Frequent Eaters Get Treat From Friendly La Strada

When it comes to food, there are lots of wonderful quotes and sayings. For instance, there’s the famous Shakespeare quote. “If music be the food of love, play on.”

I am not sure who said, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach…” And there are lots more.

As a member of the press, I have been invited to many meals with the objective of feeding me information. But a free meal is not that common. That’s why restaurateur Lisa Ramelow’s customer appreciation night at her well-known La Strada eatery on Second Street is such an anticipated event.

For the past six years, Ramelow has invited her most loyal customers to a special evening to say thank you for their die-hard support.

Ramelow’s family has long-standing connections in Belmont Shore. Her father actually started the restaurant 14 years ago, and her mother, Rita Boyd, was a Realtor in the area. Everyone knows Rita; Lisa has a photograph of her on the menu that somehow adds to the family camaraderie that this restaurant offers its patrons.

Lisa isn’t even Italian — she’s Czechoslovakian. Growing up, running a restaurant wasn’t on her career radar screen. In fact, she qualified as an engineer and her only prior restaurant experience was a part-time job in a coffee shop at 16.

When she took over the reins from her father, to learn the business she tried every job pertaining to running a good restaurant, from waiting on tables to working in the kitchen. These days, apart from the behind-the-scenes operations, she is still very hands on and makes dining for her customers a very personal experience.

“They love to come in and chat,” she says. “Everybody knows one another. The chef has been here for about 13 years and the servers are also a part of the family by now. I think that’s what our regular customers really enjoy. They truly interact with each others’ lives. It’s like that TV program ‘Cheers’ — where everyone knows your name.”

The customers who are being treated to the party later this month stop by the restaurant at least once a week. The staff knows where they want to sit and can even anticipate what they are going to order.

Ramelow says that not many of her customers are very adventurous with the menu — they tend to stick to their favorites such as the signature dishes salmon Florentina and the fettuccine au gratin.

“It’s very funny. They always look sheepish and apologize that they aren’t trying anything new,” she laughs.

In fact, at the party Ramelow gives out an annual prize for the customer who has tried the most new dishes. It’s hard to find someone who can top three new gourmet experiences in a year.

She also does a questionnaire to see how well the customers know the servers and other staff.

“They treat it very seriously,” she says. “It certainly adds to the flavor of the occasion, along with having our in-house accordionist on hand to play their favorite tunes.”

However, the appreciation party is one occasion when the regulars can get to try something new because Ramelow does a buffet to try and tempt them to experiment a bit more.

“It’s so cute to watch them taste testing,” she says. “But the new dishes hardly ever stick. They always go back to ordering their personal favorite.”

Customer appreciation night is, understandably, by invitation only. If you want to get on the guest list, you know what you have to do …