Jason and I spent 2 weeks in Italy in September of 2004. It was a great trip - full of perfect weather, rolling hills, crazy roads, lots of eating and drinking. We spent 2 days in Piedmont, 2 days in Liguria, a week in Tuscany, and 2 days in Rome.

Piedmont
Alba is the wine Capital of Piedmont (and of the whole Italy if you ask me). We stayed in a villa (also a winery) overlooking the stunning, ridiculously steep hills covered with grape vines. All we did for 2 days was sleep, eat, and drink, and what better place to do that than Piedmont.

Wine tasting and buying was high on our to-do list. Since we only had 2 days, we had to come up to speed on Piedmont's wine tasting etiquette really quickly. We could wonder into the wineries that have a "Degustazione" sign on their door and taste some very good wines, but to taste the wines from really excellent producers we needed appointments. It was good that we knew at least one winery we wanted to visit because it was hard to get help about wine tasting appointments from our hosts. They were only interested in letting us taste their wines, and changed the subject when we inquired about other producers.

Vietti winery was one of the producers we wanted to visit. We fell in love with their outstanding Barbera d'Alba Vigna Vecchia in US and were hoping to buy it in Piedmont since it became impossible to get in US. When we called Vietti, the prospects looked dim. They were giving a tour and a tasting to journalists that day and were extremely busy. But after hearing that we were leaving the next day, they said that we could come to visit the next morning. We arrived in Castiglione Falletto where Vietti was located, and after running around the village 3 times and asking for directions 2 times, we finally found them (they don't believe in signs in Italy). Claudia, who made an appointment with us, was extremely hospitable. Assisted by Grigia the cat, she spent 2 hours giving us a free tour and a tasting of all their wines. Unfortunately, our favorite wines were not available even from the winery because they produce so few cases of it. But we couldn't leave empty handed and splurged on 2 bottles of excellent albeit very expensive Barolo to bring home, and a few bottles of more affordable wines.

Piedmont food overcame all my expectations. The restaurants we went to were traditional - no unusual ingredient combinations, or modern vertical presentations -- but even the simplest dishes were unbelievably delicious. It would take me pages to describe all the great food that we ate, but here are some unforgettable dishes. Carne crude (hand-minced raw veal) with truffles had an intoxicating aroma and texture so creamy it resembled raw tuna rather than veal. Risotto with Barbaresco (red wine) had perfect rice texture (not mushy, with just a touch of resistance to the bite). Agnolotti with sage butter were tiny thin pasta purses filled with very flavorful beef puree. Braised rabbit was packed with flavor. Brasato al Barolo was beef so tender it could be eaten with a spoon. Panna cotta (cream custard made with gelatin instead of eggs) simply defied gravity and felt like it was standing up not due to the gelatin, but to the thickness of its cream. Piedmont cuisine reminded me of Burgundy. It's simple, but elegant and scrumptious. Our favorite restaurant in this area was Osteria dell'Arco in Alba.

Piedmont Restaurants

Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre means five lands -- 5 villages perched on the cliffs over Mediterranean in the region of Liguria. Driving to Cinque Terre was a cliff hanging experience (quite literally), but Jason's amazing skill got us there alive. Cinque Terre is one of the best places to hike in Italy. You get the view of the Mediterranean, well marked path, quaint villages to stop in for lunch, and a train to take you back when you are tired.

We stayed in Levanto, just outside of Cinque Terre. This quaint town had a beautiful sandy beach, so our first night we went to a Gastronomia (prepared food store) and picked up some goodies for a dinner picnic on the beach. We didn't have any utensils, so we had to eat with our hands - very messy, but romantic.

We woke up the next morning ready for hiking, but as we looked outside we got worried. The sky was packed with heavy clouds and the forecast predicted a high chance of rain. Since this was our only full day in Cinque Terre, we ignored the clouds and headed out on our hike. The views were gorgeous even on a cloudy day, and around noon the sky almost cleared. The benefit of this weather was that the temperature was perfect in the low 70s, and we were very comfortable hiking. We stopped for lunch in Vernazza where we had the most wonderful pizza in a hole-in-the-wall place that only did carry out. The tomato sauce was so sweet it reminded me of strawberries in a savory kind of way. It actually had the tomato fruit flavor rather than the garlicky, acidy, generic red sauce I often see in US. The dough was thicker and more deep-dish tasting than the pizzas in other regions of Italy. It tasted like focaccia - the flat bread that was incredible in every single Ligurian bakery. We also tried farinata. It looked like a huge (3 ft in diameter) yellow pancake about twice the thickness of a crepe. Before it was cut, it looked like the sun. We got a piece and loved it. I thought it was made of corn flour batter, but it turned out to be chickpea flour batter baked in a very hot oven with plenty of olive oil. It was very crispy around the edges and soft towards the middle.

On our hike, we made friends with many Cinque Terre cats. There were lots of street cats everywhere in Italy, but in Cinque Terre they were a special tourist attraction. Many tourist stores sold "Gatacci di Cinque Terre" souvenirs. Gatacci is the Italian word for street cats. We couldn't have finished our hike at a better time. As soon as we got to the train station for a ride back to Levanto, it started pouring. But by the time we got back to Levanto, showered, and got ready for dinner, the night looked clear and beautiful. After eating with our hands on the beach the night before, we were ready for a really nice dinner with utensils and great food. The gastromonia where we got our stacks the night before seemed to be one of the best ones, so we stopped by and asked their cook where we should go for a really great dinner. Without hesitation, he said Ristorante L'Oasi. As usual we had to ask 3 different people for directions in order to find it, but we were glad we did. It was a beautiful restaurant with hospitable staff and outstanding food. Due to Liguria's location on the Mediterranean coast, its cooks are masters with fish and seafood. We started our meal with a mixed seafood appetizer that consisted of 8 little dishes. Our favorites were smoked tuna and swordfish, octopus salad, and stewed baby squid. For the second course we shared trufie (small Ligurian pasta) with pesto sauce. I've never had pesto this amazing in my life. It was not the strong oily sauce I was used to in US. It was delicate and creamy, with gentle perfume that was clearly basil but unlike any other basil I've ever had. This was one dish that I wanted to make at home so badly, but unfortunately Ligurian pesto is impossible to recreate without Ligurian basil. Even in Italy, other regions import Ligurian basil for pesto. I did learn one trick however that can improve any pesto to be used for pasta - butter. Yes, butter! It's a myth that Italian cooks don't use butter. They might not be as liberal with it as French, but the regions where the food was really wonderful did not shy away from butter at the slightest. After the pasta, came a whole grilled fish with mussels and clams. It was similar to sea bream, and was perfectly moist inside with deliciously browned skin. The sauce was the clam and mussel cooking liquid that was full of the flavors of the sea.

The next day was beautifully clear and sunny. We didn't have enough time to hike, so we took a train to Corniglia (another Cinque Terre village) to shop for gifts, take pictures, and have more great food. We stopped for lunch at Osteria a Cantina de Mananon which is Corniglia's worst kept secret. Good thing we came early because the tiny restaurant was packed 5 minutes after opening. Its popularity is well deserved because the food was excellent, particularly the bread and the mussels steamed in white wine. In spite of great quality of Piedmont and Ligurian restaurants, this was the first time we had the kind of bread with our meal that we liked, with chewy holey crumb and crispy crust. Most other restaurants did not serve bread that was particularly memorable.

Cinque Terre Restaurants

Tuscany
Tuscan country side is lovely -- rolling hills, cypress trees, and gorgeous sunsets. We found the smaller towns and villages to be more fun than Florence and Siena that were overflowing with cars, motorcycles, and herds of tourists too massive for their narrow winding streets. The little town of Montespertoli that was 10 minutes away from our villa was very quaint, with a little park, good café, butcher, fish market, and a great market on Tuesday. San Gimignano was fun to wonder around and had many great artisans selling pottery, photography, and paintings. We didn't go out of our way to see more towns since we were tired of driving and decided to enjoy sitting by the pool, reading books, cooking, and eating.

When we arrived at the villa that was to be our home for a week, we were greeted by our host, Gabriel. He was extremely helpful and accommodating about everything. His family cooked all the guests a wonderful dinner on our first night. Our apartment had a good size bedroom and a large eat-in kitchen with dishes, pots and pans, and cooking utensils. We did buy a few things missing from the kitchen (a frying pan, potato peeler, and a good wine glass), but all in all it was well equipped. We also took advantage of an outdoor grill. After Gabriel's Dad showed Jason how to make a good wood fire, Jason became an expert and always had a perfect fire ready for me to cook on.

It took us a few days to get used to the kitchen and the ingredients, but once we started exploring the outdoor markets, and found a good butcher and fish market, we were eating really well. The highlights of our efforts were a grilled veal steak, a grilled tuna steak with balsamic vinegar, and gnocchi with tomatoes and herbs. I am glad we had a kitchen because the restaurant food ranged from mediocre to pretty good home cooking. It wasn't the simplicity that bothered me, it was the fact the dishes did not add up to more than just the sum of their parts. Tuscan bread is a great example. It does not have any salt, and bread without salt just tastes like flour and water. The strange use of salt in most dishes made it hard for me to enjoy the food in restaurants. Things were seasoned either too liberally or not at all, which made the food taste unbalanced. For example, the sliced raw tuna dish we ordered in Cibreo (considered to be one of the best Florence restaurants) could use some salt, but the cheesecake that we got for dessert was too salty. The crostini with liver pate was one of the better dishes we tried in Tuscany, but it was never dressed up with any extras and got a little boring after a while. It's the kind of food I wouldn't mind eating at home on a weekday, but I didn't see any point of going to a restaurant for it. Chianti wines left me just as puzzled as the food. They felt somewhat one dimensional with too much tannin, but lack of body and juiciness. It was interesting to note that eating and drinking in Tuscany was often a bit more expensive than in Piedmont.

What I found fascinating about food and wine in Italy is a strong sense of tradition and place. Even neighboring regions often have no similarities between their wine and food, and it's almost impossible to find food and wine of a region outside of its boundaries unless you are in Rome. The innovation and creativity are not viewed as positive concepts. Most restaurants advertise the fact that they serve "cucina tipica", which means traditional cuisine. This can be both a good and a bad thing. Piedmont traditional food tastes like perfection achieved by generations of dedicated cooks. But Tuscan traditional food tastes like ingredients left to their own devices. Why everyone is so crazy about it is a mystery to me. I suspect that there are two reasons for liking Tuscan food: growing up in Tuscany, or growing up on TV dinners and craving simple home cooking.

Tuscany Restaurants

Rome
Rome is one of the coolest cities on earth. Stepping onto its streets is like stepping into a time machine - over 2000 years of history flashing before your eyes. We spent one day exploring Galeria Borghese and St Peters. Galeria Borghese houses an amazing art collection, the highlights of which are several of Bernini's masterpieces. I haven't enjoyed sculpture this much since visiting the Rodin museum in Paris. St Peters was lavish, grandiose, and also full of great art. On our second and last day in Rome we took Enjoy Rome walking tour with a wonderful, very knowledgeable guide. Wondering around the city, getting lost in its streets, and sitting down to a glass of wine or coffee when our feet were totally beat reminded me of the good old college days.

I can't comment much about Rome's food. We had better luck in Rome than in Tuscany, but no culinary revelations. We ate in casual, but highly recommended restaurants. The places we visited had somewhat more creative food than Tuscany, but the quality was inconsistent. My favorite food in Rome was at the wine bars, particularly snacks at Il Vineto.

Rome Restaurants