I've been honest and transparent since day one about Radici Bluffton, both about my friendship with the owners, who I'm eternally grateful to for their kindness and continued support, and the simple fact that this is a restaurant that I am passionately and emotionally invested in. But at the end of the day, I am an Italian by heritage, and I've loved Italian food for my entire life. And to have the opportunity to be around such amazing chefs and even better people such as Mattia Bianchi and Giandomenico Prestopino (same goes for front-of-the-house direttore della cassa, i.e. "The Face That Runs The Place," Camilla Eula), who bring their culture, expertise, and tradition from their homeland to our home has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Call it hyperbole if you want, but that's how great it feels for me to have access to an incredible outlet for such creativity, precision, and overall culinary excellence, and that's a privilege I don't take lightly in this epicurean universe I've somehow been given direct access to. I knew they would bring something special to #SoupDuTour, just like they do with every special event and wine dinner, and every tasting menu (which is next on my list, and Mattia knows that!), and they still blew me away with this Cacciucco (seafood and tomato broth) with shrimp, that takes HOURS to prepare and is served in the most luxurious way possible. The town of Bluffton struck gold when these three wonderful human beings came here of all places to pursue the American dream, and their food is what my dreams are made of. And the roots from which they come are the same I'm proud to honor whenever I have the chance. Buona salute, la mia famiglia.