Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Letter: Christmas dinner

Posted on December 23, 2010December 23, 2010 by Staff

Christmas day, 1998, my wife, Elaine, and I found ourselves not having planned dinner and realized we were caught without anything to prepare a meal. Out of desperation, we proceeded to call restaurants within walking distance. Our already low expectations were confirmed with each phone call, and no one answered. Imagine my surprise when I called Trilussa La Trattoria and the owner answered and I could hear people in the background.

“Are you open today?” I asked. “Not really,” he said, “I was here cleaning and some friends came by so I cooked for them. Do you live nearby?” “We could walk there in five minutes,” I replied. Then, in an effort to improve our chances, I noticed his name in the Yellow Page ad I was looking at. “Giovanni, my wife and I feel you have one of the best restaurants in downtown Chapel Hill,” I enthusiastically stated. “Please, come right over and I will feed you,” he said. I hung up the phone and told Elaine, “Giovanni says he will feed us.”

After a quick shower, we arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes later and felt awkward because his true friends were leaving. Giovanni set a table for us at the front window, lit a candle, recommended two glasses of red wine and told us to relax and enjoy. When some passersby saw us in the window and tried to come, in he politely told them he was closed and locked the door. As if on cue, minutes after we ordered, it started snowing, which only intensified the already surreal feeling that we were characters in a romantic Christmas movie. After a great dinner, the short walk and a movie at the Varsity topped off this already perfect Christmas day.

A long-overdue thank you to Giovanni is in order for providing a memory to last a lifetime.

Chas Gaertner 

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme