Pamela B.
Yelp
We've lived in Wichita for about 4 years now and have had Luciano's on our list of places to try. We've heard mixed reviews, and decided we needed to decide for ourselves if we truly had a hidden gem inside of Mulvane, KS... outside of Italy. Unfortunately, as much as we wanted to love it. It failed short on a few accounts, but the main complaint can be reduced to one word: SALT.
I want to be fair and say that the food reminded me a home-cooked meal from an Italian family's home--the menu some variety, but not much. And what I can say is that the conception and the quality of the ingredients looked good. The components had everything going for them to make a wonderful meal, but unfortunately the lack of salt was quite notable. I tend to lean toward a heavier hand on the salt (not talking processed foods, but more when I am cooking fresh ingredients at home, or eating at non-chain restaurants) but my husband typically is not a salty guy. We started with the avocado and shrimp salad. Shrimp was simply boiled and not seasoned, avocado was barely noticeable (for having avocado in the title I expect to taste it) and the vinaigrette was, again, underseasoned. Then, since we had a late lunch with our family, we each ordered different pastas. I got the pasta Salsiccia, my husband got the orto pasta, my oldest son got the lobster ravioli, and two youngest got the 4 formaggi and a carbonara. Now, you know that if you have sausage and bacon in a pasta dish, but still have a huge salt deficit, something went wrong. Our dishes not only lacked salt, they hugely lacked salt. I'm talking, I don't think the pasta water had enough salt in it to flavor the pasta, nor did the pan sauce filled with sausage and vegetables get tasted before it was served. I probably added at least a 1/4- 1/2 tsp of salt from the salt shaker. So did my husband. My youngest's carbonara definitely lacked flavor, not just salt. And the same with my son's 4 Formaggi, which one would infer would not ever be a problem, since 4 cheeses are to be used here. Had the food been at least taste tested before being plated, one with a discerning palate would clearly taste the lack of flavor. What an unfortunate situation when just tasting and salting it would have made the otherwise bland flavors shine, and enhance the true ripeness of seasonal tomatoes and fresh herbs. The pasta was also past its cooking point and no longer "al dente". When the server asked us if we were enjoying our meal, I told him we did like it, however, the food was very undersalted and this was a consensus with every dish at our table. He seemed surprised and explained that they would rather under salt, then over-salt. I told him I disagreed, because salt is a detrimental ingredient in Italian cooking, and rarely does one leave an Italian restaurant feeling the food was "bland" and that it was better to have a slightly bold flavor, over a lack of flavor. And of course tasting one's food (chef's job) could remedy that.
We heard him talking to the cook in the back, and a bit of raised voices, and from what we could make out, the cook was not pleased to be told she undersalted the food, nor did she care to receive a critique. This is by far sad, because as I understood, Luciano was not in the building, and she poorly represented the restaurant at that point, not only by not addressing the issue, but also by being unprofessional and allowing us to hear her immature denial. The waiter never got back to us regarding this and asked if we'd care for dessert. No thanks.
To give some background I have a culinary background and have studied cooking with some courses being in Tuscany. This was not a good representation of authentic Italian food, and I'm saddened that the gem we thought we could've uncovered, is actually another Italian-American eatery that is catered to an American palate (with all due respect, not saying "American palate" to insult). I don't mind a non-gourmet eatery, and mom and pop type places are ok--as long as the food is good! Here the food lacked one huge component in cooking--SALT. There's a reason the earth used to measure one's wealth by it. Because it enriches, it brightens, it highlights ingredients and elevates them. Use it, and if you are afraid to over-salt, consider tasting your food, this should be an obvious habit in ANY chef worth his salt... pun intended.
