Restaurateur
Saveliy Libkin

Before I heard nor much about Riccione, and only from Russians who have opened the shop there. The imoressions of this town are very different…

Beginning from «it isn’t Italy at all» up to «Italian Marbella». In any case this city with Russian and not only Russian tourists, with Russian and not only Russian shops comes into notice first of all by its dressed up guests. Maybe they gather here to show themselves to one another, maybe other people can’t get here… but it is fact that all tourists of Riccione are very much alike.

When we decided where we will eat in Riccione, the only one restaurant which was mentioned by all people whom we asked was Brasserie. Someone commented that it is expensive there, someone told that it is delicious there, but everyone mentioned it in the top three restaurants which must be visited. But somehow when we walking along small center of the city, this not Italian restaurant paid our attention to itself. First we dropped in just to look at absolutely empty restaurant and a few pomaded waiters who laid out in the line flatware and other details of table layout. Then somehow by itself we paid our attention to scanty but absolutely opened kitchen. Then we decided to come at 7-8 p.m. and to see if whether the guests will be… and furtheer… .

At 08:00 p.m. a few tables were already occupied in the restaurant but our interest was roused sufficiently by appetite and not at all by not Italian environment of the restaurant.

It is hard to talk bout food, as the quantity of décor in the restaurant relative to one eaten dish is measured by hundred of items on the shelves and ten items on the table. It diverts… Of course the portions are small and the food is careful and delicious. Of course, it is both very expensive its look and its cost. Of course everything is very «with significance and sense». And the owner of the restaurant fussed and took part in every process, and non-transparently made hints about that it is business only if the guest order and drink expensive wines… and something like you can’t earn big money on food. If to talk briefly – service is present.

At 10 p.m. there were rather many tourist dressed up in the same type and a few local couples «about fifty» in the restaurant. The atmosphere in the evening rather resemble gala café in Monte Carlo or in Cannes. The name of the restaurant is rather French. The food with Italian names but looks rather ceremoniously. The restaurant is filled rather with attention to details and maniacal thoroughness of the owner then gastronomic context…

But maybe the fact that I didn’t drink any wine had the influence.

Photo.

Owner

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Tags: Италия, travel

To this day I was in Bologna only when passing through. This time I got there on weekend, so everything that could draw my attention away was closed. Just the city in its pure form. Without shops, rags and almost without restaurants… Happy people leave here. It may be not everyone knows about this and note this, but I saw only them. And also here you can see a great architecture without State Architectural and Construction Supervision and other officials-architects. I don’t know anything about local difficulties, but everything I saw had phenomenally happy look. The food was delicious also, like in any other place in provincial * Italy.

People

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Tags: Болонья, Италия, travel

I’d like to share my impressions about my last trip to provincial Italy. Now I’ll tell briefly about those restaurants-latterias-salumerias to which I paid my attention and which were recommended to my by different good people.  I’ll tell what for you should go there and what you should to taste, and then I’ll write  more detailed about each of the regions visited by me. In any case there is a huge choice of gastronomic miracles in Italy and it’s impossible to say what is better, that is why I write only about my own impressions.

I write and catch myself at the thought what whould we do so that Italians after visisting our county can describe with the same passion what they saw in gastronomic sphere.

1. Latteria and large-tonnage cheese caves of the company Beppino Occelli in the village Valcasotto (Cuneo, Piedmont). There are more then 20 sorts of delicacy which is called «cheese» in the pricelist of this company.

What for to go and what to taste:

• Butter Beppino Occelli Burro di Panna Fresca, which was called  by the editions Wine Spectator and The Guardian the best butter in the world according to the results of testing of 13 kinds of buttesr;
• Cheese Testun Occelli al Barolo, keeping to mature within two years, and at that two last months — in the pulp from the wine Barollo;
• Cheese Escarun, made in the end of spring from the milk of sheep and cows, grazing at the most highland pastures of Alps;
• Cheese Castelmano DOP made from raw milk, it is produced only in three villages of valley Grana;
• Series of fresh goat cheeses: Tuma dla Paja, Crava Ocelli, Robiola di Mondovi Ocelli, Casutin and Tuma Langarola.
• To talk with the seller in the store at the cheese caves.

2. Salumeria Corte dell`Oka di Palestro Gioachino in the small town Mortara near Pavia. A few tens of sort of delicate products: sausage and many types of other food from a goose, a few sorts of pâté and terrines and of course foie gras.

What for to go and what to taste:

• Salame crudo d’Oca Ecumenico;
• Filetto d’Oca baciato;
• Foie gras «Fegato fresco»;
• La Terrina di Fegato grasso d’Oca;
• To buy a jar of goose fat Grasso d’Oca fuso;
• Prosciutto from goose legs Petto у Prosciuttino d’Oca stagionati;
• Plus goose breast pickled and then boiled in the goose fat.
• To see the faces of the people from this family who are occupy themselves with this BUSINESS.

3. Salumeria Luiset Agrisalumeria in the small town Ferrere d’Asti, 20 km away from Alba. This mini salumeria produces 18 sorts of delicacies: several sorts of salami and  salsiccia, lardo, Pancetta, lonza and prosciutto.

What for to go and what to taste:

• Saliami Crudi — pork salami without preservatives.
• To see love for business and huge pride for the result of every employee

4. Restaurant «Il Cuuc» in Corte dell`Oka, Mortara. The menu of the restaurant offers all the products of salumeria Corte dell`Oka in the form of dishes.

What for to go and what to taste:

• Foie gra and other dishes from meat and goose liver.
• To look at simple and delicious solutions of local designers.

5. Cheese dairy Branzi to the north from Bergamo in the mountains. The basic product of cheese dairy — cheese Branzi FTB and Formai de Mut DOP. At the rest seasons they produce cheese Rozetta, Straccino Valligiano and Straccino .

What for to go and what to taste:

• Famous cheese Formai de Mut, which is produced only in summer from the milk from local mountain pastures. The question of observance of these conditions is controlled firmly by the association of producers of this cheese.
• To talk with crown owner of the latteria. (He talks about milk like about beloved child)

6. Village Taleggio.

What for to go and what to taste:

• Cheese of the same name Taleggio,  it is difficult to find this cheese of a good quality  at the Ukrainian suppliers.
• To taste constantly and compare cheese.

7. Alba. The main product in Alba and in neighborhoods is not salami of course. Everything is dedicated to the truffles here… white, black, small and very large, smelling mysteriously always  and very expensive.

What for to go and what to taste:

• The basic local specialties: white truffle and apples San Marzano. Sure also meat Bue Grasso — meat of Piedmont fat bull, which is the basis of the dish Bollito Misto. Saffron yellow tajarin — Piedmont thin noodles, like Tagliolini which is served with local sweetish butter and white truffles

• In the not tourist restaurant La Libera — ravioli with ricotta, spinach and egg, covered with truffle (I could hardly dissuade myself from repeating), pork legs fried with dried crust and salad from chicken with foie gras. And also 7-8 sort of local cheeses and crazy panna cotta with pear for dessert.
• To put on several kilograms of delicious weight.

8. Trattoria Vasccelo d`Oro in the small town Carru. In this restaurant the father of the family works as a chef, mother helps the waiters, and the rest of stuff are children, nephews and uncle from this family.

What for to go and what to taste:

• Piedmont cuisine in the village style, and without truffles and without menu at all.
• You should taste obligatory Bollito misto and preferably in the village-restaurant implementation
• To breathe the fresh air

9. Barollo and architecture of Ceretto Company

What for to go and what to taste:

• To see where rich people invest money
• To taste barollo for 50-70 Euro
• To look at the culture of production and keeping of wine and wine materials and vineyards.
• To communicate with the third heirs managing the huge business.
• To try to calculate how much money the company spend in vain:)

Tags: Gastro-tourism, travel, путешествия

It isn’t always convenient to take pictures of food in the restaurants… moreover it can be difficult to tear yourself away from the plate, but however in the present case I picked up the camera from the floor. On the first photo is one of the most famous dishes in the L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges by Bocuse « Bresse Chicken». It is boiled, and at that after the order, in the pig’s bladder, served with morels, vegetables and rice. The absence of  any greens, chips and other beauty is noticeable. The chicken is dressed and served by the waiters near the table. This dish is called Bresse chicken cooked in a bladder a «la Mere Fillioux» in the menu. It is more interesting to eat 165 Euros per four persons then per two.

Further is «Sweetbreads» or ris of calf with black truffles and celery purée in the rather contemporary restaurant of young chef Fabien Blanc La Remanence.  The French name of this dish is Ris de veau. In the menu it is written like this: Ris de veau croustillant cuit au beurre noisette, Crumble de pieds de mouton, jus truffé. Almost in all respectable restaurants of Lyon the menu is in French solely…and there is no flirting with the tourists. Décor and other flowers are absent in the dish also.

In the Guy Lassausaie near Lyon which is agnominated by the chef’s name I tasted another interpretation of Sweetbreads.  This time with artichokes, salsify and morels with morels’ juice. The original name in the menu is Ris de veau de lait rôti en cocotte, artichaut, salsifis et jus aux morilles. The salsify’s leaves in the dish didn’t look like decoration…

In the best restaurants a huge attention is paid to the temperature and quality of the paltes, quality of the tablecloths and attention of the personnel. And design-décor of the dishes almost in every respectable restaurant comes to the duo product-sauce or to the triumvirate product-garnish-sauce.

Tags: Gastro-tourism, food, travel, путешествия

In Zürich I watched a child aged about 3 years stamped in the puddle about 10 minutes and was glad… and his father watched the child aside calmly didn’t influence him not at all. The respect to the personality appreciably distinguish the Swisses from the Slavs… Maybe that’s why the Swisses as a nation achive more? And maybe because three languages are official at the same time…?

Tags: people, travel, путешествия

How to sell ganache in the little balls at the price 125 Euros per a kilogram?

In Zürich I saw an interesting marketing solution. Chocolate, truffles and candies are sold by just about everyone in this country… The market is rammed by huge offer and ordinary «without a queue» demand. Rather famous producer Lindt & Sprungli has risked and hit the bull’s-eye. The trustful tourists together with naïve Swisses stand in a queue for truffles with 24 hours expiration date. But the truffles are common as dirt and in a week or two their taste doesn’t became different. But on the label with the price higher then the price for standard truffles by 25% is written magical Truffes du Jour. And in the annotation is stated strictly that they are sold within twenty-four hours and it is necessary to eat them only within twenty-four hours also.

In my home fridge I had as standard truffles with complex name Grand Cru so as fresh ones. Both of them didn’t change the taste even in two weeks, but for some reason the queue stands for «fresh»…in spite of that they are more expensive by 25%. I won’t be surprised greatly if in a week or two after this post at home local businessmen will decided to do the same fraud.

In the annual report 2008 one can see that the things were rather good without Truffes du Jour, which appeared on sale only in 2010 year according to the seller’s words.

By the way Swisses don’t sell fresh chocolate truffles in the online shop …they maintain their reputation.

Tags: маркетинг, travel, туризм