LOCAL Houston | The City Guide December 2016 | Page 21

FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE+LEISURE

Lorighittas Con Capretto

Panna Cotta

As most Italian cooks use bay laurel leaves, Farris and his chef Luigi Shimaj use the Sardinian equivalent
– sweet myrtle leaves. “It grows on the island, so,” shrugs Farris, “we use it!”
Enormous pride rests with the hand-braided pasta dish Lorighittas con Capretto. “Very Sardinian, very
authentic,” I am told by at least three waiters.
“Only two people in the world do this – and they do it for us,” says Lori Farris, Efisio’s wife, who handles
business details including the Gourmet Sardinia food product line.
The dish with the braided pasta presents the very essence of Sardinian food with its sauce of braised goat,
artichoke hearts, pinch of saffron, a few sautéed cherry tomatoes, hints of myrtle and rosemary, a little
garlic and EVOO (made from Arcodoro’s own olives – “my family knows the name of every tree,” says
Farris). “The menu doesn’t say,” offers Shimaj, “but