In late August, just over a month before Bianca Sicilian Trattoria officially opened in the Arts District in DTLA, chef and owner Michele Galifi fell off a ladder during construction. He broke his arm, wrist and elbow. Fortunately for Galifi, from a young age his family instilled in him the values of hard work and dedication.
“Whatever it is going on in your life or your health, you always have to understand that you have a business, and you need to carry the business forward,” he said. “It’s absolutely normal for humans to have days off. We have days that we don’t feel good, but at the end of the day, you need to make sure that you pull through and do your best at all times.”
Sure enough — falls, breaks and all — Bianca Sicilian Trattoria opened its doors in late September.
At the age of 8, Galifi began working alongside his father at the family restaurant in Palermo, Sicily. By his account, Sicilian food differs from the Italian food that Americans have come to know and love.
“There’s a huge misconception about Italian food here in Los Angeles,” said Galifi. “Italian American is known as Italian here, and there is lots of garlic and cheese on everything. Lots of overload on tomato sauce. Sicilian food is not like that. We are an island, and there is lots of fresh seafood. Any dish is composed of three or four ingredients only and whatever is fresh and seasonal. I use a lot of extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemons and oranges, lemon and orange zest and white and red wine. We don’t use butter or creamers or cream. We don’t use any of that; that’s not part of a Sicilian or a South Italian culture whatsoever. It’s more like acidity and a little bit heat. I use Sicilian chilies and vinegar. I use some chipotle pepper for smokiness. So, it’s a little bit different than what people consider Italian food.”
Bianca Sicilian Trattoria menu highlights include house-made tagliolini pomodoro with burrata and crispy basil and a layered crispy potato lasagna with truffle cream and speck.
“I use fresh pasta because I’m in love with the bite and the texture and the flavor,” he said.
Galifi is serious about his Sicilian-ness. In addition to feeding his customers, he aims to educate them about Sicilian Italian food.
“People do get a little confused at the beginning,” he explained. “I see their face when I drop the food to the table. This is not a typical restaurant that you just go ahead and order and the server brings the food to the table and just drops it there. I take a different approach to the service. I am more of a attention-to-the-details and attention-to-the-guest dining. I drop the food at every single table. I explain the food, how it is supposed to be eaten, what it comes from and what it is to me.”
Sometimes, Galifi relayed, people ask if he is part of the business, and he replies with joy: “Yes, I am the chef and the owner.”
“I want to leave an impression and give a memorable experience to every single guest,” he shared. “That is just part of my hospitality culture and the need to take care of people because they come to eat and experience your food and your place, so you must show the food and the intention and the ingredients.”
Bianca Sicilian Trattoria is Galifi’s third restaurant. He opened his first eatery, Casa Mia Sicilian Restaurant, in La Puente in 2017, and it ran for about four years. His second restaurant, Farina Pizza in Koreatown, opened in 2019, one year before the pandemic hit. He sold it in 2020. The customers who frequented his first two spots have found him in Downtown LA.
“People still follow me and come here to this restaurant because they miss that,” he said.
Between his second and third restaurant ventures, Galifi busied himself doing private events and catering. One day, as he sat bored on the couch scrolling the internet, he came across two locations in the Arts District, and he messaged the real estate agent. He asked if he could take a look the next day.
“I went to look at the second one, which was this one right here,” he said, “and as soon as I opened the door, I went through to the backyard, which is part of our main dining, and I had a feeling of home and peace, like I was transported back to my home country. It was like God sent me here, and God sent me the place.”
Tableside tiramisu is on the menu at Bianca Sicilian Trattoria.
Jakob Layman/Submitted
No guest should leave Bianca Sicilian Trattoria without experiencing its tableside tiramisu service.
“I do love tiramisu, so the only issue I have with it is it’s boring looking,” said Galifi. “I take a different approach, so we do a tableside tiramisu service, where I’ll go out and I’ll build the tiramisu on the spot. I have my espresso, my Marsala, my ladyfingers, my Mascarpone cream, my cocoa, and as I go, I explain that the texture is a little bit different because it’s built at the moment. Also, I like to shower the whole tiramisu with lots of pistachio powder on top. So, it’s more of an interactive experience.”
A trip to Bianca Sicilian Trattoria offers more than a meal. If a customer’s time spent there lives up to Galifi vision, they, too, will be transported to the chef’s home.
“I don’t want to come off as arrogant but a lot of Italian restaurants in LA, about 90% of them, are not real Italian restaurants,” he said. “I grew up in Sicily, and I grew up in a family that we own restaurants. I grew up eating Sicilian food, and I am Sicilian 100%, and I am the owner and chef for the restaurant, so you’re not going to get more real authentic than this.”
Bianca Sicilian Trattoria is located at 1200 East 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013, 213-915-0052; biancasiciliantrattoria.com.