What a relief it is sometimes to have a good waiter say: "You do not
know what you want? Will you let me bring you the best there is in the
house?" Sometimes, you know, you really do not know what you want, and
usually when that is the case you are not very hungry. That is always a
good time to try new things. It is also possible that you do not know
what you want because you do not know how to order. In either instance
our advice is, if the waiter gets confidential and offers his assistance
you will certainly miss something if you do not accept his good offices.
This was the case with us, one day when we were over at 1549 Stockton
street, near Washington Square, at the Gianduja. The proper
pronunciation of this is as if it were spelled Zhan-du-ya. This is one
of the good Italian restaurants of the Latin quarter. At the Gianduja
you get the two prime essentials to a good meal--good cooking and
excellent service. It matters not whether you take their thirty-five
cent luncheon or order a most elaborate meal, you will find that the
service is just what it ought to be. We asked Brenti what he considered
his most famous dish, and like all other proprietors, he shrugged his
shoulders and said, with hands emphasizing his words:
"We have so many fine dishes."
"Of course we know that, but what do you consider the very best?"
"There is no one the 'very best'. I could give you two."
"Let it be two, then," was our immediate rejoinder, and here is what he
gave us as the best recipes of the Gianduja.
First, let us give you an idea of the difficulty under which we secured
these recipes by printing them just as he wrote them down for us, and
then we shall elaborate a little and show the result of skillful
questioning. This is the way he wrote the recipe for Risotto Milanaise: