As this blog continues, I hope to find more places like Leoci’s and less like the places I naturally gravitate towards.

Leoci's image taken from leocis.com