If All Meat Was This Pretty . . .

I’d still probably be a vegetarian, but it’d be a lot harder. Just look at that lovely meat (both sliced and spread). I expect meat-eating pals will be drooling now:

PS: This plate was delivered (if I remember correctly) to pal Shane Farmer at a restaurant in Arezzo called Le Tastevin.

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Artichoke Risotto from Calagrana

Because some days I just like to make myself salivate:

And cause I miss those Calagrana folks and foods.

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Nero con Fonduta e Tartufo Nero at Fiorintino

Yep, I’ve posted pics (and that does mean more than one) of the Nero con Fonduta e Tartufo Nero served up with relish at Sansepulcro’s beloved Ristorante Fiorentino. But you know, a dish this good (black risotto, black truffles, and a rich cheese fondue) can’t have too many pictures:

I feel a bit awkward admitting this, but just looking at the picture makes me salivate. Get me to a plane!

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Somedays I Really Miss the World’s Best Trucker Restaurant

And the world’s best trucker restaurant is, of course, Mastro Dante, right off the E35 in the Upper Tiber Valley in Italy. Big plates of pasta, mighty mouthfuls of meat (if you partake), a bottle of wine per person, and the most fantastic antipasti bar:

all for a mere 12 Euro. Dang, I wish I could roll up there for lunch today.

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Caramel Panacotta at al Frantoio

In honor of Nat bringing Bella Cinghiale (which was her Italy blog) back up and running, and with a focus on delicious pictures of scrumptious sweeter treats (most of which she makes her-own-self mind you), here’s a pic of a wonderful dessert we shared at the restaurant al Frantoio in Assisi, a caramel panacotta that was just over-the-top tasty:

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Truffle Risotto at Il Granaro del Monte in Norcia

I always meant to do a full Il Granaro del Monte (the restaurant in the Grotta Azzurra hotel in Norcia) post, but just never got around to it. We went there with pal Shane Farmer way back when, when he visited us during our pre-tirement, and I did post one pic of his meat plate, but skipped everything else had there, including the tasty truffle risotto, which is what I had. It was different than many risottos, in that it had big chunks of cheese mixed in, as well as truffle shavings on top. Yummy:

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Dessert Nibbles at Da Cesari

I’ve droned on and on to all who will listen about the gustatory glory that is the restaurant Da Cesari in Bologna (here's my Da Cesari post, in case you missed it). Not only is the food top notch, but the folks that work there are swell, too. So swell that they always bring us a little plate of sweets to accompany the homemade blueberry grappa (which they also are nice enough to bring out). This is on top of the wonderful Cesari dolce proper, but hey, you can’t have too much of a good thing, right? I especially love the chocolate-covered candied orange peels:

Delicious.

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Radicchio Bruschetta at Nestor’s

Doesn’t this just make your mouth water:

Nestor’s Pizzeria (one of our favorite pizza spots, and considered by many to be the best pizza in the Upper Tiber Valley) is, of course, renowned for its pizza. But gosh, as the above pic shows, they have some other tasty items, too. This bruschetta was wonderful, with that tart radicchio playing off the salty pecorino and the olive oil tying it all together on top of the crisp little toast. A crunchy delight.

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Gnocchi Tartufo at the Taverna di San Leo Bastia

I am almost 100% sure (at least 97.5% sure) that I’ve posted a pic here already of the Gnocchi Tartufo from the Taverna di San Leo Bastia. If I haven’t here, I know I did on Spiked Punch after an earlier trip. But dang it, I’m going to post another pic here, because it is so good, and because I am craving it so much. The homemade gnocchi are delicious, warm with a tiniest bit of chew, and that truffle sauce, all creamy and yummy and truffle-tastic, could make a mad man sane:

One of my all-time favorites in the Upper Tiber Valley without a doubt.

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Lookie at This Pleased Pasta-Eater

Well, when we were pre-tiring in Italy we had oodles of great guests, so I’m not going to put one on a pedestal above the others. But look at pal Christy Scharrer’s pasta enthusiasm for the tagliatelle ai funghi in this photo:

That’s showing the gusto Italians love to see. And, when she was taking this bite, she’d only been off the plane a few hours, and only off the train a few minutes. Amazing, really. The restaurant we were eating at was called Ristorante Etruria, and mostly chosen because of its nearness to said train’s station, and actually shared a wall with a used car lot, and was completely non-descript, with a waiter/owner who spoke little English and stood about 5-foot flat, but the food? The food was still delish.

PS: Happy Birthday to Christy, too, one day early (but hey, it's almost your birthday in Italy right now)! Wish we were all in Italy celebrating.

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Calagrana Lemon Cake

Sometimes I dwell too much on the savory side (which makes sense as I tend to like savory better than sweet. Which isn’t to say I won’t sweet it up on occasion). Which may be why I never posted this pic of a delicious, light, flavorsome lemon cake we had at the wondrous Calagrana:

But wow, it was (like everything there) great. And the homemade ice cream on the side? And the delicate creamy lemon chocolate sauce? Also great. But would you expect anything less? Maybe if you’ve never been—but in that case, what are you waiting for?

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Bar Fizz Quattro Formaggi Pizza

This pic is of the first pizza we ever had at Bar Fizz! And I hadn’t yet posted it here (I think). That seems somewhat amazing to me in my culinary hindsight. You can tell it’s early, because it’s a Quattro Formaggi (notice the Fizz usage of gorgonzola on their version of this standard Italian pizza) but it doesn’t have the cipolla addition that we grew so fond of during our pre-tirement:

Yummy. I think if I could afford it, I’d fly over to Italy tonight just to have one of these.
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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Amuse-Bouche, Italian Style

Looking at the chilly day in Assisi pic below reminded me that to get out of the cold (and because it was lunching time) we wandered into a restaurant called al Frantoio (which we tried to go to twice more on other Assisi visits, but it was closed each time, darn it it all). The full al Frantoio experience is detailed here, but I forgot when writing it up the first time about the lovely plate of sun-dried tomatoes and olives they brought to us right when we sat down (along with a little bread-cracker basket):

Nat even enjoyed eating the olives, which isn’t a food she usually munches. But wow, I thought the sun-dried tomatoes were the tops—tangy, sweet, and olive-oil-y. Yummy.

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

Maccarones de Punzu at Calaluna

This was a delicious Sardinian gnocchetti (or small round pasta) topped with tomato sauce and spices. Yummy (though sadly, we never stopped by this welcoming Umbertide restaurant, Calaluna, again—maybe seven months wasn’t long enough?):

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*Note: We were on pre-tirement, and now we’re back. Want the full story? Start the pre-tirement journey here. Want to go backwards? Read the last pre-tired post here and scroll back. Or, just keep coming back for pretty Italy pictures.

TTITIM #2: Bar Fizz

It’s the night before we leave our pre-tirement and the Niccone Valley and our house on the hill, and we, naturally, had dinner at Bar Fizz. We tried to remember exactly what we had the first time we went to Fizz, and I have to admit, couldn’t remember. We know it was wonderful, though, because (and this may be one reason why we don’t remember exactly which Fizz meal was our first) after that first meal we never stopped stopping at Fizz, either stopping in or getting take out pizza once every week or week-and-a-half. If you’ve read this blog even a little, you’ve probably read at least one Fizz blog post, because I’ve written tons. Not only because the food is fantastic, but also cause it’s our local here (sitting right in the center of Liscione Niccone), and also (even more important) cause the owner, Guiliano and the other couple of folks that work there (his wife, her sister—at least that’s our guess on the latter, and occassionally his son, who reminds me tons of my nephew Kaiser) are darn friendly, and you can tell have fun most of the time, but still the food and the restaurant seriously, while being local and low key and without a breath of snootiness. Our favorite pizza is at Fizz (Nat’s own off-menu creation, Quattro Formaggi con Cipolla), as well as the best lasagna we had while here, delish pesto, fresh and fine frizzante bianco vino, and (when stopping at it as a café in the morning) great coffee and pastries .Okay, I’m going on and on, and will stop (cause you can read the old Fizz posts), but only after a few pics of our last meal there (and last dinner here). We started by sharing a recent obsession, the penne Quattro Formaggi (not sure why we started with it so late, but it’s darn tasty):

Then we went for pizzas, with a pick as you might expect of the above-mentioned “pizza Natalie.” Look how happy she is:

And finally, our dolce of choice (which I’ve talked about before), the tartufo al brandy:

Really, I’m not going on and on anymore. I suppose the fact that we were eating there the night before leaving really says more than I could, anyway, darnit.

*All TTITIM

TTITIM #3: Ristorante Calagrana

Recently, Umbertide has started hosting a Saturday Farmer’s (and More) Market. Not to be confused with the larger Wednesday market (which is a more regular Italian town market), the Saturday markets are really food and artisan-y focused. And, Calagrana has a truck there, at which they sell bread, pastries, and other delights (yesterday, we picked up: three-grain bread, cheese sticks, hot cross buns, two kinds of cookies, and jam. Oh, and some scones, too). This means that now yet one more delicious notecan be added to the Calagrana legend, to go along with: fantastic restaurant, extraordinary cooking classes, and wonderful people. I know I’ve done a host of Calagrana blogs on the Six Months blog, covering our meals there, the Calagrana cooking class we took, and even some pics of the family that makes the place special: Albie, Ely, Sophia (well, I don’t know that I’ve had a pic of her, but I should have), and Oli. So, I probably don’t need to go over every dish again. Instead, here are a couple delish items I think I’ve missed posting about in the past, starting with the diamond (I think) in the Calagrana veggie crown, their risotto (here, it’s artichoke risotto):

Sometimes, it’s a lovely simplicity, like crostini with peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and love:

And sometimes more adventuresome fare, like tagliatelle with porcini, cream, and curry:

Finally, for the brunch inclined, Calagrana recently started up a Sunday brunching, so I was able to get perfect scrambled eggs, onion seed pancakes with spicy pepper jam, and patate frittes:

One final Calagrana word: if you’re in this area and don’t stop at least for one meal, well, you’ve missed out, and your taste buds will curse you the rest of your life (and you’ll have lost out on a pleasurable evening). While I don’t want Calagrana to leave this area (it’d be a huge loss), I certainly wouldn’t cry at all if all-of-a-sudden there was a new spot in Seattle with the same name, same food, and same family running things. The rest of our Northwest American home would be pretty happy, too, I’ll bet.


*All TTITIM

Pizza at Bar Fizz

I know I’ve mentioned Bar Fizz (aka, Restaurant Guliano) a number of times here, but it is our local eatery, and one we love, and one that’s owned by a swell Italian fella, and because of all this I feel I should mention it as much as possible—not to mention that we eat there about once a week. Enough, really, that I feel I’m a Fizz-icist (ba-dump-bump). Also, I haven’t (what’s wrong with me?) had any pizza pics here on the Six Month blog lately, so call is Fizz-met (ba-dump-bump again). Our Fizz evening started with a pitcher of the vino Bianca al Spina, or the white wine off the tap. It’s a lovely light crisp frizzante wine that even looks good in low light:

cause we’re hungry (and cause we hadn’t had it in a while) we started with a shared spaghetti al pesto, which (as usual) was great, with the pasta cooked just right and the sauce fresh and not overwhelming:

Then (and this is some sort of a modern Italian miracle), we had pizzas, and neither of us had our favorite (which Nat created): Quattro formaggi con cipolla. Instead, I had the Siciliana, senza acchuighe (or without anchovies). Pal Tasha had this first way back when, and she dug it, and I dig it too: peppers, onions, and salty delicious capers:

Nat went for another regular in our Fizz pizza, the Vegatariana (sense olive—neither of us totally dig the olives in their non-oil form), which has artichokes, mushrooms, onions, and peppers and a heaping helping of awesomeness:

You probably know us well enough by now to guess that we didn’t skip dessert. And if you’ve read this blog for a bit, you can guess what we had (cause I wrote a whole post about it): big tartufo with brandy. Go read about it, cause I was too full to take any more pics. Another smashing night at the Fizz (dang, I’ll miss having it so close).

*See more Italian restaurants: Capponi, Nestor's,Nonna Gelsa, Le Capannine di Sommavilla, Calagrana, Trattoria Il Saraceno, L Enoteca Wine Club, Mastro Dante, Bar Fizz, Da Cesari, al Frantoio, La Balestra, Lo Strattoio, Mencuccio, La Fortezza. La Tufa, Kentia Pizzeria, Il Feudo del Vicari, Buca di Bacco, Camino Vecchio, Quattro Leoni, Ottavius

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Lunch at Ristorante Ottavius

When we headed out to Bevagna (as detailed below) one of our main drivers was a particular restaurant, Da Nina, which served (as landlord and pal Marianne told us) a wonderful gnocchi, perhaps the best in the whole of Umbria. Well, I couldn’t stay away from that, so we did indeed head to Bevagna, loved it muchly (and medievally, again as detailed below), but discovered soon that Dan Nina was no more (or had changed names--and if that was the case, we had no luck tracking down the new name). You may think, at this point in this short story, that we starved. However, we didn’t--cause we’re resourceful. Once we realized the Nina was nowhere, we followed the signs to Ristorant Ottavius (who boasted outside on a board about their gnocchi). While I’ll never know if it was as good as Da Nina, it sure tasted dandy to me. I started with an omelet topped with freshly grated black truffles (and I know I’m really out of truffle season, but these tasted fantastic):

Wait, wait, that was a lie—I really started (as did Nat, who shared my omelet, too) with some sips of Grechetto dei Colli Martani, a local DOCG white wine that is understandable renowned, because it was delicious, crisp, light, and lovely:

After the startings, we both headed to main course, the dish Ottavious likes to brag about, the gnocchi al Sagrantino:

Sagrantino (if you didn’t already know, and if you did, well, bully for you) is a famous wine that’s only available from this area (Bevagna and Montefalco—which is another lovely little town—and the areas around them), as the grapes don’t grow anywhere else (at least that’s the fable). It’s a rich, complex-but-friendly wine (also available in a dessert style), and made an absolutely fantastic sauce for the gnocchi. Really, it lived up to and backed up all the bragging they do about it.

To round out the meal, I ended (and again shared, cause good food should always be shared if possible) with an ensalata mista that was pre-dressed. This is almost unheard of (usually the bottles of vinegar and oil are brought up with the greens), shocking even. You know Italians don’t like a lot of “road-less-traveled” when it comes to the basics, so I have to imagine some are aghast! when they get their salad here, but I was overjoyed, because the dressing was delicious:

If I’m going to have to miss a meal at a restaurant whose praises have been sung to me, then I’m glad I missed it by going to another restaurant whose praises I’m happy to sing (if that sentence made sense, then I’m happy about that, too), much like happened in Bevagna.

*See more Italian restaurants: Capponi, Nestor's,Nonna Gelsa, Le Capannine di Sommavilla, Calagrana, Trattoria Il Saraceno, L Enoteca Wine Club, Mastro Dante, Bar Fizz, Da Cesari, al Frantoio, La Balestra, Lo Strattoio, Mencuccio, La Fortezza. La Tufa, Kentia Pizzeria, Il Feudo del Vicari, Buca di Bacco, Camino Vecchio, Quattro Leoni

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Dinner at Quattro Leoni

As mentioned in the big Florence post below, we had dinner while with pals Angela and Bobby at Quattro Leoni, a nice little spot on the Oltrarno side of Florence. Funny enough, we had dinner here before with pals Jeremy and Megan, way back when in an earlier trip to Florence, and they went to school with Angela, which is how we know Angela. Isn’t that amazing? Our dinner was also amazing, as we started with a Vedure Grigliata e Burrata (or, grilled veggies and that creamy oozy in the middle, firm on the outside, ball of wonderfulness known as Burrata):

and a Sformatino di Carciofi con Fonduta di Formaggio (think smooth, rich, artichoke-y goodness):

Then both Natalie and I had a Fiocchetti di Pera in Salsa di Taleggio e Asparagi (pears, asparagus, cheese sauce, pasta). Nat had this the first time we ate here, and it was amazing, flavorful, hint of sweet, and so good we ordered it again (this picture doesn't do it justice, much like the above don't do their subjects justice):

Now, cause I was just sipping wine and talking and sipping more wine, I didn’t right down the fancy names of Bobby and Angela’s dishes, but remember enough (and have better photos of their dishes anyway) to talk a touch about them. Angela had a pasta dishes full of fennel sausage that she couldn’t stop raving about:

I think she said it was her favorite dish in the six months she’s been living in Italy (she has been known to gush though). Bobby started with a spicy tomato sauced pasta that he was nice enough to share with us (so I know it was good) and nice enough to top with a heaping helping of freshly grated parmesan:

Since he has a healthy appetite (like all decent Midwesterners), he followed up the apps and pasta with a baccala (or salt cod), fried and topped with tomato sauce (I didn’t taste this dish of course, be he seemed awfully fond of it):

A dandy enough dinner that we may just stop at Quattro Leoni a third time, the next time we’re in Florence.

*See more Italian restaurants: Capponi, Nestor's,Nonna Gelsa, Le Capannine di Sommavilla, Calagrana, Trattoria Il Saraceno, L Enoteca Wine Club, Mastro Dante, Bar Fizz, Da Cesari, al Frantoio, La Balestra, Lo Strattoio, Mencuccio, La Fortezza. La Tufa, Kentia Pizzeria, Il Feudo del Vicari, Buca di Bacco, Camino Vecchio

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Tartufo Bianca Affogato al Brandy—My Kind of Dolce

Admittedly, I’ll eat up the dolce (or dessert, or pudding, depending on your original locale). However, I don’t set my cap on sweets, and if I have to choose between the sugar or the savory, I’ll choose the savory. But, but (there’s always a but, right? And in my “I’ll eat savory and sweet often” case, it tends to be a big ol' but), I don’t usually turn down the dolce, and if it’s a dolce in the style of the Tartufo Bianca Affogato al Brandy I had at the fantastic Bar Fizz the other night, then sign me up:

The Tartufo Bianca was a big baseball-sized mound of vanilla ice-cream, stuffed with a chocolate-y ice cream dreaming of coffee, and that’s all good and well, but it was floating in like an inch of brandy. Good brandy. That’s the kind of dolce I can really get behind—one floating in liquid loveliness.

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PS: “Wait,” you say (I can hear you—at least in my head. But I’m not crazy, just attuned cuisinistically), “but, but, what did you have for dinner?” Well, I don’t want to rub any noses, but it was lasagna night at Fizz, and once again those crazy kids were kind enough to make us tartufo lasagna (the “tartufo” here being truffles), which I detailed here.