Sort of like how Roger Ebert still loves to dine even though he can’t eat, chef Carlo Middione, who for many years presided over the kitchen at Vivande Porta Via in Pacific Heights, still loves cooking without the sense of taste or smell. Carolyn Jung (Food Gal) circles back with the chef — who closed his restaurant this past January — in the Chron today and finds that he’s doing pretty well, despite the brain injury that left him without these vital senses. “I get phantom tastes and smells now. Some people think that’s a good sign. It’s like if the phone rings, and it turns out to be a wrong number. At least you know the phone is working.” As you may have heard, Citizen Cake is reopening in Vivande’s digs around November 7.
Carlo Middione Can’t Taste But Still Loves to Cook [Chron]
Earlier: Mr. Bauer Feels Guilty For Vivande’s Shuttering [Grub Street]
