Pleasures of the world

Surrounded by herbs, vegetables and fruits, blooming trees color the sun in bright streaks. The garden of Il Giardino serves as a prep kitchen, storage and dining hall. Visitors are invited to seat themselves in the shade at a rickety table, and on chairs that are obviously rounded up from second hand shops. With the glow of the Mexican sun still on our faces, the chanting of birds and herby aromas from the garden, the senses are tickled and stomachs begin to rumble.
We are greeted by Marco: owner and only waiter. A tall, slender Italian wearing what appear to be yoga clothes finished with flip-flops and proud owner of an impressive head of rasta hair. His sluggish movements, extremely laid-back attitude and downright slow way of speaking, lead to believe that there are more herbs cultivated and consumed at Il Giardino than the ones we find ourselves amidst.
‘Please, welcome to our restaurant. Have a seat. I’m Marco, my wife Yala is the cook. Everything is fresh. Everything is from our own garden’. He hands us the menus and looks like he just remembers: ‘today we have… quiche… pizza… soup… and everything that’s on the menu’. Eager to find out more, we open up the menu to discover nothing beside those dishes.
Clearly, then, it’s unnecessary to complicate things at a restaurant that is run by two people, especially when they’re both under the influence of their garden produce, so we decide on three pizzas and a quiche.
Because of its complexity the order is checked twice and we encounter a problem: the oven only holds one pizza and one quiche at a time, but not two pizzas. So first come one pizza and one quiche, after that one pizza, and after that another. But, we are firmly reminded, everything comes from our own garden. Everything is fresh.
And yes – it is astonishing. Obviously the food tastes great because Marco makes it his business repeating where it came from. But the evening performance is what makes the experience. Nothing is put on the table without explanation: ‘this is cinnamon. This is pepper. This is water.’ Comical as it is, this couple just lives their passion. No need for extensive preparation, know-how or professional approach when it comes to doing what you love.
The next day we come back. Even though we had been the only guests the night before, there’s no recognition in Marco’s eyes when he sees us. ‘Today… we have pizza, quiche and soup. Everything is from our own garden’.
Soup it is, then.