La Dolce Vita

Many of us who live in Placencia believe we’ve found our little slice of paradise in the world. Whether we were born and raised in the village or stumbled accidentally across it in our travels, it is commonly recognized as a unique place to call home. One of the many elements of its charm is how “small town” it is. This is the kind of place where the post office tags you on Facebook to pick up your package and you can hear the proverbial cry of “Norm!” as you walk into many of the local establishments. It could be surmised that it brings one a sense of belonging to be known by so many and to feel at home outside your house. And that is exactly the feeling that Simone de Angelis, owner and operator of the local Italian restaurant, La Dolce Vita, still inspires after 14 years; a feeling of home.

Born and raised in Rome, Italy, Simone originally came to Placencia for a three-month vacation to visit his cousin and to scuba dive back in 1997. As happens with so many of us, three months turned into a year and that has turned into a lifetime. He met and married his beautiful wife, Anna, in 1998 and, with a propensity for construction, built Wallen’s grocery store in 1999. The space above that grocery store became a pharmacy and a storage space that would, in 2004, become the first site of our beloved Dolce Vita.

With a menu comprised of “things he loves to eat” and a focus on what he was taught from his family back in Italy, Simone has been determined to keep his food authentic right from the start. He imports the majority of his ingredients from the motherland on a regular basis. That means paying duty and complying with BAHA requirements, but it’s all worth it in his books. From his pasta to his cold meats- Prosciutto di Parma, Salami Milano and Guanciale (the cheek bacon which he then smokes himself onsite) and his cheeses- 24 months aged Parmaseana Reggiano and Gorgonzola, he refuses to cut any corners. He’ll be the first to tell you, there’s “no American eyes in his kitchen”- to him that means no microwave, nothing pre-cooked and no cream in the carbonara!

In addition to importing the right ingredients, it’s equally important to him to make things from scratch. With his wife and children alongside him in his spotless kitchen and his prized set of knives that go back and forth from home to restaurant daily, this is a man who takes pride in serving a quality home cooked meal- from his family to yours. Every dinner starts with bread that’s baked daily and is served with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil he uses to cook with. The gnocchi is hand rolled, the bolognese is crafted with fresh tomatoes and simmered with care, even the salad dressing can’t be bought. He uses cheese curd, water, vinegar, salt, thirty-seven degree temperatures and half a day every Sunday to make his own Mozzarella, which they use in abundance throughout the week. You’ll only find the flaky, sweet, mild flavor of Hogfish and Black Grouper on his menu as those are the fillets he describes as “primo”.

A second-grade sommelier, Simone also prides himself on his Italian wine collection which you’ll be encouraged to pair with your meal. “Wine is a part of our life,” he tells me over the table we’re sharing, “we start to drink wine when our grandparents put a little in our water glass when we are three or four years old. That’s how you become wine addicted.” He goes on to explain that wine is a compliment to your meal, not something to get drunk on. I ask him what he most often recommends and he replies that at a young age he used to drink more white and then he matured into enjoying full-bodied, bold reds and now, these days, he drinks his Zonin Prosecco with everything from fruit to red meat. “Drink what you like,” he tells me, “not what you’re supposed to”.

With that, he pulls out a 2009 Amarone that has travelled back with him from Italy and that he’s been waiting 9 years to open. Its label is worn and peeled in places as proof. It’ll be perfectly aged in another year, just in time to crack open for a fifteen year anniversary celebration of opening the restaurant, though they are now in their new location on the road at Los Porticos.

And what would an Italian meal be without a big finish? He has a wide selection of all your classic digestifs including Grappa, Sambuca and Limoncello. If it’s an espresso or cappuccino that strikes your fancy, expect Simone himself to come out of the kitchen and make it for you as no one touches the coffee machine but him. They serve between forty and sixty servings of tiramisu for dessert every week- made with real mascarpone, of course. Insisting that I try a piece along with my cappuccino, I ask if there’s a local that comes to mind who is particularly fond of his tiramisu. “Everyone!”, he replies with a grin.

“What about your other dishes?” I ask, “is there a local favorite?” And this is the part that makes me smile in return. He responds that everyone has their own favorite, that his menu is all about comfort food. “Cassie [owner of the Barefoot Bar] likes the lime chicken with gnocchi on the side. Salva [owner of The Tipsy Tina] orders the tenderized pork with pasta and a salad. Glen Eiely gets the pasta with meat sauce. Ellen [of Maya Bistro] gets the fish fillet and her husband, John, gets the Broccoli E Salsiccia. Kimberley Viner gets the Crustino Prosciutto Mozzarella and her father always gets the Antipasto Misto and the Gorgonzola Gnocchi. Mike [owner of Mirabs] gets his pasta and sauce packaged separately and sent on the plane to Belize City”…and the list went on!

As a regular myself and a lover of the Spaghetti Amatriciana, I couldn’t help but think how lovely it is that people know exactly what they’re going to order before going and that their local restaurateur is ready to make it for them with quality, pride and care. That’s all part of what Simone refers to as “the Sweet Life” and why he gave his restaurant that name in Italian.

“I’m here because I like to be here, not because I’m making money. There’s more freedom when you live in the Caribbean. You don’t have to worry about as much and everybody knows each other.
The sweet life is good food, good wine and good friends. That’s La Dolce Vita.”