I've had a thing for Sardinia for a really long time now. I haven't yet been, but I'm planning to make my way there sooner, hopefully rather than later. In the meantime I've been learning about Sardinian cooking secondhand, which, given how good it is, isn't a half bad way to learn it. We've been working with Efisio Farris to get a taste of traditional Sardinian food here to Ann Arbor. Long story short, Efisio was born and raised on Sardinia and grew up eating great food there. He came to the States and, after working in a series of restaurants in NYC, moved south and opened a Sardinian spot of his own, in Texas. I can only imagine how much positive reinforcement he must have gotten for making that move — don't think there's a really big Sardinian population down in Dallas. But, as with so many seemingly strange-in-their-initiation visions, he stuck with it and was skilled enough in the kitchen to pull it off. He's now a Sardinian success story, and has opened a second place as well. The restaurants are called Arcodoro — highly recommended if you head that way. And now, to keep time with the release of his really good new cookbook, Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey (picked by the New York Times as one of the top 25 cookbooks in this year's holiday list!), we've convinced Efisio to come to town in person. He'll be at the Deli on February 20. I'm excited to have him here — the guy's amazingly passionate about the foodways of his homeland. His eyes fire up like lasers every time he starts talking about it. The man is a believer!

Fortunately we get to eat all this good food whether he's in town or not. Stop down at the Deli or ring us up at Mail Order and we'll be glad to get a little fix of traditional, tasty stuff from the island. To the left are some of the foods I already love from Sardinia. I'm counting on uncovering even more during Efisio's visit, and more still if I get myself over there to see the place in person. Be sure to check out Efisio's new book for loads of good recipe ideas and more info on all of this and more! Here's a few fine tastes to get you going.