Italy restaurants

Genoa Eats

Posted April 8, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

By Sharon Sanders

Walter recounted our Day in Genoa from a cultural perspective. Now for the essential part — the food.

As we strolled and soaked up information with our superb guide Filippo Zamparelli [fzampare@fastwebnet.it], we also stopped here and there for sustenance. Walking through the caruggi, narrow medieval streets and alleys, temptations assaulted us.

We stopped for a torta stuffed with artichokes, warm from the oven. Heaven. Tortas are flat two-crusted pies stuffed with varied vegetables and cheeses.

At another shop, we gawked at the array of baccalá (salted cod) and stoccafisso. It may seem curious that preserved cod from north Atlantic waters are still so popular in Liguria and other parts of Italy but that is the legacy of a seafaring country.

We pass the baroque storefront Pietro Romanengo Fu Stefano pastry shop (since 1780) with marzipani quaresemali displayed in the window. Made during Lent from almond paste and flavorings, then decorated with pearl sugar, these gems hardly seem like deprivation.

Filippo says the locals refer to it as a jewelry shop because the confections resemble gems and cost almost as much. I buy some to take home because I have to keep an appetite for lunch.

Passion for Pesto

As the name explains pesto alla genovese is the signature dish of the city. The condiment is made by grinding Ligurian basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, and extra-virgin olive oil in a marble mortar and pestle. Chef Samin Nosrat visited Nonna Lidia to learn how to make true pesto in Episode 1 or her Netflix series “Salt Fat Acid Heat.”

While non-Italian cooks skip the arm work by using a food processor, purists say the result is not pesto alla genovese. At the Pesto Bene shop, however, someone has devised the best of both worlds: pesto ground in a mortar and pestle by a robot. Robo Pesto!

Pranzo Magnifico

Filippo guided us to the Porto Antico where we wrapped up our morning tour. He bid us arrivederci and pointed us toward Vegia Zena, una trattoria tipica Genovese specialita di pesce (a typical Genoese trattoria specializing in fish). It was literally steps from the piazza on Vico del Serriglio.

Vegia Zena (Genoese dialect for Old Genoa) was everything we love: cozy, unpretentious, filled with happy locals, and serving mouth-watering food.

With a mezzo litro of the house white, we savored fried mussels, grilled octopus, fried rosetti, taglierini in squid ink, and spaghetti with clams.

Satisfied? Oh my, yes!

Not Just Gelato

Throughout the morning I noticed store signs touting vera panera (true panera). It’s pronounced PAH-nayra. Filippo explained that it’s a creamy coffee gelato that’s the signature flavor of the city.

Since I’m a palate purist, I could not sample it before lunch so we walked to the train station after Vegia Zena. I felt justified in indulging at the inviting Gelateria Balbi. It was sumptuous. It coated the roof of my mouth. This is not gelato, I thought. Gelato is made with milk. My tongue was correct.

After some research, I learned that panera is a semifreddo (half frozen), an egg-based mixture flavored with coffee then folded into whipped cream. Panera is a truncation of panna (cream) and nera for black coffee.

More information

~~I would be remiss if I did not mention my go-to source “Italy for the Gourmet Traveler” by Fred Plotkin. Fred also recommends Vegia Zena in his Genoa listing, so I knew that along with Filippo’s word, we were in for a good meal. [Fred’s publisher Kyle Books, if you’re reading this, PLEASE digitalize this volume! It’s densely packed with information but it’s too heavy when one is packing light. I have seen travel chat pages about this topic!]

~~Cooking teacher and author Domenica Marchetti offers an Italian Riviera Tour that includes half a week in Genoa, cooking classes, walking tours, visits to local food producers and more.

~~Some tastes for next time or, if you get to Genoa before I do, please also sample. Torta Zena is a sponge cake filled with rum-flavored zabaglione and trimmed with almond paste. The fry shops are said to be the best! Try fried fish or panissa (chickpea fritters).

Have you eaten in Genoa? What is your favorite Genoese food memory?

Naples Alive

Posted September 5, 2016 by Sharon 2 Comments

Mt. Vesuvius looms only a few miles east of Naples. It casts its shadow of destruction down the centuries so that when you are in Naples, you can never forget that life is fragile.

Maybe that’s why the people of Naples are so alive and fiercely proud of their city, a city that’s a survivor. Every Neapolitan we encountered was quick to point out the treasures of their place.

The Chapel of San Severo with Giuseppe Sanmartino’s gossamer sculpture of the Veiled Christ.

The Archeological Museum laden with decorative treasures from Pompeii.

The pizza at L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele.

The incomparable bay and lungomare.

Caravaggio’s The Seven Works of Mercy in Pio Monte della Misericordia.

Seafood seafood seafood!

The presepe (intricate nativity scenes) artisans on the street of San Gregorio Armeno.

Flaky sfolliatelle pastries filled with sweetened ricotta.

The incomparable vista from Castel Sant’Elmo Castle, and easy walk from the Montesanto Funicular stop.

Coral and cameo artisans. I succumbed at Cameo Factory De Paola on Via A. Caccavello.

Spaccanapoli, the long wide street that from an aerial view “splits” the city in two parts.

During two August visits, one at the beginning of the month and the other one at the end of the month, to the city by the bay, we experienced these places and tastes. We stayed first at the excellent Palazzo Decumani hotel in the historic center. The property is top notch and the staff wonderful. For the second visit, we booked Soffitta dell’Artista in Mezzanine, through airbandb.com, a guest house and art gallery combined on thriving Via Tribunali. It was fun breakfasting with fellow guests: a family of six from France and a couple from Austria.

Of course, there are gems we didn’t have time for but you need a reason to return to the life of Naples. Click here for more experiences.

Have you been to Naples? What is your most vivid memory?

On the Truffle Trail in Le Marche

Posted September 17, 2013 by Sharon Leave a Comment

This article first appeared in the November 2011 issue  of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter Dream of Italy

By Sharon Sanders

Acqualagna truffle hunter Giorgio Remedia assesses his treasure.

Acqualagna, Italy–Two dozen miles southwest of the Adriatic coastal city of Pesaro, the placid plain morphs into picturesque hills near Acqualagna with 5,000-foot-high Monte Nerone and other peaks in the distance. The terrain gets rugged quickly.

Our bus struggled up a winding dirt road to deliver us to truffle hunter Giorgio Remedia’s azienda. Although we’d been advised to have proper footware, the sight of Remedia’s knee-high rubber waders gave some of us pause. He had a no-nonsense demeanor that could perhaps be attributed to his other job as chief-of-police in Acqualagna.

Remedia explained that this area is rich in truffles. He said that they’re a symbiotic fungus that grow on the roots of oak and poplar trees. The Acqualagna area yields different varieties of tartufo bianco (white truffle) and tartufo nero (black truffle) almost year round.

This community is seriously all about truffles. It’s said that one-fourth of the residents are qualified truffle hunters and 70 percent of Italy’s truffle dogs are trained here. The white truffle is celebrated each autumn with the Fiera Nazionale del Tartufo Bianco. This year’s event begins at the end of October.

[Read more…]

Palazzo Donati in Mercatello sul Metauro, Le Marche

Posted April 23, 2013 by Sharon 1 Comment

A version of this article first appeared in the October 2012 issue  of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter Dream of Italy

By Walter Sanders

The giardino behind Palazzo Donati.

After we left Villa Pipistrelli, our small group journeyed to Le Marche, a region in east-central Italy nestled between Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, and Umbria.

Our destination was the bustling village of Mercatello sul Metauro, located at the foot of the Tuscan-Umbrian Apennine mountains, only a couple of hours by car east of Siena.

The morning mists lifted to reveal soaring hills and sweeping views of verdant valleys. Downhill we passed towns that marked the progress of 15th Century artist Piero della Francesca who had literally painted his way to Urbino, the famed “Ideal City” of the Renaissance.

Mercatello sul Metauro is inviting. The gray paver-bricked main square is bisected by white paver stones that form lines converging from the far corners of the square straight to the center. “Follow the white stone roads,” to adapt the effect into Wizard of Oz parlance.

The square bustles. Much of the buzz is fueled by frothing cappuccino and steaming espresso provided by Franchino from his nearby bar, Caffe Rinaldi. Franchino knows everyone.

[Read more…]

Making Fresh Pasta in Tuscany

Posted April 12, 2013 by Sharon

This article first appeared in the October 2012 issue  of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter Dream of Italy

By Walter Sanders

Flour and egg transformed into gossamer sheets of fresh pasta.

While staying at Villa Pipistrelli just south of Siena, our group visited nearby Stigliano. We were on a mission: to learn how make fresh pasta from scratch. Our teachers were two older women from the village. They were beautiful, gracious and patient. Pasta-making rookies began combining ingredients, and our enthusiasm was evident despite beaten eggs leaking from collapsed flour walls.

With the help of our lovely mentors, everyone finished their dough and formed it into a ball. All the balls were kneaded together, then rolled flat, cut, stuffed, trimmed and transformed into ravioli.

The site was La Bottega di Stigliano, a combination retail shop—specializing in locally produced agricultural products—and a restaurant. The building was a former casa del popolo, a people’s house where in olden times farm workers would meet to sell products. The casa also served as a social center. It was, in a sense, a one-stop shop where people could fill their baskets with food and make social connections. [Read more…]

Porcini Mushroom Antipasto

Posted March 20, 2013 by Sharon 3 Comments

Dried porcini funghi add true Tuscan savor to this fresh mushroom antipasto.

Too often, outside of Italy, antipasto can be a tired tray of assorted salumi. Or, “lunchmeat,” as a server an “Italian” restaurant in Chicago, once hilariously answered, in response to our query about what came on the antipasto platter.

Throughout the regions of Italy, antipasto (before the meal), are varied, seasonal, and local. Seafood, robust cheeses, grilled vegetables, crostini with myriad spreads, cured olives, frittate, and more.

Porcini-Stuffed Baby Bello Mushrooms are an antipasto that’s right for any season. By supplementing fresh baby bello mushrooms with reconstituted dried porcini, you create a win-win. The intense porcini flavor (at a fraction of the cost of fresh funghi porcini–if you could find them) with the toothsome texture of fresh mushrooms and assorted seasonings. [Read more…]