Out On the Town: LUCA
A Solo Birthday Dinner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Welcome to Out On the Town, a regular LAST CALL paid-subscriber exclusive where I invite you to join me to an evening “out on the town” as I chronicle my visit to one (or sometimes more than one) specific venue and break down the overall experience, including what I had to eat and drink.
Out On the Town: LUCA
I promise I’m not trying to extend the Birthday Halo beyond the actual day (I don’t believe a birthday warrants an extended nebulous “Birthday Week” or “Birthday Month”), but I wanted to share the lovely solo dinner at had on the occasion two Fridays ago in Lancaster.
Since my first visit to LUCA in the summer of 2017, I’ve never not eaten at LUCA when I’m in town. It’s always a given, and each meal there somehow gets better and better with each visit. I spent my 50th birthday at LUCA surrounded by some dear friends who travele from near and far to join me at the table (and everyone fell in love with Lancaster just as I have). But this Birthday Friday would be a solo affair and I promise that’s not as maudlin as it sounds. January has been a rough year already for most of us and it feels like it’s only going to get worse. I’ve been working very hard to finally finally finally finish the manuscript for my next book and that’s constantly stressing me out more than you know (or need to know). I did work on it for three hours each way on the train ride there and back, and I’m back in the groove at home, but I sort of needed a quick weekend away from my apartment and the Big City.
I rolled up to LUCA at 6:00 p.m. and was led to my usual corner seat at the end of the bar that keeps me close to the open kitchen while still being able to soak up the lively room. Ty, who I used to see all the time when they were a barista at Passenger Coffee, was my bartender and handler over the next four and a half hours and they took excellent care of me. There was even a birthday card awaiting me, tucked under my folded napkin, that was signed by the kitchen team and front of house staff. Chef Taylor Mason came by to say hello and welcome me and told me to take some time to look through the menu and pick out anything that caught my eye, but also alluded that there would a few “surprises” coming out from the kitchen to round everything out.
It was a warm start for what would turn out be an extremely gracious and thoughtful evening.
Autunno Spritz
Ty placed a welcome drink in front of me in the form of their Autunno Spritz, made with Bordiga Dilei Amaro, Bonal Aperitif, soda, and Prosecco. I include the recipe for the LUCA Autunno Sbagliato, a similar version of this fall/winter drink in the new book. A refreshing way to kick off the night.
Pane di Recco
When Pizzeria LUCA opened, they stopped serving their popular pizzas at LUCA, but now instead offer wood-oven baked Pane di Recco, their take on Ligurian “focaccia” to serve as a fix for any pizza cravings. Chef Taylor is well-versed in my lifetime aversion to onions, but earlier in the day had texted me, “Are you cool with anchovies?” Yes, sir. I love anchovies. So my dinner started off with a mini version of their Pane di Recco, stuffed with Taleggio and Provola cheese, drizzled with herb oil, and topped with anchovies and shaved Sorrento lemons lightly tossed with olive oil, marjoram leaves, dried chili, and sea salt. I’m not sure if Taylor appreciated my enthusiastic assessment of “It’s like an Italian Hot Pocket!” but I think he understood how much I enjoyed it.