For the past 11 years, Ricardo’s has been making Italian classics with a twist. There’s many a Cajun theme on the menu, a testament to the love between the husband and wife team of Italian Chef Ricardo Scebba and Sue Miller, who met in a Cajun restaurant many moons ago. With Scebba at the helm of the kitchen, and Miller welcoming guests, Ricardo’s has been winning loyal patrons along with numerous awards. Their ever-changing wine list would impress the highest end of boutique BC wine fans, each bottle thoughtfully chosen for the way it pairs with their food.
Due to years of requests, Scebba put together his ‘masterpiece’ last year: a beautifully presented cookbook filled with everything he knows on the subject.
The original copies sold out in a flash. Now in its second printing, ‘That’s Amore’ is officially a Regional Best Seller, and tantalizingly close to reaching National Best Seller status, once it’s released in other provinces. All in less than 6 months!
Shaw Cable recently approached the family about doing a cooking show.
“It’s been great,” laughs Miller. “We’re like the Castanza’s, but with food.”
Signature dishes include their Blackened Prime Rib, a spicy Cajun classic that Scebba fervently believes would be “business suicide,” to remove off his menu, saying, “Customers who are hooked on this dish don’t even want to see my menu when the come…The blackened prime rib is why they come in.”
So why put one’s most popular dish in the cookbook anyway?
“Some people thought that we were giving away our secrets. But in reality, it’s just brought us more people,” explains Miller.
Mark my words; this ain’t no dine-and-dash watering hole. This is the kind of intensely pleasurable environment, where you’ll linger over food like you’d linger in bed with a lover. From the moment you order, everything is made from scratch. Arriving on your table, full of enticing flavour and great expectations, you’ll understand what all the fuss is about. One taste is met with a promise to return.
~ Sarah Willard