Vancouver’s best-kept Italian secret

By Jagdeesh Mann
Mata Press Service 
 
It’s eight in the morning and Giuseppina di Trolio’s basket is full of the freshest fish, meat and produce the grocers of Vancouver’s Italian Quarter have to offer.
“Today’s special is going to be veal parmigiana,” says the sprightly 53-year-old grandmother as she makes the trek to Sinclair Centre on Howe Street, better known as Leone, Vancouver’s fashion hub.
Here, nestled among the designs of Versace, Roberto Cavalli and Dior, and beyond the more casual and contemporary fashions of the L2 Leone boutique, di Trolio goes to work with her two helpers.
They have three hours before the business suits of Vancouver’s downtown core and the people with whom they have shared this culinary secret fill the 50-odd seats of the L2 Cafe for Giuseppina’s lunchtime Italian delights.
As the noon hour approaches, calls for the daily special fill this simple black and grey eatery. Giuseppina, or “Jo,” as the regulars call her, is in full Italian mother mode.
“Yeah, this place can get noisy sometimes,” says di Trolio as she works the crowd dishing out her homemade thin-crust pizzas, al-dente pastas in a bath of Puttanesca sauce and tennis-ball sized meatballs.
Everybody here today seems to want more of Jo’s focaccia bread, which is freshly made every morning in the L2 kitchen.
Unlike many other Italian restaurants in Vancouver, which boast chefs from the world’s renowned cooking schools, di Trolio’s culinary skill comes straight from her family kitchen in Naples and the ravenous appetites of her three sons.
“My food is from life experience,” says the diminutive di Trolio, who pooh-poohs the idea of small portions. “Nobody leaves here hungry.”
Sam Hirji, whose printing business is nearby, has been a L2 regular for several years and speaks passionately about “Jo’s big food.”
“Her food is flavoured with an incredibly tasty humbleness, which requires you to get there early or miss out on the daily specials,” says Hirji, a little concerned this article may increase his wait time for a seat.
The L2 Cafe opened its doors in 1995, but has been one of Vancouver’s best kept lunchtime secrets, says Maria Leone, co-founder of the Leone fashion empire.
“Here, Jo is the boss . . . everybody knows that, including the patrons and especially us,” Leone says.
“The L2 Cafe was originally meant to be a place for Leone clients and store staff to grab a cappuccino or a glass of wine, but Jo’s cooking soon got the better of that.”
As the satiated crowd from today’s lunchtime melts back into the glass towers of Vancouver, di Trolio takes a much-needed break
It does not last long though, as two regulars want her to make trays of lasagna for their dinner parties.
“We get these take-away orders all the time . . . they will ask, ‘Jo can we take you home?’” Leone says.
“I guess this is the next best thing.”

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Company: L2 Cafe, Sinclair Centre, Vancouver
Employees: Three
Philosophy: “Fashion for the body, food for the soul.”
Customer Comment: “Can we take you home?”