Meet the Chef: Vittorio Scarpa of Sardegna

The cuisines of the Italian island Sardegna (also known as Sardinia) and mainland Italy have differences and similarities. "Sardinian food is more rustic and more earthy," explains Vittorio Scarpa, chef/owner of Sardegna, the only restaurant in Westchester County with a broad selection of Sardinian dishes on its menu.

Sardegna is a large mountainous island in the Tyrrhenian Sea due west of Naples and only a few miles south of the French island of Corsica. Sardegna's capital city of Cagliari was the home of Scarpa's family when he was a child and a young adult.

Once a kingdom, Sardegna has been under Italian rule for 150 years but some of its dishes bear little resemblance to the food found in Italian restaurants throughout the world.

The island's history may help to explain this. It was raided and occupied by numerous invaders including Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Arabs, Byzantines and Romans too—all of whom introduced their own foods and cultures to the island. In addition, hunting for game often took precedence over farming for Sard families forced to flee to safety in the hills.

Game is represented on the menu at Sardegna Restaurant, although not nearly as much as it would be at a restaurant on the island, Scarpa said. In actuality, he pointed out, only about 20 percent of the dishes served at his restaurant are of authentic Sardinian derivation. Most of the others classify as Italian-American fare.

"There are reasons for this," he said. "Someone needs to be adventurous to try true Sardinian food. Not every customer is willing to eat wild boar, rabbit, spit-roasted suckling pig, ostrich, quail or even venison."

 "There are other complications too," he added, "The game we need for many Sardinian dishes is only available in the winter, ingredients are hard to get and often expensive, and some are against the law to import."

On the menu, Sardinian dishes are printed in red and traditional Italian dishes in black. Although outnumbered by Italian dishes like chicken scarpariello and veal piccata, many traditional Sardinian choices are available. For the newcomer to Sardinian cooking, Scarpa recommended Pane Carasau ($7) as an appetizer: a flat, ultra-thin bread topped with melted Mozzarella cheese, olive oil and rosemary.  For a main course for the first-time visitor, he suggested spaghetti Bottariga ($18): pasta with garlic, olive oil and dried tuna roe (orange-color tuna eggs bearing a resemblance to caviar but smaller in size).

Popular traditional Sardinian dishes among regular customers include a flavorful vegetable soup called Sa-Fregula ($8), which includes bran, carrots, garlic and onion, and Malloreddus: ridged pasta shells with spicy  sausage, onions and tomato sauce (priced at $17).

Seafood may be secondary to game at Scarpa's restaurant but but it is not forgotten—Linguine Costa Smeralda ($21) contains Sardinian baby clams, mussels and shrimp. Mirto, an after-dinner drink, is a Sardinian Myrtle berry liquor with a taste similar to that of blueberries.

'Good wasn't good enough'

"My father was an excellent chef and he insisted I follow a recipe exactly," recalled Scarpa. "Good wasn't good enough. Only perfect was good enough." By the age of 14, Scarpa knew precisely when and how to add herbs and garlic to gain his father's approval.

Finding work after high school classes and during summer recesses was not a problem. Three of his uncles owned restaurants. But following graduation, Scarpa realized that knowing how to cook Sardinian food would eventually have its limitations, so he set off for Rome. He worked at upscale restaurants including Hostaria dell'Orso and Sabatini for four years and then, at the age of 23, set off for America.

At first he worked at a small chef-owned Manhattan restaurant. His break came in 1987 when he was hired as a captain by Parioli Romanissimo, recipient of a rare four-star rating by the New York Times in the mid 1970s. While employed at Parioli Romanissimo, he attended the New York City Culinary School (no longer in business) and studied restaurant management.

He moved to Los Angeles and opened an Italian restaurant called Zucchero in 1992. He sold it four years later and returned to New York to open another Italian restaurant called Luna Blu; he sold it eight years later—two years after he had moved his family to Eastchester.

Taking a risk, he introduced Sardegna Restaurant to Larchmont four years ago with a menu composed almost entirely of Sardinian dishes. Unfortunately, the menu didn't appeal to customers not familiar with the food his kitchen prepared. Reluctantly, he scaled back on his native dishes and replaced a great many with well-known Italian favorites.

"The menu remains a compromise," he said. "I would rather serve more Sardinian dishes; I feel bad when tourists come back from a trip to Sardegna and can't find many of the same dishes they enjoyed while on vacation." 

"Dining out shouldn't be just having a good meal," Scarpa concluded. "It should also be a good overall experience."

Sardegna Restaurant, 154 Larchmont Ave., Larchmont. Lunch is served Tuesday through Friday, from noon to 3 p.m. Dinner is served Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. Reservations are not required. 914-833-3399. www.sardegnany.com.