This “kebab” pizza, prepared by pizzaiolo and restaurateur Alberto Barban of Pizzeria La Torre in Caerano di San Marco (province of Treviso) almost made it into my “best meals of 2012” series.

However delicious, this pizza just couldn’t compete with the many memorables meals of the year.

But it was unforgettable nonetheless: in a part of Italy where xenophobia and separatism sometimes trump human dignity and common sense, the notion of a pizza topped with kebab stands defiantly in the face of often unbridled racism.

Remember: in at least one Italian city, kebab (and kebab purveyors) has been banned from a historic city center. And in many urban areas, kebab and other Middle Eastern street food has been subject to de facto marginalization (you’ll find no kebab stands in the village of Caerano). While young Italians enjoy kebab as much as young people anywhere do in the West (Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles…), the dish has become synecdoche for the north Africans and Arabs who reside in Europe.

When Georgia P, Tracie P, and I stayed in Caerano di San Marco last September, we ate at the pizzeria on three different occasions. And after becoming friendly with Alberto, I asked him to make me his favorite pizza.

We didn’t speak of its underlying social commentary. But I couldn’t help reflect and remark on the fact that it makes perfect gastronomic sense: after all, pizza’s origins fall somewhere in a shared Mediterranean culinary legacy that includes pita and myriad expressions of flatbread.

Chapeau bas, Alberto!

The pizzeria was recommend to us by our friend and client Luca Ferraro, Prosecco producer in Asolo (a short drive from Caerano).

On Luca’s blog today, we posted amazing photos of his mountain bike ascent to a pre-Alpine pass.

The images are impressive as they are picturesque. But, beyond the studly ascent, I can’t think of a better way to illustrate the unique combination of topography, altitude, and marittime influence that define Proseccoland.

I highly recommend the post to anyone trying to wrap her/his mind around what makes Prosecco, Proseccoland, and the Veneto so special (at least to me).

Buona lettura, yall…

We’ve had so much fun sharing new foods with Georgia P and taking her to eat at our favorite restaurants this year. She visited Sotto (above) in Los Angeles twice in 2012. She ate meatballs, long noodle pastas, burrata, and discovered ragù, one of her favorite dishes of the year.

“This is the restaurant for my wines,” he said.

Best Meals 2012: Sotto (Los Angeles, November).

We had a truly epic dinner at Sotto last night with Frank Cornelissen (above with chef Zach Pollack, left, and chef Steve Samson, right).

Even though I’ve followed the wines for years, I’d never met Frank, who was visiting the U.S. for the first time with his wines (he had visited before he started making wine many years ago).

With all the mystery and aura that seems to surround him, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I discovered that he’s a super cool dude, very approachable and just fun to talk to.

We spoke at length about what he calls the “zoo of Natural wine.”

“Natural wine hasn’t been defined and so we really can’t call wine Natural,” he said, noting that he doesn’t care for the term.

I was thoroughly impressed by his concept of “high definition” wines and I admired the respectful tone with which he spoke of his neighbors on Etna.

He speaks impeccable Italian, btw.

Levi always gets mad at me for doing this but I’m so slammed today (while on the road in southern California) that I’ll have to post my complete notes, including Lou’s thoughts, when I have a moment to catch my breath…

In the meantime, the seared tuna with raisins, pinenuts, and bread crumbs was INSANE (first food photo). And the squid ink spaghetti with uni was possible my top dish for 2012… amazing… And wow, what a thrill to finally get to taste the (declassified) Magma.

Levi, I promise to post all my notes asap!

Stay tuned…

Tracie P and I have had so much fun sharing new foods with Georgia P this year. Leafing through posts on favorite meals this year, I am reminded of my friend Melanie Rehak’s wonderful book Eating for Beginners, where she chronicles her young son’s food awakenings along with her own.

The above photo of Georgia P, where she’s eating avocados for the first time, was taken around the same time that I visited one of my favorite restaurants in the world, Tony’s in Houston, owned by my friend and client Tony Vallone. The occasion was bromance Giovanni’s first visit to Texas.

Best Meals 2012: Tony’s (Houston, June).

Above: Tony’s foie gras au torchon is one of his signatures and one of the dishes where simplicity and purity of flavor is offset by detail in the presentation.

How could Giovanni’s visit to Texas be complete without a meal at Tony’s in Houston?

Tony is my client (I curate his website and his media relations) but he’s also become one of my best friends in Texas and he is the architect and author of some of the most stunning meals I’ve ever had. Yesterday, Giovanni and I drove to Houston to meet Cousin Marty for lunch and a confabulatio that centered around… yes, of course… food and wine…

Above: Orecchiette with seared mortadella cubes and runny quail egg.

The secret to the rich yellow color of his pasta, said Tony, is locally sourced, organically farmed eggs. “But it’s also the fact that I use only flour and mineral water imported from Italy,” he added. Some would argue that sparkling mineral water is key to super pasta like this. But Tony insists that still water (acqua naturale) is a sine qua non.

Above: Halbut and seafood medley “al Mare Chiaro,” named after the neighborhood in Naples.

Tony’s is the only place in Texas where we eat fine seafood (a category we reserve otherwise for our trips to California). This dish was simply stunning in its simplicity and presentation (and my camera didn’t do it justice, frankly).

Above: Lamb chops.

Tony likes to tease me, calling me the chiodo (the nail) because I’m so careful about what and how much I eat. Lamb chops would have been a bit much for me for a Tuesday lunch but Giovanni dove in with gusto.

Above: General Manager and wine director Scott Sulma’s selection was right on.

And the wine? A tall order considering the fact that one of Italy’s top winemakers was seated at our table. And let’s face it, my general disdain for the Californian style is well known to my colleagues at Tony’s. But it also seemed right to have Giovanni taste something from my home state. GM Scott’s selection, Palmaz Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, delivered acidity, earth and gorgeous dark fruit, and balanced alcohol and wood. It was superb with the Bucatini all’Amatriciana that I had as my second course, playing beautifully against the savory guanciale in the dish. Chapeau bas, Scott!

Above: Nobody does it better than Tony.

I can’t conceal my pride in sharing the Tony’s experience with my good friend Giovanni, who made the trans-Atlantic crossing to see, hear, taste, and feel what life is like in Texas, California, and America.

Above: Two of my favorite fressers.

Thanks, again, Tony for yet another fantastic meal and an unforgettable experience. Ti ringrazio di cuore…