My work and my hobbies bring me around the world, and everywhere
I go, I try to taste local foods and drinks. In this page I'll
try to give you some suggestions obtained from my personal experience.
My wife will integrate my suggestions with recipes from italy
and from around the world. I hope that the navigators of the net
will give me similar suggestions. The more interesting will also
been reported.
Events in Italy.
Open Cellars. Every
year, for one day in may (usually the last sunday of may), many
cellars all around Italy give a free taste of their wines. We
have tried many cellars in Marche, Campania and Tuscania. In Tuscania
people is more used in seeing tourist around wine cellars and,
therefore, the workers of cellars are less kind, the food is less,
and the free wine not always is the best one. In other places,
far from common tourist routes, the event is really a holiday.
A particular mention for Velenosi, in Ascoli, where I have had
the best free lunch, with the best wines.
The historical meetings. The Restaurant
Traiano (Via XXIX Settembre), a little and fine restaurant
in Ancona, near
to the port, serves historical foods, usually, the last Thursday
of each month. All receipes are obtained from receipt books of
various historical periods, and the comments of the chef (and,
eventually, of the guests) are very useful for better appreciate
original foods and drinks. In the homepage of the restaurant you
can find all information about the
historical meetings and the receipes . The meetings of this
year were as follows:
More events and suggestions can be found loking at the sites of
slowfood, arcigola, and gambero
rosso.
Restaurants and Recipes in Italy.
Ancona. Ancona is the city in which I'm born and where
I live since 32 years. Therefore, it's the place where I better
know how to have a good lunch. As can be inferred by the previous
paragraph, Restaurant Traiano is a good place where try particular
tastes. If you want a Pizza I suggest Jasmine, situated in the
old town, along the way that go to the ancient S. Ciriaco Dome.
In several places outside, but not far from the city (less than
20 km) you can also try typical fish plates, enjoying a wonderful
natural background. At Portonovo
Beach (near Conero
Mountain ), it is possible to find two of the most typical
fish-restaurants: Giacchetti and Da Emilia Al Molo, respectively
located on southern and northern front of the beach. Here you
can take a swim and than try the neverending horse d'oeuvre, crocette
(a particular sea slug), tagliatelle with mussels, spigole (a
delicious fish), and much more, drinking the Verdicchio wine,
produced along Esino river. But be careful, if you ask for Emilia
you can be driven to another restaurant on the hill over the beach.
Here the food is great, but the prices are about double with respect
to the other restaurants, where you can spend about 30$-40$ for
a good dinner. Other particular plates can be eaten by restaurants
Da Silvio, at S. Michele beach, near Sirolo. The prices are similar
and you can find the spaghetti with vegetables spaccasassi, that
grow only on local beach and in few other places on Adriatic sea.
Gradara
(Pesaro). The Gradara town is located few kilometers from
Cattolica, near Pesaro. The old town is a medieval fortress, in
which you can find a lot of touristic places. However, not always
the ratio between quality of food and cost is good. Avoid the
big restaurants, overall the one that stays out of the fortress.
I don't remember the name (I WANTED forget it!), but I remember
that food was cold and bad, prices high, and waiters rude. If
you want eat with less than 20$ in a pleasant environment, I suggest
La Taverna degli Armigeri, where good old Nario will prepare for
you the typical piadina, with cheese, ham, and vegetables. However,
if you have 30$-40$ to spend, try La Botte, where you can find
a huge wine list and many particular regional and historycal plates.
I suggest the rise with truffle (risotto col tartufo), carpaccio,
and mixed cheese. Also the cakes are very good and presented in
a very nice form. La Botte also organizes historical thematic
lunches.
Roma.Roma is full of restaurants and in major part are
good restaurants. So, I will only suggest a small place that I
like for position, service, quality of food and good prices. It
is a restaurant managed by people form southern Italy (Calabria).
There you can find fresh fish, particular dry cakes, and the typical
liquor from Calabria. The restaurant'name is Taverna Sottovento
and is located in Via dei Ciancaleoni, near to Cavour underground
station. Another nice and characteristic (but expensive) restaurant
is "La Cisterna" in Trastevere. You can taste tipical
Rigatoni all'Amatriciana and Abbacchio, while served
by old waiters that seem directly exit from a Fellini's movie.
The waiters say that the pit under the restaurant is an original
roman cisterna.
Milano. With respect to other southern places, Milano is
very expensive. If you want, you can find good quality places,
but never mind to leave less than 30$ in a restaurant for a good
complete dinner. If you like Chianti wine, hand-made pasta and
the big Florence-style grilled steak, you can go to restaurant
Al Paiolo (30$-40$), Via Fara, not far from the train station.
If you prefer fish dishes and Sardinia foods, the best place is
Al Buon Samaritano, in Via… Here all plates go with the typical
sardinian "pane carasau", and prices are over 40$. The
cake of Milano is by definition the meneghina, and I suggest to
taste it with cointreau and cream ice-cream.
Bologna. The old-style trattorie (small restaurants), where
the fat innkeeper try to kill you with an overdose of tortellini
are practically estinguished. One of the last places where it
is possible renovate ancient traditions, drinking Sangiovese,
eating Tortellini in brodo, boiled meat, and parmigiano to the
top of your capabilities is Biagi, near to Casalecchio del Reno
highway exit (probably it will migrate in Via della Grada, in
the center of Bologna, during next months). The fat innkeeper
upset if you do not end the food in your dish and, eventually,
ask for some other. The food is the same of old-style trattorie,
but not the prices, that are growing in last times.
Torino. It is easy to have a good dinner in Torino. However,
if you are looking for traditional food and good wine, a very
good place is "Spada reale" (Via Principe Amedeo). Taste
Dolcetto wine, overtures, hand made pasta and chinchiglieri with
chokolate. If you like cacciagione the good place is La Capannina,
where also the ice cream with mascarpone is very good.
Asti. One of the best places in Asti is L'angolo del beato
(near Piazza del Palio). The restaurant is quite expensive but
service, wine and food are of high quality. Many plates with tartufo
are available. If you want to eat as much as possible for a human
stomach at a very good ratio quality/price, try the Ciabot di
Gianduia, at Callianetto di Castell'Alfero, less than 10 km from
Asti, going toward Alessandria: there you can find the best and
more typical overtures.
Umbria. I've spent a great weekend in a very nice agriturist,
Casale
dell'Angelo
Restaurants and recipes out of Italy.
Dublin. Ireland means beer: Dublin is the best place
in the whole world for the quality of Guinness. The taste and
the flavor of this bear in Ireland is totally different from what
you can try in the rest of the world. People says that the reason
is the transport, others sustain that it is due to the water used
for the original Guinness produced in Ireland, that is different
from the Guinness that you find in the rest of the world. I do
not know the reason, but the Guinness that you can drink in the
original farm is really unique and, in general, Guinness in Ireland
is great. I suggest the visit at the Guinness farm. The ticket
includes one pint of beer… In general, the restaurants are
of good quality (try the stew at …), but prices are quite
high (30$ or more).
Chang Mai
(Thailand) . European management, international music and
Thay recipes can be found at Riverside, a nice restaurant located
on the side of the river.
Koh Samui (Thailand).
This little, hot and nice island is full of restaurants. The economy
of Koh Samui is based on tourism. It is full of restaurants of
all nationalities. If you want to try local recipes (overall,
rice and boiled fish), one good place is Wild Orch Thai in Chaweng.
A good Italian restaurant is the Osteria, also in Chaweng.
Strasbourg (France). The home of european parliament is
a city full of good places for eating, with traditions obtained
both from France and Germany. So, you can find a good beer and
a good white wine (in particular, Riesling). Wine is quite expensive,
with respect to the prices in Italy. For the same quality you
pay about twice with respect to Italian prices. If you want to
try something of peculiar, I suggest La Cloche a Fromage: in this
restaurant, located near the central place of the town, you can
find a big bell full of about 80 different types of cheese. The
menu comprehends several tasting of cheese and the typical fondue.
Prices depend only on your curiosity… In all restauants you
can try the typical choucroute.
Atene (Grecia). There is one restaurant I remember with
particular simpaty in Atene. It is Peristeria Taverna, in Patroou
5. The restaurant serves traditional greek food and, in summer,
the tables are disposed in a place that, during morning, is a
car parking. All nights an old guitar player sing sad songs, while
the old waiter serves its traditional plates (mussaka, roast chicken,
soulaki, and so on) and the typical Retzina (the greek white wine
with resin). Food is good and prices low (less than 20$ for a
good dinner).
Bucarest (Romania). It's not easy to find a good place
where eating and drinking, whitout spending a lot of money. Good
restaurants have typical european prices (30$ or more). I suggest
a very nice restaurant, close to Hilton Hotel, the Bistro Ateneum.
Prices are relatively good, atmosphere is nice, and music is quite
good. Try local riesling and meat.
Wien (Austria). I like Wien, and also the nice people of
Wien. During the last trip I tasted a very good Wiener Schnitzel
in the restaurant Figlmueller, located in a little street, near
to the central Stephanplatz. If you like seafood and you don't
like to spend much money, there are seversal Nordsee self services
around the city. In all them the quality of food is good and prices
are low.
