Favorite restaurants are always a long-term commitment, kind of like a romantic relationship. Sometime the rapport is fiery and passion-driven. Sometimes the flame is diminished by the patina of time. But when you really love a restaurant, the rewards of your undying devotion can really pay off.
That’s what happened when my Brescian friends took me to one of my favorite restaurants on the planet, the Dispensa Pani e Vini in the heart of Franciacorta country.
From my first kiss with the restaurant back in 2008 to the present, some of the most memorable meals of my gourmet career have happened there. There have been some acceptable yet mediocre experiences as well.
But I keep coming back: when the beet tagliolini with gorgonzola (above) arrived at our table, I thought I was going to faint.
It was the best thing I ate on my last trip to Italy. Simply spectacular, exquisite yet earthy and homey.
As Tony used to say, for Italian cuisine to be authentic, it has to be creative. This dish was all that and more.
The grilled octopus was another standout at our lunch.
Anyone who’s ever worked in the fine dining industry knows that chefs, managers, sommeliers, and owners come and go. The Dispensa, which was founded by one of Franciacorta’s most influential chefs, Vittorio Fusari, has seen a number of ownership and staff changes over the years.
But right now it has reclaimed the grace, verve, and mission of its original chef Vittorio.
I highly recommend it, even on its not-so-great days.
That’s the amuse bouche.
We paired with my friends Giovanni and Nico’s new release from the little known Botticino appellation. It’s a mostly Barbera blend that’s grown in Botticino’s marl- and limestone-rich soils and is raised in large cask. Delicious and with great depth.
As unfamiliar as Botticino may be to many Americans, anyone who’s ever passed through Grand Central Station has seen Botticino marble. Brescia province and the quarries that overlook Lake Garda are the source of that stone.
We didn’t get a chance to say hello to the new chef that day. But my faith was mended, my heart healed, and my belly sated. I can’t wait to make it back to that old lover in the heart of Franciacorta country.
One of the things that we love the most about being “wine” people is checking in on new vintages from favorite producers that we have followed over time. 
That’s Serena Gusmeri with me in the photo at Operawine week before last in Verona. She’s the winemaker behind Vecchie Terre di Montefili in Panzano in the heart of Chianti Classico.
As the young woman introduced him, her voice bubbled over with the joy of presenting one of her idols. 
My Vinitaly began not in Verona but in Turin, the capital of Piedmont and former capital of Italy, one of Italy’s most beautiful risorgimento cities, with the architecture and urban planning befitting a world touchstone. 
There’s really nothing quite like vitello tonnato when it’s homemade. Thinly sliced veal topped with a sauce made of anchovies, capers, and olive oil-cured tuna. It’s a Jewish boy’s dream.
These stalks of Apium graveolens were slathered with creamy gorgonzola. Please try this at home. 
No self-respecting torinese host would end a meal sans fromage. After all, the region is renowned for its pastures, breeds, and traditions. 
I wish I could reveal more about our host and the reason we were gathered there in the days leading up to the fair. 
Dateline Brescia. 
One of the best chapters of my career spanned the seven years that I worked with Chef Steve Samson (above) in Los Angeles. 
Above: one of the best executions of carbonara I’ve ever had was prepared by a Roman using guanciale and Pecorino Romano. The cook in question is one of the most brilliant and informed writers in Italy I know. But does he know the origins of his city’s synecdoche dish?
Above: I’m hoping to get an invitation to the blogger and social media party that my friends and colleagues have hosted over the years at the Abruzzo consortium stand. It’s always a great time.
