THE PROVINCE, Thursday, May 18, 2006
It's said all roads lead to Rome but I've driven the Coquihalla for days and never seen hide nor hair of the place. And that's just one of the avenues I've travelled to find Romulus and Remus' hometown. Well, it's also said the road less travelled is, well, probably full of potholes or has too many stop lights or something like that, but makes all the difference for the challenging experience. Well, to hell with that. I took the easy route and found a facsimile of Rome at the corner of Pender and Howe.

Called Sciue, which is Italian for good and fast, kind of like Sophia Loren in a Ferrari, this place dishes up Roman street food in alluring displays. One of the earliest cookbooks known is by a guy named Marcus Gavius Apicius who apparently ate everything from camel heels to the brains of flamingoes. Try getting that on your average delivery pizza.

Well, the pizza at Sciue is a gourmet journey of fresh ingredients atop great crusts minus the ghastly animal parts, of course. Known as pane romano or Roman bread, master breadmaker Alessandro Fonseca bakes these amazing, thin breads with aromatic herbal sprinklings before lathering them in an array of savoury toppings. Shaped like long, rectangular flatbreads, the daily selection is laid out for your eyes to feast on before you make your choice. Priced by weight, you simply point to how much you want and they slice a piece off for you.

Paid a visit with Peaches to this stylish cafe that has that sleek Italian modern design that's all curves and futuristic spotlighting and simple furniture that shows off its lines like a runway model on stilettos. The pane romano is equally alluring and we sampled enough to satisfy a Roman emperor.

Recommended is the Cartaginese, a heady mix of chilis, parsley, garlic, olive oil and anchovies, the overcrowded Caprese with tomato sauce, mesclun greens, bocconcini and sliced tomatoes, the pancetta, mozzarella and gorgonzola shindig, the Pollo Pesto, which is self-explanatory, a pepperoni creation with roasted red, green and yellow peppers and an intriguing Egiziana with sliced potatoes, cumin, onion, olive oil and tomato. All are priced between $2.30-$3 per 100 grams.

Also tried the Veneto roasted-pork loin, provolone, sauteed mushroom and spinach paninoteca sandwich ($8.50) that was very tasty. On fresh panini bread you can't beat these offerings so I'll be back to sample more of the fare like the roasted lamb with goat cheese and sundried tomato, the wine-sauteed chicken affair or the prosciutto with fontina cheese.

Larger entree items boast lasagna, meat or spinach-and-ricotta cannelloni, homemade gnocchi or a daily pasta ($7.95-$8.95). All go well with the small, all-Italia wine list or else a bottle of Moretti or Peroni beer for refreshment. Desserts offer homemade tiramisu, pastries or gelato from Mondo Gelato.

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