As I enter my 80th year of life — and no, that does not mean that I’m 80; do the math again! — Barbara and I celebrated with a delicious brunch at our favorite local restaurant, Tavolo.

Barbara had a version of eggs Benedict that was new to both of us: the usual poached eggs on English muffins came with pulled pork and something called patate vastase, which Google AI defines as “a traditional Sicilian oven-baked potato dish, specifically popular in the province of Trapani. It is a quintessential example of Sicilian cucina povera.” Google goes on to tell us

…in the Sicilian dialect vastaso (plural vastase) translates roughly to ‘ill-mannered’ or ‘low-class.’ Why the name? The dish is called this because it is unrefined in appearance, simple to prepare (often mixed by hand), and features a bold, rustic combination of ingredients rather than delicate, elegant presentation. It is the opposite of ‘elegant.’

I’ll try not to argue with their decision to call Sicilian a dialect rather than a language, but in any case we’ll have to try making this dish ourselves.

I had grilled flatiron steak au poivre, which came with mushroom risotto and maple-roasted rainbow baby carrots in a brandied cream sauce. Cooked rare, of course. It was terrific. (Watch out for autocorrect: after I had typed the first five letters of the last word of the previous sentence, autocorrect offered to complete it as “terrible”!)

Categories: Dorchester/Boston, Food & Restaurants