TOURING IN PIEMONTE
Piemonte is a sort of "home" base for me. I have many friends
and adopted "family" there. I became an honorary Piemontese back in the
1980s when I invited myself to stay at the home and winery of Alfredo & Luciana
Currado at Cantina Vietti. I spent several weeks of the 1984 harvest attempting to
learn the Italian language as well as all the secrets of the winemaking and kitchen.
Since then I've visited many times. I speak the language moderately well, though I
don't wave my hands around nearly as stylishly as the Italians.
The area has changed over the past few decades. The winemaking and viticulture have
improved tremendously. The area has become more tourist-friendly, though it's not as
over-run with Americans and British as Tuscany, for example. (This may be good
news.)
More outstanding restaurants are to be found in this area, so it's a shame that few
Americans know the region as well as the Swiss and Germans who make trek to fill their
cars with wine and foodstuffs of Piemonte.
From Milano, you're about two hours' drive to Alba, the main city in the region where
Barolo and Barbaresco wines are made. There are now many places to stay in Alba, but
you might also consider one of the smaller villages in the winemaking towns.
From the U.S., flying in to Torino is easy and usually not significantly more
costly. Renting a car is a snap and driving to Alba takes an hour, or so.
Though summer is "high season" in Tuscany, you may run into trouble finding a
place to stay in September and October in this region known as the "Langhe."
That's because this marks the harvest season and there's also a major industry in
white truffles.
With the increase in the price of wine, there's come a major period of prosperity in the
region. Alba's main street, the Via Mestre, used to be filled with more utilitarian
shops. Today it's packed with fancy boutiques with all the famous brands of Italian
and French clothing and shoes. Many winemakers, who were lucky to drive a small Fiat, now
have a Mercedes parked in the garage. That's what happens when Barolo goes from a
$20 wine to a $50-$100 price level. (Today many are even more than that!)
If you're interested to experience the "culture," come to Alba on a Saturday
morning when the open air market fills the town. Local farmers fill a covered area
at one end of town. Farm and gardening equipment fills another piazza. Get
there around 9 or 10am, as it starts closing around noon. While the stores
used to close on Saturday at lunch time, these days you can shop til you
drop...they're open Saturdays until 7:30.
PLACES TO STAY/PLACES TO DINE
Giardino da Felicin
Via Vallada, 18 - 12065 Monforte d'Alba
Tel. (0173) 78225; fax (0173) 787377
http://www.felicin.it
Hotel is closed from the first of January to mid-February. The restaurant is
closed Sunday nights and Monday.
Monforte d'Alba is located at the southern end of the Barolo zone.
There are many notable producers in this area, so staying here at this small hotel
can be a good idea. It is about a 20-30 minute ride to Alba and about a 15 minute
ride to the towns of Barolo and La Morra.
Run by the Rocca family, Nino is the son of founders Giorgio and Rosina.
They have periodically had a
star in the Michelin Guide and for good reason! The food is stellar. The wine
cellar here is exceptional. They even have a cheese cart, much as is common in
France (it's not common in Italy).
The restaurant is of modest size, seating about 60 guests. There are but 10
hotel rooms, so advance booking is a good idea.
Papa Giorgio speaks some English and, at times, shockingly so. I
suspect Nino has a decent command of English these days, too.
Friends who've dined there in April of 2007 reported it was so stellar, they
went back for an encore performance.
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Albergo Ristorante "La Contea"
Piazza Cocito 8 in Neive
Tel. (0173) 67126 677558; fax (0173) 67367
They now have a web site:
http://www.la-contea.it
Closed around the Christmas holidays and from January until March 1st.
We have known this place for many years. It's run by Claudia and
Tonino Verro and their staff. The place has been spruced up over the years and today
it's quite an enterprise, with modest hotel facilities above the restaurant and bar.
A small enoteca is located across the street.
The kitchen has always featured very traditional cooking. Claudia did
extensive research to collect recipes of old and very traditional Langhe cooking.
At one time they had been awarded a star in the Michelin Guide. This was
certainly deserved. However, service and kitchen work can be a bit uneven. The
wine list is impressive and you'll find the best of Piemonte here.
They now have their own little winery and make their own Barbaresco. I've
tasted a few of their wines of this recently and they are quite good. The
kitchen, when it's on top of its game, is amongst the best.
Home-made farfalle pasta.
They also run cooking classes, including hands-on experience. Eight people
maximum, so you can get some friends together and book a course. They will
hire an interpreter.
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Ristorante Cacciatori-da Cesare
via Umberto I, 12 in Albaretto delle Torre
Tel. 0173/52 01 41 Fax: 0173/52 01 47
Click
here for their Web site.
Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays at lunch with their vacation time in
January and July.
Also closed whenever Cesare feels like he needs a day off.
A number of years ago we were tipped off to the dining
establishment of Chef Cesare Giaccone. We were told his was the most
inventive interpretation of traditional Piemontese cooking. We
called and booked at table. "Cesare is cooking fish." we were
told. And he did. And did he! But he also had "capretto"
(baby goat) roasting in the fireplace and we dined supremely well that
night.
I recall the wines were very inexpensive and the menu was more costly. It
was worth whatever it costs, for this fellow's cuisine (or 'cucina') is so
wonderful, it's worth the detour to get here.
And if you're in Piemonte visiting wineries and you have a few bucks in the
bank, missing this place is a pity.
The restaurant used to be larger and in a building which had the appearance of
dining establishment. It's downsized and much smaller and you'll think
you're coming to someone's home. There's a tiny sign on the wall facing
the street.
Park on the main drag in a parking lot
(there was a small fleet of ambulances there on our Sunday afternoon in the
Spring of 2008). We were fortunate to be there on a gorgeous, warm, sunny
day and were able to dine outside under a covered area in the
"cortile" or courtyard.
A few things to note: There is no "menu." You are having
whatever Cesare prepares. And you know those ads on TV urging you to bring
your Visa card because "they don't take American Express"? Well,
Cesare doesn't take any credit card, so have a pile of cash in your
wallet. I didn't see the bill, but I understand you're going to drop 75 to
100 Euros per person before the wine.
I understand the place was, at one point, cited by the Guide Michelin. But
Cesare asked them to NOT include him in their book.
We had an absolutely brilliant lunch.
While we waited for our group to congregate, we sat outside, had a sip of
chilled Arneis and were offered a little 'nibble.'
Cesare is famous for his vinegar
production and we began with this little 'salad' of pickled vegetables and
chicken.
A plate of warm seafood with, I believe, eggplant...Fantastic!
I had seen Cesare working on some asparagus when we arrived...here's what we
had:
Asparagus in a "parmigiano cream."
Fritto Misto is quite popular and Cesare's rendition was sensational!
It's served in a nest with, as you can see, fresh flowers, etc.
Mine was not the only camera recording this meal!
Cesare came out to ask if we were
enjoying the food and if we'd like to try some risotto...
"Not too much...solo un cucchiaio." (a spoon-full)
The Barolo (from magnum!) was
flowing...we were dining with Pietro Ratti of the famous La Morra cellar, Renato
Ratti.
One of Cesare's signature offerings is
oven-roasted goat. When we arrived, I had a sneak-peek in the fireplace:
It was accompanied by a plate of
fantastically good, simply-prepared artichokes.
It isn't "fancy," but it sure was delicious!
Since, perhaps, everyone isn't a fan of goat, Cesare hedges his bets by sending
out a pot of duck stew...
What about dessert?
There we had a couple of choices...many opted for Cesare's Zabaglione.
But it being a rather warm day, I opted
for the fresh strawberries with amazingly fine sorbetti...
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LOCANDA DEL CENTRO
Piazza
del Centro in Castiglione Falletto
Tel: (0173) 462 502
This is not a fancy place, but it is a delightful place to have good,
"home-cooking" at a very reasonable price. It was recommended by
some locals who cautioned "It's not got a huge menu, but they offer good
eats for an exceptional price."
The antipasti assortment featured a wonderful plate of
very typical anchovies with a green sauce.
Tajarin al Ragu was all of 5. The bottle of Cavalotto's Barbera was
15.
Coniglio (Rabbit) with Olives and a hazelnut sauce was delicious and cost
6. The bottle of 2000 vintage Barolo from Parusso was 35, if memory
serves, maybe a bit less.
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RISTORANTE LE TORRI
Piazza Vittorio Veneto,10 in Castiglione Falletto
Tel.(0173) 62930; fax (0173) 462000
Closed Wednesday and at the end of January, as well as August.
Click
here for their web site...
This is a fairly new place, located in Castiglione Falletto. There are
some apartments for rent upstairs, so if you're staying at least a week, this is a nice
location (aside from the church-bell which rings every hour!).
In May of 2007 I dined here one night with some
locals.
I noticed many more cars parked in the little piazza and the place is, today,
more of a destination than it had been.
If the weather is nice, there are some tables outside in the courtyard where you
might have an aperitivo before heading inside for your meal.
We had a small Sunday night dinner there...a little pt with a dynamite
bottle of Coppo bubbly. A plate of prosciutto and Parmigiano was
terrific...lamb or rabbit for the main plate...take your pick, they were both
excellent!
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LA LIBERA
Via Pertinace 24/a
Alba
Tel: (0173) 293155
closed February
8 to 18 July
Sundays and Monday at Lunch
CLICK
HERE FOR THEIR WEBSITE
Many
people will tell you this is "the" place for a great lunch in
Alba. We've dined here twice and it's been excellent each time, though
it's certainly "slow food." Don't dine here if you're rushed,
because trying to get in and out is challenging.
The wine list is quite good and there's a big cooler filled with bottles, so the
wines, even on warm days, arrives in delightfully drinkable condition.
They usually have several Freisa wines, too...these are not often sold in export
markets and are nice, fresh, fizzy red wines...perfect with starters!
They offer a wonderful "tasting" plate of
traditional Piemontese antipasti...
A stuffed pepper, carne cruda, Vitello Tonnato and Insalata Russa.
"Plin," or local Agnolotti, are delicious and simply sauced with
butter and sage.
A main plate of roasted pork and fried asparagus...
The wine list is extensive....they have numerous vintages of Barolo and
Barbaresco wines from famous estates to some less well-known properties.
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VINCAFE
Via Vittorio Emanuele, 12
Alba
Tel: 0173 / 364603
This is owned by some friends of ours and it's a dynamite little wine bar
along the main shopping area of Alba.
I've not "dined" here, but have had a great coffee and
croissant.
The place is always jumping and, in good weather, a few tables are outside in
front.
They have quite a few wines open for "by the glass" service and an
array of "tapas" out on the bar.
You can also get a granita or an ice cream, a fresh squeezed orange juice and
more!
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RISTORANTE CONTI ROERO
Piazza San Ponzio, 3
Monticello d'Alba
Tel: (+39) 0173 64115
CLICK
HERE FOR THEIR WEB SITE.
The Michelin Guide has this place closed for half of
January and half of August, though their web site indicated they were closed for
most of the month of March...best to double-check!
They're closed Sunday nights and Monday all day.
We dined at this Michelin-starred place in
the Spring of 2008...it was a 'small' group of 30, or so, wine folks.
The service was superb and the food was exceptional. I was even more
amazed to think they had their downstairs dining room open for regular service,
along with preparing a meal for our crowd.
An 'amuse bouche.'
Vitello Tonnato.
Asparagus with a creamy morel sauce...
Gnocchi
Seafood pasta...simple but stellar!
Braised pork "cheeks."
Berries and a cup of fruit juice...
I can't tell you much about their wine
list, but I suspect they have all the famous wines of the area.
Menu prices were about 10-14 Euros for starters...pastas ranged from 12 to 14
Euros.
Main plates are 20 to 26. Desserts are 10-12.
A couple of tasting menus are offered, costing 45 or 55.
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ANTINE
Via Torino 16
Barbaresco
Tel: (0173) 635 294
Closed Wednesdays and shortly after Christmas until the end of January.
They also close for a few weeks in August...
CLICK
HERE FOR THEIR WEB SITE
Antine is a smallish restaurant right in beautiful "downtown"
Barbaresco...as you enter the town, there's one little road which dead ends at
Antica Torre and the Minuto winery.
Just before this is a small parking area along a rock wall and Antine is across
from this.
The night we dined here, guests of some Piemontese pals, the front door was
locked. We rang the bell and our hostess/server answered the call,
welcoming us to Antine.
The dining area is upstairs and we made our way to a nice table and were served
a wonderful meal.
We began with a little 'taste' of a local specialty...an
interpretation of Vitello Tonnato.
Antine's version of Carne Cruda, offered as a "Battuta di Vitella
Piemontese al coltello."
"Plin."
The main plate was a bit light, but each morsel was delicious and well-prepared.
I don't know if this was prepared especially for our group or if this is a
normal serving...
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LA CANTINETTA
Via Roma, 33 in Barolo
Tel. 0173/56198
Closed Wednesday nights and Thursdays...
Vacation: Last half of February, first week of March and the first week of
July.
Owned by the Chiappetto family, this is a normal little restaurant in the
village of Barolo. It is not regarded as a "fine dining"
establishment by some, but having eaten here twice, I can say I'd love to have
such a place in our little town here in California!
Our most recent visit was in May of 2007...a warm weekday afternoon.
The food is served with minimal fanfare and it's not terribly fancy in its
presentation, but the quality is very high.
A simple assortment of salumi was excellent!
A pt or mousse was served on a bed of sweet & sour onions...again, not
fancy but the flavors were exceptional.
One of the guests in our party, a fellow
from France, inquired if they could prepare some "carne cruda."
This caught the owner off guard, but moments later he appeared with a wonderful
rendition.
Our main plate this particular afternoon
was a platter of "tajarin," the famous Langhe tagliatelle.
The wine cellar here is good, but bottles are brought to the table a bit warmer
than we'd have liked.
They tried to address this by placing a frozen sleeve around the bottle to bring
it to proper cellar temperature.
We had a simple sorbetto for dessert...delicious and refreshing!
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OSTERIA LA CANTINELLA
Via Acqua gelata, 4/a
Barolo
Tel: Tel. 0173/56267
Closed Monday evenings (except October, we understand) and Tuesdays.
Vacation closing: January and August
Barolo has two
lovely little dining spots with very similar names. The one listed above
it Cantinetta and this place is Cantinella.
We came to this lovely little spot one a Sunday night and called ahead to
reserve a table. The place was fairly busy and it's a comfortable and
informal dining experience. The cooking is simple, "home
cooking," rather than anything hugely fancy.
The dining room seats about 35 to 40 and in warm weather, they have an outdoor
patio for another 20-25 people.
The wine list was good and features all sorts of prominent, local
producers. We opted for a bottle of Bruno Giacosa Arneis (about 28 Euros,
if I recall correctly).
A starter of a "prosciutto" of Agnello Sambucano (lamb!).
They have a terrific recipe for tagliatelle (tajarin in the local
Piemontese dialect) using 40 egg yolks per kilo of flour...this makes for an
intense and soulful pasta.
My dining companions each ordered a pasta and both were
enthusiastic about their selections (and they are locals).
Maltagliati ("badly cut" in Italian)...
I opted for a grilled pork chop...this was good, but not as soulful as the
starter or pasta...
"Bunet al cioccolato" is a classic Langhe dessert...and this was
delicious.
We paid 120 Euros for dinner for three with each of having a starter, a pasta,
main plate and dessert.
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LA SALITA
Via
Marconi, 2a
Monforte d'Alba
Tel. 0173 787196
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays....Opens at 8pm daily except Sunday when they start
at noon.
This is a hidden little gem, frequented predominantly by the locals who
know good food and good wines. It's an "osteria" sort of
place...prices on the wine list are exceptionally attractive and the selection
is good.
The kitchen, as we found out, is quite capable and the food was wonderfully
soulful.
A "salita" is a bit of a steep climb and you'll park in the center of
town and walk to the Via Marconi, climbing up the steep incline to this hidden
dining spot.
A few nibbles are brought to the table as we sit down and peruse both the menu
and wine list...
Here the Carne Cruda is not ground beef, but thinly-sliced strips with some fine
olive oil and pepper.
The "Maltagliati" are, actually, finely and uniformly cut...
In the Spring this was served with fresh favas and asparagus...very fine!
The main plate was excellent! Stewed Rabbit paired with a superb bottle of
Barolo from the E. Pira winery.
Dessert.
We were not permitted to leave until we had a sip of Champagne (LaSalle Ros)
with the owner of the place.
Very nice and quite economical!
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OSTERIA BAROLANDO
piazza Municipio, 2
tel 0173 - 56218
This is a new
place that's opened in 2007, as we understand it. It's in the old
site of Borgo Antico and is a decidedly "good eats" venue.
There's an informal bar on the ground floor where you can get a coffee or
a simple plate, while upstairs in the 'fancy' dining room, you'll find a
nice, simple menu and a good list of wines at amazingly good prices.
We had a lovely lunch here one Sunday in May of
2007. A starter of Tagliolini was a mere 7 Euros. We chose a
bottle of Chiara Boschis' delicious 2005 Dolcetto d'Alba at 13.50 Euros!
Our main plate was the Tagliata di Fassone.
Fassone is a Piemontese breed prized for its tenderness. The meat is
quickly seared and simply presented...quite good, in fact, though it won't
ace out a bistecca Fiorentina in my book.
We didn't need dessert and returned to the car to continue our tour of
wineries on a sunny Sunday afternoon...
I look forward to returning to this little 'find.'
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-
-
-
-
-
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Tagliolini with rabbit (and a nice bottle of Dolcetto).
Fassone (beef) with potatoes and a salad.
My nephew was shocked by this pasta. It was one of those
revelations for him, tasting perfectly made and perfectly cooked pasta. He
had a sauce of burro e salvia (butter and sage), while Aldo and I opted
for a tomato sauced tajarin. Brian inhaled his bowl and then set about
"helping" us finish ours.
The owner of Antica Torre shows off a tray full of delectable
tajarin with the Produttori's Aldo Vacca and his son.
The main plate was rather simple...
Dessert featured a gelato made of sheep's milk...
Via Torino 8
in Barbaresco (end of the road, a few steps from the winery of the Produttori.
