Here
is a brief list of some of the best restaurants I
have dined at in Italian wine country. Some are
quite fancy wihle others are very humble, but each
is excellent! Many more to follow soon…
TUSCANY
OLTRE
IL GIARDINO • PANZANO IN
CHIANTI
This
is a beautiful small ristorante in the heart of
Panzano in the middle of Chianti Classico. The
emphasis here is on fresh ingredients from local
farmers. You’ll enjoy the preparations even,
as the menu reminds you that “you may have to
wait” for your food. A great pasta choice is
Maltagliati, which is pasta cut in jagged
edges. I enjoyed this with a duck sauce (rabbit
sauce is another option) and it was outstanding!
Grilled lamb chops and cinghiale (wild
boar) are also special. There is an excellent
selection of wines from the producers of Panzano.
If you are lucky enough, you may get a table
offering views of the lovely Panzano countryside.
PIAZZA
G. BUCCIARELLI, 42 • PANZANO IN CHIANTI
Tel: 055/852828
OSTERIA
DI PORTO AL CASSERO •
MONTALCINO
At
this wonderful osteria in the heart of the town of
Montalcino, traditional foods are served at
extremely reasonable prices, with many dishes
priced between 6.00 to 8.00 Euro. Piero Cecchini, a
charming man who seems to know everyone in town,
speaks English well, if not fluently, so don’t
hesitate to ask him questions. If you still have
trouble, menus are available in English. Start with
bruschette, toasted bread with oil and
tomato and then follow it up with the wonderful
zuppz di pane, a broth with cannellini
beans, chard and day-old bread. Meatballs, liver
and pork sausage are also quite good. When you need
a quick meal in Montalcino, this is the place for a
wonderful experience!
VIA
RICASOLI, 32 • VIA DELLA LIBERTA, 9 •
MONTALCINO
Tel: 0577/847196
RISTORANTE
DI POGGIO ANTICO ï MONTALCINO
This
beautiful restaurant is located in the same country
driveway as the winery offices and cellars of this
famous Brunello producer. A few miles south of the
town of Montalcino, not far from the town of Sant’Angelo
in Colle, this restaurant has become quite renowned
over the past decade with the unique food stylings
of Chef Roberto Minnetti, who has his own take on
the local cuisine. Portions are small to
medium-size, but they are quite rich and all of
them are excellent.
The
evening I dined there with the effervescent winery
owner Paola Gloder, I enjoyed an oustanding dish of
pisce con agnitello e tartufi bianchi toscani
(local hand-made pasta with lamb and white
Tuscan truffles – yes there are white
Truffles in Tuscany!) This was a remarkable dish
with the tender flavors of the lamb accented by the
piquant qualities of the truffles. I also enjoyed
chicken liver served on top of a sauce made from
Moscadello di Montalcino, the local dessert wine
made from the Moscato grape. This had a wonderful
mix of earthiness and sweetness.
Desserts
include a number of flavorful ice creams, including
coconut, which I enjoyed with some gorgeous
chocolate. I highly recommend this restaurant not
only for its elegant settings and superb service
(attentive without being overly so), but also the
impressive food and last, but certainly, not least,
the remarkable wines of Poggio Antico.
I
POGGI • MONTALCINO
Tel: 0577/849200
Hand-made
pasta with lamb and Tuscan white truffles,
Ristorante Poggio Antico. Photo ©Tom
Hyland.
VENETO
ALPONE
• MONTECCHIA DI CROSARA
This
elegantly appointed restaurant is owned by chef
Simone Tessari, whose brother Sisto is the manager
of La Cappuccina winery, just across the road. The
La Cappuccina bottlings of Soave are featured on
the list, as are several other small producers of
this wine. The chef specializes in pasta and local
seafood; bigoli is an excellent pasta
choice as is gnocchi with Monte Veronese cheese or
with the local black truffles. This is one of the
finest restaurants in the Soave area (located just
outside the town of Monteforte d’Alpone) and
the cooking of Simone is as elegant and as
finesseful as the finest bottlings of
Soave.
LOCALITA
PERGOLA, 51 • MONTECCHIA DI CROSARA
Tel: 045/6175387
Simone
Tessari, Chef/owner, Alpone. Photo ©Tom
Hyland.
TRATTORIA
IL POMPIERE • VERONA
Given
there are too many overpriced ristoranti e
trattorie in Verona (often with touristy
cuisine), it is great to find this place. You will
especially love this trattoria if you are a fan of
salumi, as there are various types (coppa,
mortadella, culatello, etc) that are brought to
your table by the chef who describes each of them
in loving detail. Pastas are also excellent as is
beef and lamb. I dined with a friend in the smaller
room on a Friday evening in January; our
reservation was at 7:30 and we were told we had to
give up the table by 9, which should tell you about
the popularity of this place!
VICOLO
REGINA D’UNGHERIA, 5 • VERONA
Tel: 045/803053
PIEMONTE
ENOCLUB
• ALBA
For
my money, this is the best restaurant in the city
of Alba and one of the best in the entire Barolo
and Barbaresco area. The restaurant is located
below street level in Piazza Savona; not being able
to view the beautiful city of Alba may be the only
drawback here. Classic Piemontese cuisine such as
carne cruda and plin al sugo d’arrosta
done superbly; Coniglio fritto con
peperoni and Tagliata di Vitello are
inspired secondi. The wine list here is
one of the most thorough in the area.
PIAZZA
SAVONA, 4 12051 • ALBA
Tel: 0173/33994
RISTORANTE
LE TORRE • CASTIGLIONE FALLETTO
Two
of my favorite people, chef Maria Cristina Rinaudi
and her husband Angelo operate this sublime
restaurant, which has a lovely panaromic view of
the countryside around Castiglione Falletto and La
Morra in the heart of Barolo country. Cristina is
quite simply, one of the finest chefs in Piemonte;
her cooking is creative and every dish is
excellent. Even the humble tajarin, the
area’s thin hand-made pasta is special here,
as are the rabbit and beef dishes. The wine list is
thorough and very fairly priced. I’ve dined
here more than a half-dozen times and have always
been impressed!
PIAZZA
VITTORIO VENETO, 10 • CASTIGLIONE FALLETTO
Tel: 0173/62849
RISTORANTE
LA CIAU DEL TORNAVENTO • TREISO
Known
by the locals as merely “Ciau”, this
restaurant has one of the most beautiful settings
in all of Italy; you look out huge windows to
impeccably manicured Nebbiolo vineyards in Treiso.
If that doesn’t put you in the mood for a
wonderful meal and a glass of Barbaresco, nothing
will! Excellent foods from start to finish; make
sure you try the salsiccia di Bra (a local
veal sausage). Beautifully decorated inside with
elegant tables and attentive service. Great
selection of local wines, especially from many
unheralded Barbaresco producers.
PIAZZA
BARACCO, 7 • TREISO
Tel: 0173/638333
UMBRIA
IL
BACCO FELICE • FOLIGNO
This
is a small eatery with a big following. Chef/owner
Salvatore Denaro is a passionate native Sicilian
who has as much personality dealing with customers
at their table as he has talent in the kitchen.
There is no menu and no wine list here; the
waitress tells you what Salvatore has prepared that
evening and if you want a wine, tell him what you
would like and he'll bring you something. The
evening I dined there, pigeon was the main dish,
and it was as good as I've had in Italy, while the
opening insalata had tomatoes that were incredibly
flavorful and juicy. You'll finish your evening
writing a few words about your experience there on
whatever little space is available on one of the
walls. Salvatore himself will bring you a pen or
marker and remind you that your evening at his
restaurant is not complete until you let future
diners know how much you enjoyed your time at this
wonderful eatery.
VIA
GARIBALDI, 73-75 • FOLIGNO
Tel: 0742/341019
