Oliva

In a smaller town like Savannah, locals flock to a new restaurant the moment it opens in hopes of infusing some variety into their diets.  My brother and sister-in-law are trendsetters and usually the first to try any new eatery, but I managed to beat them to this one (and as a visitor, no less!), which I suppose makes me the trendsetter supreme.

Oliva is an Italian restaurant run by the same folks behind Rancho Alegre.  I wasn't sure how they would transition from Cuban to Italian, but I now know that the wife of this husband/wife team was raised in Venezuela, immersed in the Italian culture and all the recipes are her invention.  Such a situation was surprising to me but even more surprising was that all the fresh made pasta dishes are only $15.  I'm not sure I've ever seen a hand cut pasta dish for less than $20 and I've certainly never seen it when the pasta is filled with chicken liver paté and topped with sage butter.  Also fantastic was my Mom's pappardelle with lamb ragu and my Daddy said his grilled Octopus was like eating lobster - considering lobster's status in the world of crustaceans, that's a high compliment.  Our beef carpaccio appetizer was an ample portion and set off with a nice zesting of lemon.