Celia Remembers Celia's
Good friends, Wine dinners, and Craig Claiborne
Some of you may have noticed my absence from Substack for the last few weeks.
I returned to Charleston from Costa Rica just in time to host Ariana and her daughter Chandra for their first-ever trip to the States. As you may know from previous posts, they are our neighbors and dear friends from Nuevo Arenal in Costa Rica. For two weeks, we had a grand time sightseeing, visiting family, and shopping in Charleston and Savannah.
After they left, I allowed myself some me time, and focused on some long overdue “nesting” projects… cleaning out closets, drawers, my wardrobe, the garage, etc.
During cleanouts, one is always subjected to reverie and waves of nostalgia, finding old photos and files pregnant with memories.
Many of my memories relate to Celia’s Porta Via, the restaurant I once owned at 49 Archdale Street. In my office and garage, many bins with old files and photographs, from the nearly fifteen years I owned and ran the restaurant, were just begging to be perused …and peruse them I did.
Glancing at photos, I was reminded just how happy I was during my restaurant years. There were many images of friends and family alike eating at Celia’s, happily filling the little 50-seat bistro, to enjoy the food from my kitchen. I felt fulfilled and sated and longed to be sitting at table 6 (the family table in the corner) with my visiting parents, Tina and Arnold, surveying the dining room full of noisy and satisfied customers.
We had many special events at Celia’s… wine dinners, concerts, and Messiah sing-alongs.
I came across a file from a wine dinner I hosted with Franco Canova. Franco was a dear friend of mine and of Franz Meier, the man I now live with. These two men taught me most of what I now know about wine.
Franz and I were also customers of Franco, whose wine-importing business supplied both our restaurants, along with many others in Charleston, at the end of this past century.
Wine dinners were always fun for me. I loved the challenge of pairing food with wines, and I always enjoyed welcoming friends and customers to Celias for what always proved to be a party atmosphere. I would cook for days (often with my Mom’s help) up until the last minute… then run upstairs to my apartment to change and get ready to welcome my guests.
The evenings would always start with an aperitivo and some small bites in anticipation of what was to follow.
As everyone finally took their seats, Franco would start by introducing the wines we were about to taste, and I would talk about the food. Course after course, wine after wine, the volume in the room would always rise as people’s enjoyment rose and their inhibitions fell.
There was always music too… and on this occasion, Robert Dickson, chef-owner of Robert’s of Charleston and his wife were guests at the dinner. He was kind enough to interrupt his dinner to sing for our guests!
Two of my friends and great customers, John and Norma Kruse, brought a friend with them that evening. It was Craig Claiborne of New York Times fame. I thought they were joking, but as you can see from the photo, Mr. Claiborne was, in fact, one of our guests!
There were many amazing evenings spent with friends and family at the Porta Via, and I look forward to sharing more of these memories with you.
If you ever ate at Celias and would be willing to share your memories, I would really love to hear from you!
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And now something extra for my paid subscribers… the menu and a recipe from that dinner!
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