TOURING IN PIEMONTE
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TRATTORIA LA COCCINELLA
Via Provinciale, 5
SERRAVALLE LANGHE (Cn)
Tel./Fax: +39 0173 748 220

Closed Tuesdays

CLICK HERE FOR THEIR WEBSITE

Noted winemaker and gourmand, Sergio Germano, extended an invitation to dine at this family-operated trattoria.  We gladly accepted the invitation, having heard good things about the three brothers who run this place up in the hills.

It's a 20 minute ride south of Serralunga.  

We arrived on a Friday night and found the place packed with locals.  

Antipasti are ten Euros or you can have a 'tasting menu' of antipasti for 15.  A pasta is 12 and a main plate is 16.  (May-2009)

The wine list is impressive...lots of local vintners are represented, by there are numerous wines from other regions around Italy.

Millefoglie di Quaglia with polenta.


A bottle of Monti Barbera and some "Plin" (Piemontese agnolotti)--
Plin di Coniglio

Tajarin al ragu di Vitello

Sergio brought a bottle of his 2003 Lazzarito Barolo...


Coda di Vitello con tartufi.


Duck.


Dessert.

The three brothers...

Another visit in April 2011:

La Coccinella is a magnificent, soulful place for a good meal of typical Piemontese dishes.  You're out in the countryside, well away from the "big" city of Alba and outside the tourist areas.

The one caution I'd have is be sure you can find your way back to your hotel safely.

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TRATTORIA DELLA POSTA
Località Sant'Anna, 87
12065 Monforte d'Alba 
Tel:  (0173) 78 120

Closed all of February...
Closed all day Tuesday and Lunch on Fridays
CLICK HERE FOR THEIR WEBSITE

This is an elegant, old, traditional place about a ten minute drive south of Monforte.  Despite its elegance and refinement, it's still a comfortable "family" restaurant and a good dining experience.

The chefs greeted us warmly...

Some sort of stuffed onion and cheese starter.

Bagna Cauda was on the menu and I could not resist...the pepper was filled with the "bagna" mix...anchovies, garlic, olive oil.  It's quite intense and, frankly, too much for one person as a starter.  But I forged ahead valiantly.

Our dear pal Ceri Smith (that's her Witness Protection Program name) ordered some sort of salad...and we had a bottle of Pelaverga from Verduno.

Tajarin.  Yum.


Gnocchi.

Brasato.

Our friends were thrilled to order frog's legs for a main plate.

I thought they were more like legs of tadpoles, but they sure were nicely presented and delicious!

We ordered a nice bottle of Barolo, too...

Ceri skipped the main plate and went right for the cheese trolley...



Dessert?
Are you kidding?

La Posta is a bit "out of the way" and known mostly to locals.  It's a comfortable dining experience, with spacious dining rooms, a calm, quiet ambience and friendly, gracious service.
The food is classic Piemontese cooking...not modern, artistic, fusion (or confusion) cuisine.

The wine list is quite good and they have all the top producers featured.  You can find older vintages and more current bottlings and wines in a good range of price.

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Ristorante BREZZA (Hotel Barolo)
Via Lomondo 2
Barolo
Tel: 0173  560.026

CLICK HERE FOR THEIR WEB SITE

This is an old time, old-fashioned place in Barolo.  The Brezza family makes good wine, as well as running a hotel and restaurant.

Signor Brezza

We were there for a pre-set dinner with a group of local winemakers...

The fellow sitting next to me was allergic to cheese and asked to skip the Flan course...me too.
They graciously brought a lovely plate of "Carne Cruda," but not the "hamburger" meat one typically finds...

Here's the Zucchini Flan, though:

There were "Plin" A-Plenty:

They selected a great main course to pair with the wonderful Barolo wines from the various vintners in attendance.

I'm reasonably certain Aldo Vaira was not suggesting Maria Teresa Mascarello buy some French oak barrels for her Barolo.

1986 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo.

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Ristorante Locanda Borgo Antico
Out in the outskirts, amongst the vines, these days...in Barolo.
Via Boschetti 4
Click here for their website
Tel: 0173/56355
Closed Wednesdays and at lunch on Thursdays (but I think they're open all day Thursday from September until December).
Closed for vacation in February and March and from the end of July through mid-August.
Chef and owner Massimo Camia is busy in the kitchen preparing lovely and elegant Piemontese cooking, while his wife, the charming Luciana, oversees the staff in the upstairs dining room.  The place is rather small, seating only about 30 people.  Reservations are a good idea, since we've noticed a fair number of locals dining here along with the tourists from overseas and elsewhere in Europe.
If you're there for lunch during a nice day, they may have a table or two on the terrace outside the main dining room. 
Two wine lists are maintained....one is exclusively Barolo!  Have a look at both, as Massimo has a terrific selection of top wines from Piemonte, along with well-priced local specialties. 
The dining room is bright and comfortable...quite nice, actually. 
The menu is varied, but features local ingredients and Piemontese cooking with a modern and light touch. 
I have not been to their place in its new location, but I've retained my original write up...I look forward to checking out the new place, which friends who live in Barolo say is really excellent.

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Ristorante La Ciau del Tornavento
Piazza Baracco, 7  in  Treiso (near Barbaresco)
Tel. (0173) 638333 - 638352 - fax (0173) 638352
They now have a web site:  http://www.laciaudeltornavento.it
Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays at lunch.
We were the guests of some friends at this place one lazy, warm day near the harvest.  Most of the diners were seated outside on the terrace overlooking a number of hills and valleys of the Langhe.  The menu was pre-arranged and the young lady who was serving our table indicated she could also take care of the vegetarian in our party.  We had a terrific bottle of Dolcetto with a memorable lunch.  The menu was varied, including a risotto, "plin" (the pinched little stuffed pastas common in Piemonte's Langhe) along with some sort of roasted bird.    The restaurant has been there a long time and has been under the same management for more than a decade.
I was privileged to dine here at at large feast organized by the local grower's association in May of 2007.  The food was good, but I will say it was very salty for my tastes...your mileage may vary.

Saffron Risotto and a nicely-oaked Barbaresco.

Cosciotto al Forno al Fieno


Cheeses...


Dessert...some sort of Panna Cotta gelato...fruit on a stick...



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Ristorante Daniel's al pesco fiorito
Corso Canale, 28  in Alba
Tel. & fax (0173) 441977
Closed Sundays and around Christmas/New Years and late July to late August.
It's been a number of years since I dined in this place, though they have a good menu and nice wine list as I recall.  They have a number of typical plates of the region, so you can get risotto and other pastas, as well as veal "brasato al Barolo" (braised in the style of Barolo, but with the price of Barolo, I'd be surprised....).

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LA PIOLA
Piazza Risorgimento 4
12051 Alba
Phone  0173--442800
Closed Sunday nights and Mondays and they closed from late January to late February.
Owned by the Ceretto family, famous producers of Albese wines, there is a more fancy restaurant one level above this ground floor, informal osteria.  
In warm weather, there are tables outside in a covered area.  

A small group of us arrived one Spring afternoon and ordered a bottle of Ceretto's Arneis, a rather commercial, lightly fizzy white wine.
The waiter, seeing seven of us, asked that we try to order the same plate for everyone to make life easier for the kitchen.  We had a range of antipasti served family style and I think everyone opted for the Agnolotti which were excellent.
This is one of those "good eats" places...informal, nicely done and reasonably priced.

The Vitello Tonnato, a very typical Piemontese starter, was exceptional.


The Carne Cruda was also wonderfully prepared.


Agnolotti.

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OSTERIA e VINERIA IL TORCHIO
Via Croce 4
Dogliani
Tel: 347 984-8067  or 366 436-5793
Closed Mondays

We were guests of a group of winemakers from the Dogliani area on a Friday night.  The place was rather busy and we had one of their dining rooms to ourselves.

 

Antipasto, including the famous "Salsiccia di Bra."

 

 

Here's a very typical plate and it was actually good partnered with Dolcetto di Dogliani...

Acciughe al Bagnet Verde...
A cup of green sauce made with parsley, garlic, capers and oil...
The anchovies are not excessively salty and the green sauce is the antidote (along with the Dolcetto)...

We then had a really lovely Risotto al Dolcetto di Dogliani...

I could not say whose Dolcetto they used in the kitchen...


We were offered a secondo if we wanted, but we too full after the antipasti and the risotto...

 

 

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AGLI ARCHI  We heard this place had closed, so check it out for us, please)
Corso Europa 29
Alba
tel:  0173 - 284313

It was a Saturday night and chaos reigned on the home-front with our friends, so we ventured to the "big city" (which would be Alba in this instance) and went to a pizzeria.  The place was packed and it's hardly "just" a pizza emporium.  They have more than 20 different pizza combinations which are prepared out of view in the kitchen...

The wine list features many good producers of local wines and we opted for a chilled bottle of Arneis (about 13 Euros) as their red wines are kept in the dining room and are a bit warm.  A few beers are available on tap, but we chose to start with a sip of a local brew called Menabrea.

There's a display of antipasti in the middle of the dining area and we opted for their "insalata" of polipo (octopus) with fagioli (string beans in this case).  This was about six Euros and was exceptional!  I was very pleasantly surprised, frankly.  There's quite an interesting menu here, so 

As in most pizza places in Italy, a "pizza" is generally viewed as a "single serving" size and everyone orders their own.  The pizza here was good, though the crust was more substantially crusty than classic Naples-style pizza.  In any case, this is a good place and it's centrally located if you're on a Barolo-tasting excursion.

 

L'ATELIER di Pierflavio GALLINA
http://www.gallina-atelier.it/
I received a card from this fellow and looked at his web site...he's an artists with what appears to be a comfortable bed & breakfast in La Morra (south of Alba, near the town of Barolo).  
The place looks nice, comfortable and is sensibly-priced.

Gallina is a well-known artist and you can see some of his work on the web site.

If you stay there, would you kindly report back how you liked the place?  I did receive a note from an Alameda couple:


In the process of planning our recent trip to Italy, I came across your "Touring in Piemonte" piece, which was very helpful. We knew we wanted to spend at least a few days in this region, but guidebooks are rather sparse in specifics. Followed up on the information about L"Atelier Gallina and we stayed three nights there.  Pierflavio and Giuliana spent four years restoring an old farmhouse and the results are lovely. With a mixture of excellent modern appointments and lovely antiques, it is very comfortable and charming. Giuliana's English is very good and she was so very welcoming and helpful. Pierflavio does not speak English but made a point each morning to greet everyone before heading off to one of his galleries. He had an exhibit at the Mondavi winery about 13 years ago and they both spent some time visiting in the area. Thank you so much for this tip and we would certainly recommend it to anyone traveling in the area. We were asked to send on a hello from Giorgio at Felicin - another great recommendation!

Katherine and Hugh Cavanaugh
Alameda

AGRITURISMO di REVELLO
http://www.revellofratelli.com
The Revello family, terrific winemakers in La Morra, also have four small "apartments" for rent.  Pricing is modest and the surroundings are comfortable.

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Ristorante Il Camino Delle Fate
19 Via Giuseppe Garibaldi in Romagnano Sesia (this is well out of the Langhe near the town of Ghemme in northern Piemonte).
Tel: (0163) 833926 

The food is not fancy here, but came highly recommended by a local winemaker.
We found the place to offer good vittles and nice wines for a reasonable price.

A nice little steak paired very handsomely with a barrique-aged Ghemme from the Ioppa brother's winery.

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LA BRAJA
via San Giovanni Bosco 11
Montemagno 14030
Tel: (0141) 653 925
Web:  CLICK HERE
Closed Mondays & Tuesdays
Closed 28th of December til the 20th of January
and the 23rd of July to August 20th (approximately)
The Michelin Guide gives them 3 crossed knives & forks and indicates a meal runs between 40-60 Euros.

If you're in the area of Asti, this place is worthy of the drive.  It's all of three kilometers from Castagnole Monferrato, home of a curious and delightfully obscure red wine called Ruchè.  

It's a 45 minute ride from Alba and about a 25 minute ride from downtown Asti.

I was struck by some art work I saw on a residence across the street from the restaurant and I found out one of the owners, Antonio Palermino (who's in the dining room with his son Christian) lives there.  His "art" work graces the various rooms of the restaurant.

Time for lunch according to the sun dial!


Antonio Palermo

Antonio's brother Giuseppe is the artist in the kitchen.

Antonio's son Christian is also an artist.

Christian Palermino, wine-grower Marco Crivelli and Antonio Palermino


Some of Crivelli's "art."


Carne Cruda and Crivelli's Grignolino d'Asti.


Asparagus with a Terrine


Truffle shavings were the highlight of this plate.

Antonio is certainly passionate about the wines and food they serve.


A plate of "tajarin" with asparagus, peas and carrots...

...and Crivelli's exceptional Ruchè wine.

We had a simple piece of beef for the main plate...



If you're still a bit hungry, the Palermino's feature an impressive cheese trolley.




A palate-refreshing sorbet for dessert hit the spot!

Espresso and some sweet treats...

As we were departing, we thanked the chef for his artistry.

Giuseppe Palermino

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