Restaurateur
Saveliy Libkin

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

Cult of risotto in the cult place

On the 15 of September in the village Isola della Scala will take place the next risotto festival. It is only 19 km away from Verona. One will have a possibility to dispel well-established stereotypes about quite young Italian dish, because the first mentions about risotto dates from the end of 19th century. At the same time one will be able to learn to distinguish Vialone Nano between Carnaroli and other sorts of rice according to its taste and look and bring some rice for home cooking.

The most popular local dish is «Risotto all’Isolana» with veal, cinnamon and rosemary. Following this link you will find  the recipe, but in practice even cooks fail to prepare according to recipes.

Furthermore one will be able to visit cult restaurants which are owned by distinguished producers of rice, for example Ferron brothers or Risotteria Melotti.  And also mini courses in cooking risotto are organized there.

Taking into account that Italy is associated with shops also, it is only 165 km to Milan…

Tags: Gastro-tourism

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

We are still in France.

I’ll write more about this trip later and now, as a «travel note»: on Monday evening we have tasted Riesling Cuvée Prestige, 2005. 15 Euros per a bottle. The producer – Domaine du Bollenberg. An excellent wine!

The  web site of the producer was found in the Internet quickly, expectedly the company has a big history.

Tags: вино., Gastro-tourism, фрация

The ratio of delicious restaurants and other ones is just like in Odessa.

Re-reading my impressions over 2009 year I found several fundamental distinctions-specifications. First of all, the restaurants of Kampa Group are on the decline fully. The most famous earlier restaurant Kampa Park goes through not too pleasant time. The guests are satiated with violets and small drops in décor together with unflavoured food for 25 Euros per a portion very long ago. At that in each restaurant of this network the taste (or rather not taste) of the dishes is the same, and the methods of décor differ little.

In the restaurant Cowboys, though after pressure, but the waiter admitted that the kitchen has some problems. However the food on the table was eatable but very tasteless and primitive against the background of rather pretentious décor which stayed as an inheritance from once successful project Bazaar.  Even the restaurant La Provence, near which were a queues about 8 years ago have closed. Тhe same waiter from the Cowboys looking aside told us shyly about the problems with a house. At Hergetova Cihelna not too many guests in the evening also, though peeing bronze guys with bronze again accessories carried away the ladies momentarily… The model of work upon the pattern of 2000-2005 is obviously not to taste as to the residents of Prague so as to the tourists today.

If the network of pizzerias Grosseto opened new and very successful project Marina, then Ambiente brings to a close one of their restaurants under the name The Living Restaurant. In one more their restaurant La Degustation it is difficult to be at all after delicious Aromi and La Finestra. Trained staff and night atmosphere can’t outweigh odd and frigid enough half molecular food. And here it is not a matter of personal likings. No one from those who sat at the table made out anything in the chorus of green balls with cucumber juice together with other no less odd pieces and putties from the products with hard-to-pronounce name. Besides, in the restaurant with declared dress code at the next table sat drop-dead pissed youth in the variegated jersey T-shirts and not too clean trainers. O.k. youth, but other guest also left the restaurant with obvious bewilderment even got in their hands shining box with cookies on leaving of the restaurant as a certain pardon for spoilt evening.

An excellent food as always is in Aromi and La Finestra, in Pizza Nuova and Pasta Fresca. No less good food and atmosphere in the huge pizzeria Marina. An excellent atmosphere is in Bakeshop and in café Au Gourmand. And also a magnificent cakes in the Cafe–Café which is in front of the shop Replay. Also rather decent atmosphere in the a half steakhouse – a half club under the name La Casa Argentina, but the waiter who has specified that the bill doesn’t include the tip and rather pallid cuisine didn’t impressed me.

Taken all around there are a great many of good impressions, and all of them not at all spoilt by rather unflavoured, plane and just tasteless food in several restaurants mentioned above. The more so because we visited delicious restaurants several times and by that we doubled gastronomic pleasure from the staying in the beautiful and clean Prague.

Tags: Gastro-tourism, Прага, путешествия

Continuation of the subject

Having shared my considerations about selection of the restaurants abroad, I though of my meeting with one of well-to-do compatriot in Ireland. Due to understandable reasons I will replace his name by common — Nikolay Nikolaevich, hereinafter referred to as NN.

So, we have met by accident in the hotel, and when we decided where to have a dinner NN have recollected at once that he heard it is difficult to get to the restaurant Chapter One in Dublin. Besides, this restaurant is marked by a star. Just to make sure I have asked the concierge what he can say about this restaurant. He stopped short in confusion and tried to recommend another restaurant but after three minutes and 20 Euros he have spoken more eagerly and strongly recommended to refuse from this restaurant in favor of more delicious and less popular among the tourists restaurant under the name Patrick Guilbaud.

In the result we have decided we have decided to see both of them and to choose just at place.

Recommended Chapter One turned out to be half occupied by the tourists. Also the menu was not interesting for me, as the name and the description of each course have taken 3 and even 4 lines. Besides, all the awards of the restaurant were displayed in the foyer. Additionally I have walked along the hall examining the interior and I noticed that things which were in the gust’s plates resembled rather competitive course in Ukrainian provinces then delicious and interesting food at expensive enough restaurant. NN has stood his ground and almost has taken a seat…

All further things were the lesson for me. First of all it was primitively tasteless. Secondly NN liked everything. And especially NN has paid my attention on that there are a lot forks and knives on the table and everything looks like very expensive. And a huge vase with flowers which has stood on the central table not given a moment’s peace to the NN’s spouse. After the visiting of the toilet his souse praised that fact that there is cologne on the shelf… To cut it short NN and his spouse have eat the food with pleasureе. The bill was ordinary and my moo was cheerful because I have picked by the fork the peculiar shapes and drops I still was hungry. Then we have gone to the restaurant Patrick Guilbaud.

We have been offered a seat in the bar and offered an aperitif while they will prepare a table. NN and his spouse were satisfied already but nevertheless they decided to bear company. Maybe the specification of the fact that I will pay for the dinner at the second restaurant helped to take this decision. The average age of the guest in this restaurant was more then 50. The staff was of the same age approximately. The wine list resembled rather one of the volumes of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. There are 15 items in the menu and also two menus with selection from 4 courses for dinner. The waiter has recommended us one of the courses having specified that it is a hit among the regular guests. Then the chef come to us and made inquires about the versions of serving and side dish of this course. The matter was the Bresse chicken. All the rest was absolutely incomprehensible to the NN’s family and I felt a pure rapture.

So, the main question which stands before the reading/observance of similar rules is who are the judges?

Tags: Gastro-tourism, путешествия, туризм