Lasagna @ Gio's Villa Vancheri
Lasagna is something you have to be in the mood for. And very hungry. Attached to the concept of layered pasta, cheese, meat (maybe) and red sauce is the corollary that it must be served in a portion so big that only a laborer or a twenty-year-old man can finish it. Even if you can't eat that much, you feel cheated if the lasagna is smaller than brick. That brings a degree of grossness to the dish, and most makers don't get past it. Chef Giovanni Vancheri manages to keep it elegant without mini-sizing the slab. Just the right texture, right amount and variety of cheese, right amount of meat, great sauce, a little crusty on top.
