In fact, it is the only restaurant that, instead of closing its doors, managed to open right in the terrible months of the coronavirus: let's talk about Via Archimedes, the latest invention of the young Milanese chef Luca Guelfi, already owner of four other restaurants in that area of the Lombard capital (via Archimede is located in the Piazzale Dateo area): from the Vietnamese Saigon to the Mexican Canteen, to the Japanese fusion Shimokita, up to he latest addition to the house, the Oyster Bar which opened last fall. This time instead it's the turn of a so-called ghost kitchen, a phenomenon that is increasingly fashionable and that is accelerating thanks to the restrictive measures that have brought food delivery back into vogue.
Dark kitchens (or ghost kitchens, or dark restaurants) are in fact operational kitchens only for home delivery. Therefore not open to the public, as is strictly forbidden in this period, but perfectly equipped (and according to the law) to cope with the preparation of "restaurant" meals, which however are not excessively affected by transport. And that they can perhaps supply the residents of the vicinity with food, as happened for Easter, becoming in the case of Via Archimede a real "neighborhood gastronomy". In short, the coronavirus forces us to rethink our eating habits but this does not mean the end of the bars, as long as they are adapted in the form of a "home restaurant".
For restaurateurs it is a valid alternative to survive and why not also to win new customers, given that in these weeks of quarantine many Italians have learned to trust food delivery, discovering a low-risk solution - provided that all security are respected – to escape from the rather monotonous routine of the last few weeks. In short, it's fine to enjoy baking and making fresh home-made pasta, but being able to count on an open restaurant is always something else. The first to open in Milan is Via Archimede, a ghost kitchen dedicated exclusively to the delivery of freshly cooked dishes.
The menu is that of typical Milanese cuisine (from mondeghili with green sauce to ossobuco in gremolada, to salted rice with sautéed kidney), with various fresh pasta options (from orecchiette with turnip greens to tomato and basil gnocchi, lasagne, lean butter and sage tortelli ), and then main courses of meat and fish (with some exotic concessions, such as sea bream ceviche with mango, red onion, chilli pepper and leche de tigre). And also home-made focaccia in several variations, and homemade desserts. The cooks are Emanuele Gasperini and Marco Fossati, delivery is managed by the restaurant itself and is free, and prices at the moment are deliberately accessible: to give an idea, a course of fish can cost just 10 euros. You order on WhatsApp or by mail (info@lucaguelficompany.com).
