The Atlas Caf茅鈥檚 website says it has been 鈥榮erving the good people of the Comox Valley since 1995.鈥� It seems it serves some from afar too, as word is clearly spreading.
The Courtenay restaurant will be featured on a coming episode of the show, Big Food Bucket List, this month.
The host of the Food Network Canada staple, John Catucci, was only too happy to come to the area to taste what the Comox Valley has to offer. He and the crew were here for a couple of days to feature chef Slone Romano and his team at the Atlas.
鈥淲orking with Slone and everyone there was a great experience,鈥� Catucci says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 help but have a great meal鈥�. It was such a great vibe.鈥�
He also says he could feel the support from people in the community for the Atlas.
鈥淭hey can鈥檛 help but show their love for the place,鈥� he adds.
For the host, diving into the area鈥檚 seafood was a new world, even when it came to finding to food at the source. Catucci鈥檚 time here included such ventures as fishing for geoducks.
鈥淭hose are weird,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e odd-looking.鈥�
Catucci admits he also ate some of the best doughnuts in his life while here, but seafood was the reason for the trip.
Romano and the Atlas Caf茅 pride themselves on using fresh, local ingredients. For the episode, one of the stars will be the restaurant鈥檚 seafood chowder, which includes a m茅lange of seafood and other fine ingredients. The dish is expected to be a staple on the Atlas menu for years to come.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit different than your normal chowder,鈥� the chef says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really good showcase for the kind of local stuff here.鈥�
Catucci can hardly hide his enthusiasm for the dish, telling Romano, 鈥淵ou really elevate it, especially with those smoked oysters.鈥�
The episode will also feature a salmon dish mixing many flavours such as pesto and garlic scapes, which is likely to be more of a featured item during the year because the scapes have a short season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 special because the window is so short,鈥� says Catucci.
For Romano, it鈥檚 important to have consistency in terms of quality, which means some things are regular items and others make their annual appearances as they become available.
鈥淵ou have to take seasonality into account a little bit,鈥� he says.
Catucci agrees, saying eating in season is exciting, and in this case, means the flavours are 鈥渏ust ridiculous.鈥�
Atlas has been around for a generation, but it is in a transitional phase. Romano and his brother Zane, who is sous chef, will be running the business, as they take over from their aunt and uncle.
鈥淲e鈥檙e both chefs, so it鈥檚 a kind of a good fit,鈥� Romano says.
The past two years have been extra tough for the restaurant business as a whole, but the TV show offers a chance to boost local restaurants like Atlas, and all in all, for Romano, working on the episode left a good after-taste.
鈥淚t was a great experience for us at Atlas,鈥� he says.
The Big Food Bucket List episode airs on Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m.
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