Chief
Apulian father and mother of Venetian origin, DNA Alessio Sebastiani, Chef Cacti Kitchen and Bar To Milanruns throughout Italy from south to north and is already fed by the sources green productsseen growing with him in vegetable gardens and fruit and vegetable markets. A chef with a green soul, rebelling with his masters of art in the kitchen, traveled the world (Europe, England, USA and South America). before opening his bistro on Via Varese 4 less than two years ago in the center of Brera and the Moscova area. “I would like to remain a child because I have a constant need to nurture my childish side, openness, curiosity and here and now experience, because I believe that a man should be above the cook.
Name Cactus, a hardy vegetable plant of the cactus family, which consumes little water and accumulates it in succulent tissues, is already a choice in itself: known for its healing and regenerating properties, here it becomes an emblem a cooking style that wants the guest to experience and understand how delicious seasonal vegetables and a plate of fresh fish can be.
Kitchen eclectic, sincere, sensitive and passionate just like a chef, is based on an innovative and sophisticated concept based on vegetables and fish, completely excluding meat. “The choice not to make meat categorically forces us to entertain the client in every possible way. With the opening of Cactus, we know that we offer something new and in an area where the fashion mainstream prevails. For this reason, the menu map is now included in the magazine, which can be read like a newspaper at the table, published periodically, which tells about everything we do and where we want to go.”
Local
Green, fresh, innovative, young, a team that follows him and works sustainably (he takes a break two days a week) inside design institution in Scandinavian and international style, but with all the friendly warmth of Italian service. The bistro is accessible from the street, with an outdoor area perfect for summer and a relaxing lounge on either side of the all-glass entrance.
The counter welcomes you for an aperitif or breakfast and tasting in the cafeteria: a place in a place where you can experiment and customize (even on the menu) to the client’s taste. The mixology on the counter is fun, you can try small champagne and oyster producers, cocktail couples (with asparagus, cocoa rum and pear, cherry) along with menu items such as Genoese by the sea (cuttlefish shrimp and croaker with onions), beetroot hummus and guacamole or bao bun with fried monkfish.
In the hydroponic greenhouse located in the center of the restaurant, seeds and sprouts are grown, which are used in the kitchen and brought to the table to enjoy Oris Evo Coratina Apulian olive oil, taralli bread and homemade bread sticks. Taste, variety and aroma are a solid basis for generating interest in the origin of the food you eat., about cultivation and selection methods, about the story of niche suppliers who share the same philosophy of freshness and seasonality. And, perhaps, to surprise soon with the opening announced at the end of the year. gastronomic theater or kitchen with stage, water and earth, Sebastiani’s next play, multi-sensory, emotional and provocative.
“Guides are not my obsession, I believe that reports are a natural consequence of really well done work. My obsessions are three: my team, my clients, and my life. so in order or equally at the same level. We are slowly breaking even in business, we are close and have not made a bloodbath, also thanks to a non-Italian financier who believed in the project and gave me full carte blanche. Milan is within my comfort zone to work there, there is a lot to take from the city, but in the evening I return to Brianza where I can switch off by opening the window and observe the sustainable standard of living that the city is losing. My goal in life will be, maybe in the future, to discover relaxation in the mountains.”
Alessio shares a love of aesthetics, sustainability and conviviality with Irene Coppin, his right hand and restaurant manager, from breakfast to dinner, who knows how to tell tasting menus, menus and seasonal itinerary with the same passion (in this case based on tomatoes with gazpacho, panzanella, parmigiana, risotto, Mezzo Pacchero, Fried octopus and , finally, Tarte Pomodorenne) and suggest which dish the guest might like, with recommendations of the week for special vegetables or fish chosen by the chef depending on the market.
Dishes
Some dishes are the cornerstones of the kitchen Cacti Kitchen and Bar, How cactus garden with seasonal vegetables in different cooking and texture o Eggs Gardapoached egg with pea mousse, nested agretti, cocoa grue, crispy croutons, mint oil and black truffle.
Parmigiana is a dish that can never be missed, they point out in the bistro, reimagined in a sartorial style with modern technology, but authentic in its memorable taste, even if with uncooked eggplant, processed in three different textures (barbecue, oven baked and planked), paired with three types of tomatoes (Neapolitan peeled tomato, fried confit and raw sauce), buffalo mozzarella, stringy fiordilatte and pure basil cream.
Among the first courses Red ravioli with shrimp and texture of avocado, turmeric and black garlic And Risotto Riserva San Massimo with organic cream of Sorrento lemons with sea urchin pulp, Andria stracciatella and basil extractto try with a spoon, watching how, when tasting the same thing, each piece has different shades.
Fish offers vary depending on the catch, for example, Mediterranean octopus cooked at low temperature with feta aioli tomato powder and black olives, or Amberjack ceviche with nectarines, edamame, cherries and peach leche de tigre.
For traditionalists, a delicious reimagining Tuna tartar with mustard, quail egg, Cantabrian anchovies, capers and red onion, or TSalmon attacks with raisins and pine nuts in miso and champagne sauce. Before dessert, there is a plate of PDO cheeses worth trying at least once: Blu di Bufala, Robiola di Roccaverano, cheese from the mountain pastures of Bettelmatt, Tuscany Pecorino Metello aged in chestnut leaves, and Parmigiano Vacche Rosse 30 months.
The desserts are the work of the creative Eva Galimberti, a young Sicilian pastry chef with a particular love for fruit, chocolate and granite. not to be missed summer slush balls (with salted pistachios, almonds, lemon and coffee) served with mini buns, tiramisu wow (does not use a siphon, but whips the cream by hand), Tarte Tatin based on shortcrust pastry and homemade ice cream, Puff pastry with seasonal fruits and custard.
Cactus opens her patisserie overlooking the street, where you can watch Eva leafing through the buns in the window and carefully prepare everything: no “fake cake”, as Alessio Sebastiani says, who always does not trust the phrase that declares “we do everything by hand”. if he doesn’t come to see what’s really going on in the kitchen.
Address
Cacti Kitchen and Bar
Via Varese, 4, 20121 Milan, Michigan
Phone: 347 054 4982
Web site