This 12 months, Luciana’s Ristorante in Dana Level celebrates its fortieth anniversary. Since opening in 1983, the harbor-side restaurant has served the Orange County neighborhood for events each nice and small. Proprietor Jorge Luhan II mentioned the restaurant’s legacy started with handmade pasta.
“We began off doing all of the selfmade pastas,” mentioned Luhan. “On the time, we had been the primary ones to do selfmade gnocchi and selfmade pastas with selfmade sauces.”
Luhan’s mom, Lucia “Lucy” Luhan opened What’s Cooking? Bistro in Newport Seaside in 1976, providing a menu of conventional household recipes made with recent elements with the assistance of her mom and Luhan’s nona, Mary Vallera.
Luciana’s Ristorante proprietor Jorge Luhan Jr. along with his mom, Lucy, also referred to as Luciana, and his late grandmother in 2013.
(Rick Davitt)
“My mother was all the time seeking recent meals, given her robust Italian background,” mentioned Luhan.
Luhan mentioned in Seventies there was a scarcity of understating of what Italian meals really was. Whereas individuals knew spaghetti, different pasta varieties had been lesser identified. In addition to spaghetti, Luhan mentioned his nona additionally oversaw the manufacturing of ravioli, tortellini, tortellacci, gnocchi, rigatoni and penne, simply to call a couple of.
“Quite a lot of these merchandise that we all know at present as being staples weren’t actually that acquainted,” mentioned Luhan. “In Orange County at the moment, I don’t suppose individuals had been as culturally versed so far as worldwide eating and delicacies. So the entire idea was fairly new.”
What’s Cooking? Bistro’s success prompted Lucia to open What’s Cooking Specific Delicacies in Costa Mesa in 1982. The next 12 months, she opened Luciana’s Ristorante in a historic former house within the Lantern District in Dana Level. Relatively than duplicate the bistro idea of the opposite two areas, Luciana’s Ristorante opened as an elevated dinner home.
“It was extra bringing the simplicity of Italian delicacies of What’s Cooking? however presenting it in a formalized eating room setting,” mentioned Luhan. “It was the formal eating venue Mother all the time visualized having.”
In 1985, Lucia bought an outdated Tuscan farmhouse in Italy and turned 18 acres of olive groves into Villa Lucia, house of a mattress and breakfast and hand-pressed extra-virgin olive oil enterprise that’s used solely at Luciana’s Ristorante. In 1991, she moved to Italy completely and left Luciana’s within the arms of Luhan, who has been operating it ever since.
Luciana’s Ristorante in Dana Level.
(Courtesy of Luciana’s Ristorante)
“I got here out of college in 1991, and I jumped in to help my mom, as she was spending most of her day out of county, and that’s how I obtained concerned within the trade and I by no means turned again,” mentioned Luhan.
Luhan is pleased with the best way the restaurant has performed a task locally by way of the years and factors out that a number of generations of households have frequented his household’s institution.
“We had one household right here the opposite day, and it was the rehearsal dinner for the daughter,” mentioned Luhan. “I obtained pulled to the facet, and the mother was ecstatic as a result of she had her rehearsal dinner right here.”
Luhan credit the restaurant’s longevity to adapting with the instances.
“One of many massive issues that has made us profitable over time is the understanding that instances change,” Luhan mentioned. “A model has to evolve, and it’s a continuation of trying on the model and asking, ‘The place is it at present and what does it symbolize?’”
Luhan mentioned it may be a balancing act, attempting to keep up what longtime company have come to know and love whereas maintaining the idea recent. Most company, he mentioned, are in search of a well-rounded eating expertise.
“The culinary half is a giant issue, however in addition they need it in an atmosphere with ambiance,” Luhan mentioned. “I feel Luciana’s offers that: a historic venue with nice colours and an ideal really feel harking back to outdated Tuscany.”
One other means Luciana’s has saved present is by investing in its wine program.
Luciana’s Ristorante affords an intensive wine listing of 350 labels from 10 international locations.
(Courtesy of Luciana’s Ristorante)
In 2023, Luciana’s acquired the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator, which acknowledges distinctive wine applications and institutions with excellent wine lists. Below the route of normal supervisor and sommelier, William Clean, Luciana’s boasts an intensive wine listing of 350 labels from 10 international locations in addition to a Personal Wine Cellar, which can be a well-liked location for personal events and occasions.
Luciana’s nonetheless serves traditional Italian dishes, however with trendy sensibilities and a what Luhan calles a “California recent twist.”
“For those who have a look at the menu we’ve got a number of the dishes which have been round, like our traditional ravioli, however as a substitute of doing a extra heavy sauce, we’d do a lighter sauce,” mentioned Luhan.
Luhan assures, nonetheless, the pastas are nonetheless handmade the best way his nona, who labored within the kitchen into her ’90s, made them.
“The muse of the menu continues to be selfmade pastas,” Luhan mentioned.
There are wine dinners and different particular occasions scheduled for the upcoming vacation season, and Luhan appears to be like ahead to celebrating the fortieth anniversary by way of the top of the 12 months with Luciana’s loyal company.
“With out our company, we’re no one,” mentioned Luhan. “Thanks for the 40 years of patronage, and we sit up for 40 extra.”
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