Dinner in Portovenere
Today was not a tough day. We went vineyard scoping in the morning and drove along the sea through the mountains, ending with a long lunch with good cooking (Chef crazy hairy) and a waltz around San Rocco with a quick espresso stopover at the local pasticceria. This part of the journey makes up for the years of 100+ hour weeks. Having the opportunity to research the stuff you love and enjoying it is treasured.
We headed out for an exploratory evening in Portovenere, happening upon a sort of Red Lobster meets L'Ami Louis sort of Hosteria on a funny side street called "Antica Osteria de Carugio". It seems to be a family sort of operation, having probably the same decor for 40 years. Ship's wheels, untold grappa empties, funky ceramic floor, and garish copper lanterns are just a few of the elements that make the place a little wacky. A chubby, not very friendly man points us at a table. We sit at chunky, dark wooden tables with benches.
A young woman approaches the table and begins to rattle off food items. In fact, the whole menu (8 dishes). This woman of maybe 23 has quite the presence, a very pretty slightly cruel face, with dark hair and features. As you might guess a very challenging/charming personality. She looked right through a few of my tablemates, killing them at first glance! I've never seen anyone in flip-flops command a room like that.
As we ordered, Maria-Luisa (I’ll admit to naming this stranger without her knowledge) bellowed orders over her shoulder to her grandmother who wrote up checks while Uncle Bob commanded the stove in his white t-shirt. It was very hard to keep a straight face as she snapped off our order in the sharpest, most nasal tone. She was sort of a Ligurian younger and cuter version of Carla from Cheers.
The Salami they made and Octopus Salad was superb. The Coppo was a little spicy and excellent. The local pecorino was also good. The highlight for me was the Pannetonne. The best I've ever had by a mile. Rich semolina cake-bread loaded with really great dried fruit. All done by grandma. Dunking it in robust Grappa from Cinqueterre was just the ticket. Our "tapas" sort of stop here was excellent and memorable.
We moved on, none the worse for wear, a bit louder and with more gusto to dinner at our hotel in the "Royal Sporting Club". Predictable and not-unsatisfying, it suffered in comparison to the little joint where we had started. The best treat at dinner was Arnolfo-Caprai "Montefalco" from Umbria. 1997 vintage and as you might expect, soft, rich and a little oaky. Sort of low-cut-top appealing, not hard work.
Our next day will be in Toscana.
We headed out for an exploratory evening in Portovenere, happening upon a sort of Red Lobster meets L'Ami Louis sort of Hosteria on a funny side street called "Antica Osteria de Carugio". It seems to be a family sort of operation, having probably the same decor for 40 years. Ship's wheels, untold grappa empties, funky ceramic floor, and garish copper lanterns are just a few of the elements that make the place a little wacky. A chubby, not very friendly man points us at a table. We sit at chunky, dark wooden tables with benches.
A young woman approaches the table and begins to rattle off food items. In fact, the whole menu (8 dishes). This woman of maybe 23 has quite the presence, a very pretty slightly cruel face, with dark hair and features. As you might guess a very challenging/charming personality. She looked right through a few of my tablemates, killing them at first glance! I've never seen anyone in flip-flops command a room like that.
As we ordered, Maria-Luisa (I’ll admit to naming this stranger without her knowledge) bellowed orders over her shoulder to her grandmother who wrote up checks while Uncle Bob commanded the stove in his white t-shirt. It was very hard to keep a straight face as she snapped off our order in the sharpest, most nasal tone. She was sort of a Ligurian younger and cuter version of Carla from Cheers.
The Salami they made and Octopus Salad was superb. The Coppo was a little spicy and excellent. The local pecorino was also good. The highlight for me was the Pannetonne. The best I've ever had by a mile. Rich semolina cake-bread loaded with really great dried fruit. All done by grandma. Dunking it in robust Grappa from Cinqueterre was just the ticket. Our "tapas" sort of stop here was excellent and memorable.
We moved on, none the worse for wear, a bit louder and with more gusto to dinner at our hotel in the "Royal Sporting Club". Predictable and not-unsatisfying, it suffered in comparison to the little joint where we had started. The best treat at dinner was Arnolfo-Caprai "Montefalco" from Umbria. 1997 vintage and as you might expect, soft, rich and a little oaky. Sort of low-cut-top appealing, not hard work.
Our next day will be in Toscana.
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