Ristorante Alla Conchiglia (Venice, Italy)

After the Tuscany leg of our trip, we traveled to Venice for our last three days in Italy.  Even though I liked all the areas in Italy we've visited - all for different reasons - Venice was probably my favorite city on this trip, and it's not because all the bridges remind me of Pittsburgh. ;)  As a former band geek, it was really neat to be in a city where classical music is like rock music.

And then, of course, there are the canals, the gondolas, and the beautiful architecture.  Often considered one of the most romantic cities in the world, R.'s mom graciously made her own plans one night so that R. and I could have a date night.  "Date night" actually started in the afternoon when we spent some time walking around and exploring Venice, during which we walked past Ristorante Alla Conchiglia.  Another Rick Steves-recommendation, the three of us had hoped to dine there the night before but for no particular reason it had been closed.  (On a Friday night, no less!  Welcome to Italy!)  So we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was open on this day, and made an early reservation for an outdoor table.

Ristorante Alla Conchiglia, right on a canal

I didn't get to see much of Ristorante Alla Conchiglia on the inside, but the outdoor seating is quite charming as it sits right on a canal.  We were 15 minutes early but were promptly seated.  The restaurant wasn't very busy when we first sat down, but the small outdoor patio filled up quickly even though 6:00 pm is considered a very early dining time in Italy.  Good thing we had happened by earlier and reserved a table!

We started our meal with an order of Tomato Bruschetta.

Tomato Bruschetta (6,90 euro)

Knowing that Venice is known for its seafood, we focused our menu-browsing energy on the "Pesce" section.  For his entree, R. ordered the Spiedini Alla Griglia, or grilled skewered kebab, with salmon, tuna, swordfish, and red bell peppers, served with a tropea onion chutney.  I enjoyed my one bite of it, and he thoroughly enjoyed the rest.

Spiedini Alla Griglia (18,90 euro)

I had really hoped to try their specialty Venetian Style Turbot (I mean, where else can you get something like that??), but the waiter informed me that the fish is served whole and would be rather large for one person.  R. seemed to have had his heart already set on his choice of entree, so the waiter suggested the Branzino al forno (baked sea bass) instead, which is also sold whole but is smaller and priced by the 100-gram.  The smallest sea bass was 500 grams, which is just a little over a pound.  Even that is pretty substantial for one little person!

After a little while I noticed that the waiter was setting up a station next to our table.  Anticipation ensued.  Soon, the waiter brought out my sea bass and I requested to take a picture before he got to cutting and de-boning it:

Branzino al forno, 500 g at 5,90 euro per 100 g (29,50 euro)

And then, it was ready to be served, along with potatoes, veggies, and plenty of sauce:

Branzino al forno, 500 g at 5,90 euro per 100 g (29,50 euro)

What an exquisite dish!  I devoured the whole thing and loved every bite of it.  The seafood really is solid in Venice, and the sea bass was a great recommendation by the waiter.

To cap off our dinner date, we ordered a Tiramisu to share.  I was stuffed after the bruschetta and 1.1-lb sea bass, but with only one more day left in Italy, I was running out of time to find that perfect tiramisu!

Tiramisu (7,50 euro)

And this melt-in-you-mouth beauty was the perfect tiramisu - the best I had in Italy!  The only regret I had was that my stomach wasn't large enough to allow me to enjoy a whole one instead of just half! ;)

To be sure, this meal was not cheap, but we knew the food would carry higher prices in Venice (and it is not that different from a higher-end restaurant in the US), and the delicious food and lovely atmosphere by the canal was worth every euro in my opinion.  My philosophy is that sometimes you have to pay a little more for the experience, and this was one meal, I believe, that we will have fond memories of for years to come.

With this all-round wonderful meal, I also conclude my series of Italy blog posts.  The trip was a great time; I appreciated the opportunity to visit some amazing attractions, learn a little about Italian culture, and enjoy some fantastic food, wine, and olive oil.  I can't think of a better way to cap off the Summer of 2011.

Restaurant info:
Ristorante Alla Conchiglia
Fondamenta S. Lorenzo, 4990/4991, 30122 Venezia VE, Italia
Phone: +39 041 5289095
On the web: http://www.ristoranteallaconchiglia.com/conchiglia/?lang=en


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Azienda Agricola Il Ciliegio (Monteriggioni, Italy)

My last post mentioned daytime excursions to Volterra and San Gimignano on our last day in Tuscany.  After  a little bit of down time in the afternoon, our tour group went on an optional tour that was strongly recommended by our tour director: a brief tour of Monteriggioni and dinner at a farm somewhere out in the country.  Little did we know that this dinner would turn out to be our most unforgettable meal we would have in Italy!

Azienda Agricola Il Ciliego, or "The Cherry Tree Farm," is a farm and winery that family patriarch Mario Pattaro opened in 1952, and is still currently operated by his sons and grandsons.  Upon our arrival at the farm, we were greeted by grape vineyards and some chickens and turkeys roaming about.  Luca, one of the grandsons who is a viniculture engineer, gave us a tour of the property and a little backstory about the farm.  He explained that the name of the farm came from the five cherry trees that once stood at the entrance of the farm; today, only one tree remains.  The guys do all the work themselves, from working in the fields growing various crops, to butchering their own pigs and poultry, to producing their own wine in-house using the grapes they grow themselves.  Not only is the farm completely self-sufficient food-wise, but they even generate their own electricity from the solar panels they installed a few years ago.

We could tell that Luca was very passionate about his work.  He talked about thinking with your heart as well as with your eyes.  With the heart, one has to love the land and the work, to be able to work the long hours in the fields, rain or shine.  With the eyes, one has to have foresight, to be able to follow the market and know what people will want.

Luca explaining his family's work at the farm & winery.

This photo doesn't do justice to the tremendous size of Italian grapes!

Where the wine magic happens.

Following the tour, we had a mini wine-tasting with two sparkling wines; one was a Vino Spumante Dolce which was sweet, and the other a Vino Spumante Brut which was the drier of the two.  I definitely preferred the sweeter one myself.

Vino Spumante Dolce (left) and Vino Spumante Brut (right)

"Cin Cin!"

Following the spumante tasting, we went upstairs to the restaurant for dinner and drinks made from food grown right on the property.  It doesn't get fresher than that!

The restaurant

We started with two different types of wine from the farm, with a third (a reserved version of the red wine) to be served later in the evening.

Red wine

The first course was an antipasto plate with three types of bruschetta (tomatoes, pate, and beans), cheese, salami (including the famed wild boar), and a half slice of cantaloupe.  Everything was deliciozo, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be the pate bruschetta.

Course #1: Antipasto

The second course was Spelt, which I had never even heard of before this dinner.  It's a type of wheat that seems to be common in some parts of Europe.  This amazing dish came with olives, red peppers, yellow peppers, zucchini, egg white, capers, cheese, basil, and other herbs.

Course #2: Spelt

The third course was a pasta with sausages, zucchini, and tomatoes.

Course #3: Pasta

Then came pork that actually tasted like beef, and some out-of-this-world-amazing baked (broiled?) potato.

Course #4: Pork

The next course was a delicious veal.

Course #5: Veal

And because R.'s mom is a pescatarian, they brought out some eggplants for her in place of the meat.  I tried a piece and it was fab.  I'm really liking this eggplant business.

Eggplant

Course #6 was actually a light salad that I didn't get a picture of because it came in a large serving bowl for the table to share, and I didn't want to make other people wait just so I could snap a photo.  I didn't end up partaking in the salad anyway as I was already more than full by this point!

But wait...what full belly?  Dessert is on the table!  We had a slice of pie made with fresh peaches and ricotta cheese.  Yum!

Course #7: Peach and Ricotta Pie

And finally, some Vin Santo wine and biscotti to wash everything down with.  Vin Santo is a strong dessert wine that's popular in the Tuscany region, as we discovered during our olive oil tasting two days prior.

Biscotti

Vin Santo

Overall, the food was most delightful - every single course was tasty, fresh, natural, and made with love by the mother and granddaughter-in-law of the family (and served by another grandson).  It kind of reminded me of that Mexican movie Like Water for Chocolate, in which the heroine's love and emotions seep into the meals she prepares and cause those to consume her cooking to be ignited by passion, sometimes quite literally.  OK, reality wasn't nearly so dramatic as no one caught on fire by spontaneous combustion from our meal, but I just imagine these two little lovely ladies in the kitchen wearing their cute country aprons preparing each course with tender loving care as though the food were their babies.  By the end of the evening, we were all happily rubbing our bellies.  A meal that can satisfy 18 people all at once is nothing short of amazing, and it truly speaks to the quality of the work that the Pattaro family puts into their farm and their restaurant.  The service was also very friendly.  This was far and away the best meal we had in Italy (all three of us agree), and undeniably the highlight of our vacation the summer of 2011.

Restaurant info:
Azienda AGricola Il Ciliegio
Via Uopini, 94, 53035 Monteriggioni (SI), Italy
Phone: +39 0577 309055
On the web: http://www.ilciliegio.com/


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Gelateria Caffetteria Chic e Shock (Volterra, Italy)

Last Thursday was our last day in Tuscany.  We spent the earlier part of the day touring two towns that were not too far from Siena - Volterra and San Gimignano.  As usual, I went in search for gelato.  In Volterra, in particular, I enjoyed this one place called Chic & Shock, which is not a large place but serves up some interesting flavors.  A friend had mentioned the previous day about having had biscotti flavored gelato once while she was in Italy and never found it again.  And what do you know, there it was, Biscotti gelato, at Chic & Shock.  Naturally, I had to try this hard-to-find variety.  Along with biscotti, I also got the Pear flavored gelato.  Overall, the gelato was good.  Not quite Vivoli-good, but definitely solid.  The biscotti flavor was interesting and tasty, although I thought the pear was really the standout between this two, chock-full of natural, fresh taste of sweet pears.

Biscotti and Pear gelato

Three more days to go in Italy, but unfortunately this was the last good gelato I had on my trip as I caught a cold the next day and had to quit gelato (which makes me cough when I have a cold) as well as wine.  I had to quit delicious Italian WINE!  So sad.  But, there was still good food to be had.  Stay tuned.

Restaurant info:
Gelateria Caffetteria Chic e Shock
Via dei Marchesi, 13, Volterra, Pisa, Italy
Phone:  0588 80508


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Rosticceria Ristorante Vitti (Siena, Italy)

After spending the day in Florence, we were back in Siena for the evening.  R. and I took advantage of the opportunity to do a little shopping at Consorzio Agrario di Siena and soon enough it was time for dinner.  Right across the street from the shop, tucked in between some buildings, we saw this cute little restaurant with outdoor seating, and the menu looks pretty good, so we decided to give it a shot.

The quaint Ristorante Vitti in the Medieval town of Siena.

The menu at Rosticceria Ristorante Vitti is quite extensive.  We ordered a Mozzarella e Pomodoro (or Mozzarella and Tomato) to start.  We've noticed that in Italy, mozzarella cheese is often served whole rather than sliced.  This was a great, fresh salad.  And what's not to love about whole mozzarella balls?

Mozzarella e Pomodoro (7,50 euro)

R. also got the Lasagna al forno for himself, which was very tasty even without being drenched in sauce (something we've also noticed about lasagna in Italy).

Lasagna al forno (8,50 euro)

As for me, I wanted to get some veal, seeing that it is the specialty of this region.  Vitti had a large selection of veal prepared in different ways and with different accompaniments which made the choice pretty tough, but I decided to go with a simple Vitella Arrosto (Roasted Veal), which was also done quite well.

Vitella Arrosto (11,50 euro)

I didn't get a picture of this, but we ordered a 3/4 bottle of house red wine, and I don't know if they heard us wrong, or if "3/4 bottle" means something different in Italy, or if they just accidentally poured too much into the bottle for us, but we got a whole bottle of wine, served in an unlabeled, already-opened container (which seems to be common practice in Italy).  Not only was the wine excellent (this was Tuscany, after all), but when was the last time you paid 9,50 euro (US$13.68) for a bottle of wine at a restaurant?  I love that wine is so inexpensive in Italy.  The abundance of wine at this dinner made for a fun night out for us. :)

Another thing we've noticed about eating out in Italy is that the presentation of the food is sometimes very simple to almost nonexistent.  Our food here (as well as at Enoteca Corsi in Rome and a few other places we visited) came with no garnish or much of an attempt at aesthetics arrangement.  This isn't a complaint, just an observation of differences between Italian dining and American dining.  We think it is because Italian dining generally involves multiple courses which you order a la carte, so there is no need for main courses to come with extra bells and whistles.  I'd also have to wonder how much of this is due to societal demands.  In the US, presentation is a huge aspect of food service at restaurants, and diners want not only their food to taste good but to also look good, thus creating a dining culture that emphasizes aesthetics.  I certainly buy into that myself; as someone who enjoys photographing food, presentation is very important.  That said, I also appreciated the down-to-earthness (is that a word??) of the way in which the Italians serve their food.  Presentation or not, I always enjoy a good meal, like the one we had here at Vitti.

Restaurant info:
Rosticceria Ristorante Vitti
Via dei Montanini, 14, 53100 Siena, Italy
Phone: +39 0577 289291 ‎


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Vivoli Il Gelato (Florence, Italy)

Last Wednesday we took a day-trip from Siena to Florence.  I was particularly excited about this visit, not because I would get to see many statues of naked men (OK, I concede, Michelangelo's David was pretty incredible), but because a few people had mentioned to me that Florence is where good gelato can be found. Even though I had pretty decent gelato at Caffe Fonte Gaia in Siena, I was excited by the prospect of even better gelato.  (Remember, I'm quite a snob in this department)

Following a walking tour of the town that, yes, included a fair amount of nude statue-ogling - we ended up in Piazza Santa Croce with some free time to ourselves.  My ears perked up when our tour director recommended a place on a little street just a few minutes' walk outside of Piazza Santa Croce, called Vivoli, for gelato.  So what if it was time for lunch?  Gelato must be had!

Vivoli is a pretty cramped space that sells gelato but also coffee, salads, and probably other goodies that I wasn't paying attention to.  You first pay the cashier at the front and then bring the receipt over to the gelato lady and let her know what flavors you want.  Vivoli has a pretty good selection of gelato flavors.  I couldn't resist two of the rather unusual flavors: Sesamo Croccante (or Sesame Crisp) and Avocado.  I got a cup with a small scoop of each, and I think I paid 2.50 euros for it, and I absolutely loved it!  The avocado flavor isn't very strong, but it is quite good and tasted like what you would expect avocado gelato to taste like.  The sesame, complete with crispy bits of fresh toasted sesame, was absolutely divine.  As a huge fan of sesame, I was an instant fan of this gelato.

Gelato at Vivoli

Avocado and Sesamo Croccante Gelato

Vivoli's gelato is very rich, and the flavors match what they should taste like, which unfortunately isn't something that can be said for some of the other gelato places I visited in Italy.  I mean, the Italians invented gelato right?  So they should all know how to make it well, no?  OK, apparently not.  The superior quality of the gelato at Vivoli is on par with my beloved Jeni's Ice Creams in Columbus (which by the way, was recently named one of top 5 ice cream parlors in the WORLD - and you wonder why I'm an ice cream snob).

After Vivoli, I set out to find another gelato place I had heard good things about.  I did find the place, which shall remain unnamed, and long story short, it was no match for Vivoli.  So despite having already had six (small) scoops of gelato that day, I went back to Vivoli later for one last treat before our day in Florence was to come to an end.  So maybe I had a lot of gelato that day, but hey, I did skip lunch!  That makes up for it, right?  Yes?? ;)

Sesamo Croccante and Cioccolato Nocciola Gelato

This time, I just had to have the Sesamo Croccante again because it was so darn good, but for the second flavor I got the Cioccolato Nocciola (or Chocolate Hazelnut) which R. had enjoyed on our earlier trip to Vivoli that day.  The richness of the chocolate hazelnut reminds me of Jeni's Dark Chocolate ice cream - strong, flavorful, and phenomenal.

Vivoli was the knock-my-socks-off gelato that I had been searching for in Italy, and it remained the best gelato I had during this 10-day trip.  I only wish we got to stay in Florence longer so I could go back for more!

Restaurant info:
Il Gelato Vivoli
Via dell’Isola delle Stinche 7r, Firenze, Italia
Phone: 055/292334
On the web: http://www.vivoli.it/



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Al Rastrello in NH Excelsior Hotel (Siena, Italy)

On our first night in Siena the whole tour group dined at our hotel restaurant. The meal started with a Chickpea and Bean Soup that was very delicious. It tasted a bit like lentil soup.

Chickpea and Bean Soup

Then came the Veal, which is a specialty of Tuscany:

Veal

R.’s mom is a pescatarian, and so instead of veal they brought her Eggplant Parmesan. I got to try some and liked it a lot, despite a longstanding aversion to eggplant that originated from my childhood. I really think I’m becoming more and more comfortable with eating eggplant, so long as it is made the Italian way. :)

Eggplant Parmesan

Finally, we finished off the meal with an Apricot Tart, which seems to be pretty common in Italy, both in Tuscany and in Venice which we visited next.

Apricot Tart

We washed down the meal with some solid white wine compliments of our dining companions, a grandparents + grandson trio from Connecticut.  It was a simple but enjoyable meal with great company, and a nice way to end our first night in Siena!

Restaurant info:
Al Rastrello in NH Excelsior Hotel
Piazza La Lizza, 53100 Siena, Italy
Phone: +39 0577382111
On the web:  http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/italy/siena/nh-excelsior.html?type=restaurants


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Caffe Fonte Gaia (Siena, Italy)

Two of my foodie goals for this Italy trip were to (1) find good gelato and (2) taste good tiramisu. Unfortunately, it seems I wasn’t hitting the right places for either dessert while in Rome. After the olive oil tasting and a walking tour of the quaint Siena, we stopped in Caffe Fonte Gaia right on the Piazzo del Campo for some gelato. I opted for the banana and coconut flavors. The banana flavor was OK, but the coconut was quite good – at least the best yet on this trip. It was only after we finished our gelato that we saw, in the display case behind our table, tiramisu. Even though we weren’t hungry, we just had to try some tiramisu! And we were quite happy with it as well. The best tiramisu we’ve had on this trip was yet to come, but this one was definitely solid, and at least for now, I was glad to have found two satisfying desserts in one place.

Caffe Fonte Gaia

Gelato selection

Banana and Coconut Gelato

Tiramisu

Restaurant info:
Caffe Fonte Gaia
Piazza del Campo, 21-23, Siena, Italy
Phone: 0577 281628


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Consorzio Agrario di Siena (Siena, Italy)

Following four days in Rome, we traveled to the Medieval town of Siena in the Tuscany region last Tuesday, where our first stop after dropping off our luggage at the hotel ended up being one of our most memorable experiences in Italy: an “olive oil tasting” at Consorzio Agrario di Siena, or the Agricultural Consortium of Siena, arranged by our tour. Although olive oil was prominently featured at this tasting, we also had an assortment of cured meats, Pecorino cheese (made with sheep's milk) topped with two different spreads (onion and pumpkin), two different red wines, as well as desserts accompanied by dessert wine.

Olive oil is a specialty of this region:

Three different olive oils.  All different, all amazing.

Wild boar salami is another specialty of Tuscany.  In nearby San Gimignano, you can't walk a few yards without seeing a wild boar sandwich shop, complete with a wild boar head at the entrance of the shop:

Other cured meats are also popular in Tuscany:

Cured meats, sundried tomatoes, artichoke, and cheese.

Traditional Tuscan desserts:  Cantucci (almond biscotti), Vin Santo dessert wine, and Panforte (a fruit and nut cake).  Siena is considered the panforte capital of Italy.

The dessert table. 

We had two amazing red wines:

Buon appetito!

My lunch plate

After the tasting, we went downstairs to the store that carries only local products, many straight from the farms.  It was like Italy's version of a farmer's market, only bigger and indoors.

The wine selection

Fresh local produce

R. bought some wine as souvenirs and I bought a little trio of olive oil for a friend who was to pick us up at the airport upon our return to Pittsburgh.  I was tempted to get some olive oil for myself, but figured it'd be too much to carry, and that ended up being a wise idea because my bag would have been overweight!  I wish I had brought an extra suitcase!

Info:
Consorzio Agrario di Siena
Via Giuseppe Pianigiani, 9, 53100 Siena, Italy
On the web: http://www.capsi.it/portal/



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Ristorante Pizzeria Sacro e Profano (Rome, Italy)

Hello there, blog, long time no see!  Internet access in Italy was rather limited so I am only now able to post the rest of my dining adventures in Italy. Let me take you back to Rome for a moment...

We had such a great meal at the Rick Steves-recommended Ristorante Enoteca Corsi that on our third night in Rome we decided to check out another one of Steves’ suggestions, Ristorante Pizzeria Sacro e Profano, just a few steps from the Trevi Fountain. The restaurant is a bit off the beaten path, which is perfect as we were really trying to avoid the tourist traps. Housed in a former church, Sacro e Profano has a small outdoor patio and is quite spacious inside. As you enter the restaurant, you come face-to-face with the woodfire oven where the pizza magic takes place. We were led to a table upstairs opposite the church organ. We instantly fell in love with the beautifully quaint atmosphere.

Restaurant exterior

Woodfire oven

The fresco and the organ can still be seen inside the restaurant.

Based on Rick Steves’ recommendation, we ordered the “Tipical (sic) Antipasto of the House,” with crepes with sausage, swordfish rolled, parmesan of eggplant, Italian sausage, baby sardines, pepperoni and potatoes (15 Euros).

House Antipasto

House Antipasto

House Antipasto

House Antipasto

House Antipasto

House Antipasto

House Antipasto

R.’s mom ordered some Zucchini and Eggplant Rolls, while I got the Risotto with Cream of Zucchini, Mussels, and Dry Eggs of Tuna Fish.

Rolled Eggplant and Zuchini

Risotto

Not only does Sacro e Profano have an awesome atmosphere, the food also proved to be just exquisite.   I particularly liked the eggplant and couldn’t get enough of it, which is quite something because growing up I always hated eggplant, but it turns out the Italians really know how to cook it right!  My risotto was also amazing.  To top it off, the service was wonderful, which is something we appreciated after a few negative experiences.  All in all, this was a meal to remember.  Along with Enoteca Corsi, all three of us agreed that this ranked as one of our Top 3 Meals in Italy!

Restaurant info:
Ristorante Pizzeria Sacro e Profano
Via del Maroniti, 29, 00187, Rome, Italy
Phone: 066 791836
On the web: http://www.ristorantesacroeprofano.it/index-english.html


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