Osteria Le Logge (Siena)
fiori di zucca
vitello tonnato
fusilli broccoli basilico pomodoro
ravioli
happy baby-led weaning
visit to our favorite wine shop
Monthly Archives: September 2012
Coming “holm” again for the first time: Fiorentina at Trattoria Il Pozzo (Sant’Angelo in Colle)
Above: A sine qua non fiorentina at Trattoria Il Pozzo in Sant’Angelo in Colle. We try to make it here — where everybody knows your name — at least once a year.
I try to make it back to Montalcino every year during harvest. I come in part because there’s no better way to wrap your mind around a vintage than to see the fruit right before it’s going to be picked and to talk to growers as their year’s work comes to fruition (literally). But it’s also because of my deep connection to the holm oak mountain (the mons ilex, as Montalcino was known in antiquity): ever since I first began seriously following fine wine after my first visit in 1989, this place has held profound meaning in my enoic awareness and life.
Above: Chef Franca Binarelli never misses the mark.
Tracie P and I will be meeting with a number of winemakers and growers while we’re here and Sunday morning I’ll be taking my yearly daybreak drive through the vineyards with my friend and “professor” Fabrizio Bindocci, winemaker at Tenuta Il Poggione, as Tracie P and Georgia P slumber.
Above: Front-of-the-house Paola Binarelli took such good care of us and held Georgia P as we ate our first course last night.
This year’s visit is extra special, of course, because it’s Georgia P’s first.
She has been having a BLAST here, between vineyard strolls and new and delicious foods. In America, people frown on bringing children to restaurants. In Italy, they rejoice. It’s so cool. :)
As soon as I get a chance, I’ll post my notes from our visits with growers. Stay tuned and thanks for reading…
E buon weekend yall!
Tagliatelle and Garganega at Locanda da Lino
Tagliatelle ai funghi porcini, de rigueur at Lino’s.
Between my meetings and tastings, we managed to stop at the famous Locanda da Lino for lunch. The locanda may have seen better days but it’s still one of the most interesting and beautiful rooms in the land of Prosecco. It would be worth the admission to see all the images of Toti dal Monte that adorn the walls. She was one of the locanda’s most famous guests (along with Marcello Mastroianni and other glitterati of their day).
Corte Sant’Alda Garganega. SO good.
Vegetable frolla.
Fagioli (beans).
Bigoli with ragù from Sorana (breed) beef.
Meatballs and tocio (gravy) with polenta.
Rabbit.
Happy bunny. She loved the beans and the meatballs. :)
Do bianchi at Osteria alla Veneta @Bele_Casel
At the end of our workday yesterday, Luca and I stopped for do bianchi, two glasses of white wine before dinnertime.
We went to the Osteria alla Veneta, a classic Veneto tavern, owned and run by a classic Veneto oste, tavern-keeper Claudio Oriandi (in the photo above).
The expression “do bianchi” (DOH BEE’AH-kee) is a good one to know when you visit the Veneto.
Given the choice, I opted for the 2007 Pacher Hof Sylvaner, a muscular expression of this grape variety. For the first taste of wine of the day, I probably would have opted for something a little lighter in body but it was delicious nonetheless.
I vin che ghe xe sempre… “The wines we always carry,” in other words, “wines by the glass.” Note the prices: Euro 1.30 or 1.50. And note the selection of grape varieties. Also note how Tocai is used (no on calls it Friulano here!).
Proverbs, words, expressions [of the day]: shortcomings are like smells; those who have shortcomings have a harder time smelling them than those who find themselves in the company of those who have shortcomings.
Claudio was super nice, the apotheosis of the Veneto oste. Man, I love me some Veneto! It’s where I feel at home in Italy… :)
Osteria alla Veneta
by Claudio Oriandi
31031 Caerano di San Marco (TV)
Via Altivole 45 cell. (011 39) 346 4923941
There’s no listing on Google Places for the osteria by here’s the Google map for the actual address. It’s practically across the street from Luca’s winery, Bele Casel. Highly recommended. Luca says it’s where all the truck drivers eat. “You eat well and the prices are great.”
the most amazing feeling in the world
I wish everyone could feel what we’re feeling right now here in Prosecco country. The Glera is ready to be picked and the salame has never been better. Georgia P is having (literally) the time of her life.
I’ve had a super busy day and the internet connection has been spotty. But just had to share this photo snapped today by our good best friend Giovanni in the Zanotto vineyards after lunch.
Giovanni, we love you, dude.
The Glera (Prosecco) is ready to be picked… @Bele_Casel
Unpasteurized beer (and Georgia P devours mozzarella di bufala)
Humankind cannot live by wine alone… We were pretty beat after a long journey from Texas night last and so we decided to have an early pizza for dinner before calling it a day.
Everyone in the village of Caerano di San Marco (in the province of Treviso) agrees that Pizzeria La Torre is the best in town.
We were thrilled when we found unpasteurized beer on the beverage menu. It’s nearly impossible to find in the U.S. but here in the trevigiano beer culture — artisinal and unpasteurized — was already very popular when I toured the area with my cover band in the 1990s. It was delicious. Note also the “head” of the beer: even in a family-oriented pizzeria like this one, the staff always pours the beer correctly. It was awesome…
Georgia P INHALED her mozzarella di bufala. Her first meal in Italy!
Pizza coi carciofi alla romana for Tracie P (pizza with Roman-style, artchokes braised in white wine, a specialty of the house).
Pizza alla romana (with anchovies) for me. Yum…
Pheasant under glass
Yesterday afternoon, after we arrived at our agriturismo (farm house bread and breakfast) Col delle Rane (which we LOVE btw, but more on that later), I took Georgia P for a stroll around the grounds while mommy took a nap.
A pheasant had somehow wandered into the glass-lined breakfast room and Georgia P was fascinated with it… Green acres, it’s the place to be! :)
Do Bianchi 