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| Cafe Lily by Paul Frysh Chef Anthony Pitillo understands the importance of fundamentals. The chef at Café Lily, Mr. Pitillo, is not only a fine chef, he is also a university trained classical musician. He studied classical music theory at college in Texas before discovering his true calling as a chef. Due to this background, he understands better than most that creative talent is wasted without a solid grounding in the basics -- that all the talent in the world will not make up for poor ingredients or poor preparation. There is a pleasant, unassuming atmosphere at Café Lily that belies the seriously good fare coming out of the kitchen. Wait staff are knowledgeable and accommodating without being overly mannered or pretentious. Angelo Pitillo, who is the chef’s proud father and who grew up in the restaurant business, maintains the wonderful sense of neighborhood restaurant hospitality in the dining room. But make no mistake, there is top-tier food coming from the kitchen. Hearty white country bread from Atlanta’s Bread Garden is cleverly heated on the grill and served with peppered olive oil as a sign of good things to come (a lighter hand on the pepper please). Do not fill up on the bread -- you will ruin a wonderful dinner (thanks mom!). The Rum-Cured Salmon appetizer was an immediate indication that someone is paying attention in the kitchen. Even at finer restaurants this dish is most often salted literally to death, leaving a dish with all the subtlety of chewy fish paste. Here, it is lightly salted and wet cured with rum (and other secret ingredients according to our waitress). The result is a nuanced melt-in-your mouth delicacy that needs no accompaniment. It is served with chopped egg, caviar, capers and other wonderful add-ons that could almost make this dish a light supper in itself. Mussels were next on the agenda and they were delicious. Served in a light cream sauce or a spicy red seafood sauce, we opted for the latter. Not a funky or a grainy mussel in the bunch, these Prince Edward Island mussels were obviously brought straight from a freshly made, steaming pot. There is plenty of kick in the red Posillipo sauce, but for those not faint of heart, you’ll be dipping the bread and looking for lost mussels in the bottom of the dish. Salad came on the side and looked to be straight out of Gourmet magazine. Lightly oiled and salted, with just a hint of acid, this is what Italians mean when they dress a salad. The Pitillos describe their food as classic Mediterranean and there are, in fact, classic dishes from the Middle East to Spain and Italy -- some of them refreshingly different. It is worth the drive from anywhere to try a traditional Spanish dish called Pinchitos. Lamb tenderloin is char-grilled with a spice rub and served with white sweet potatoes and green beans and salsa-verde. But forget how it’s made -- this is the kind of satisfying winter dish about which you will have sweet dreams. The kind of dish you will write home about, the kind of dish that you will pine for when you least expect it, the kind of dish… well, you get the idea. Charbroiled Salmon served with a mango salsa and fantastic mashed potatoes is an intelligently conceived dish served with the same minute attention to ingredients and preparation. Shrimp, beef, chicken, pasta and a fish soup that I can’t wait to go back and try, all appear as variations on classic themes and there is plenty of good wine on the list, mostly American and Italian. For dessert, try some real homemade tiramasu. No whipped cream or drizzling concoctions, or chocolate syrup swirl. This is the classic dish made in the traditional way with fresh imported mascarpone cheese. You won’t go back to the imitations. The cappuccino was also made the way it is supposed to be made. In case you haven’t realized it yet, I really like this place. Maybe we just got lucky, but it appears so far that Mr. Pitillo doesn’t know how to make a bum dish. Too many restaurants in Atlanta are so preoccupied with room decoration, exotic dishes, and fancy presentation, that they forget to make sure that the fish is fresh, the greens aren’t wilted, and the food is not over-salted or undercooked. Chef Pitillo’s approach in the kitchen is deceptively simple. First and foremost make sure the ingredients are perfect. Second, watch every single dish coming out of the kitchen. And third, don’t stray too far from the classics (they’re classic for a reason!). The Pitillos have their priorities in the right place and it shows in every dish. Cafe Lily is located at 308 West Ponce de Leon Avenue in Downtown Decatur. Their phone number is (404) 371-9119. Also check out their adjacent restaurant, Levi’s Key West Fishouse, for a casual yet delicious treat -- Key West style. |
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