Ciao. I use this greeting here because I assume that you are a friend. Or soon-to-be friend. Or maybe, at minimum, mildly curious about what Ciao. Yo. Aloha is and why I am bothering to write this blog at all. Lean in. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll explain.
I’m Qiana Di Bari, a native New Yorker from Red Hook, Brooklyn. I’ve been living the dream (until recently) on the beautiful island of Maui, in a little beach town called Lahaina. And I share a home in south Italy with my husband of thirteen years and our daughter, which we mostly visit during the summers. Before the Lahaina fire, we were the proud owners and operators of one of Maui’s most acclaimed restaurants, arguably the best Italian restaurant - if you believe the hype surrounding our little mom-and-pop: Sale Pepe Pizzeria e Cucina. So, that makes the relevance of this blog’s name is a little clearer, right? You get it. My life is a delightful soup of three distinct and delicious cultures that intersect, overlap, and mirror each other even in their distinctiveness. I’m going to share all of this with you here.
Why? Well, I’ll start with the selfish reasons first. I’ve been a frustrated writer for most of my adult life, chasing the hustle of a life in the music business, then motherhood and most recently taking on the world of restauranting. This blog permits me to play on the page. Also, I know a lot about New York City. I know a lot about Hawaii. I know a lot about Italy. I know a lot about a lot of random, and practical, things. But the learning never stops, and I am always discovering things in my reading, in my travels, in my home life and in my restaurant life that I want to share. I have an “Everybody should know this!” moment almost daily. And this is where I will indulge it, sharing practical, intellectual, cultural, and creative discoveries that you can use or be delighted by too. At least that’s the dream. You may find me banal or self-involved or want to snap this page shut now. “Not another lifestyle blog!”, I can imagine you thinking. But this is not that. This is a real-life blog, a no-holds-barred look at the world as I see it. I’m betting that there is somebody out there who relates, and I am reaching a hand out to you, dear reader. Thanks, if you are still with me.
Moving forward, each entry will begin with a salutation - either ciao or yo or aloha - giving you a glimmer of the content it will contain. You can expect an Italian-focused or Italian-adjacent topic in this category. I’ll share a lot about food obviously. I like history and origin stories of everyday things, so there will be some of that. I speak Italian and will share some language stuff that I find funny or curious. (Like how the word ciao originated in Venice as a derivative of schiavo, which would translate as slave to you and me. Jarring, right? The word somehow evolved to take on a more Disney-esque invitation to “be my guest” or a declaration of faithful service and then became a kind of ubiquitous equalizer among all classes and manner of people, thank God… See what I mean? I love this kind of stuff.)
So, with this word I am at your service, inviting you to dip into the mix of my little minestrone for a tiny taste of Italy at least once a week. I’ll try to make sure there is always a takeaway, something you can use or apply in your own life. There will be recipes and travel guides and tutorials and lots and lots of links to cool things to read or experience to lighten your load, or to brighten your day, or to learn something new. And with that, benvenuto. Andiamo. Let’s go!