andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

The CHIC Association held their national conference in Campania this past week.  Great news for Campania, and great news for me!  A chance to try a Michelin starred chef Vincenzo Guarino specialty.  His appetizer served during a buffet lunch for the press and CHIC associates. I waited patiently in line along with dozens like me were not only captivated by the colors of Guarino's dish...but by the chef's charisma as well.  Let's take a look... Black Artemide rice... Salmon marinated in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar... Then the chef gingerly placed salicornia, sea asparagus, on top... Amazing.

 It may have been one of the longest weeks I've had in awhile.  Crazy long.  Between work, home, mommy duties...well, you get the picture.  That is why on that particular early Friday afternoon I decided that I had no intention to cook that evening.  I shot out a proposal to my teenage  son "Let's go out to eat this tonight. I heard about a Japanese restaurant nearby that I'd like t try." My teenager took off his earpods and his eyes lit up.  David, a lover of all things Japanese, from food to anime movies, accepted my proposal immediately. So at 7:25 pm, we pulled into Roji Japan Fusion Restaurant' s parking lot and stepped into the land of the rising sun. Since we were one of the first guests to arrive that evening, manager Giovanni Napoletano had a little time to talk to us about the concept of the place.  How their vision is to fuse the best of Japan and the best of Italy in a one of a kind dining experience.  Roji has a kitchen staff