The restaurants reviewed in this report are the following.
Amomando in Milano
Da Vittorio near Bergamo
Dal Pescatore near Cremona
La Crepa near Cremona
Tornavento in Treiso
All’Enoteca in Canale
Da Renzo in Cervere
Trattoria della Posta in Monforte d’Alba
AROMANDO IN MILANO
This is a very enjoyable trattoria with great atmosphere. It is 60s retro style, buzzing and happy. The menus are pasted on the first few pages of old Italian food magazines.
A good vegetable soup and arancini were offered as amuses.
Don’t miss the homemade charcuterie plate, which doesn’t contain any additives: I nostri salumi di piccoli artigiani: prosciutto, salsicce, guanciale, coppo and lomo. It is served with pickled onions, carrots, and zucchini.
Also good, but a bit bland, is Sicilian flatbread, pane carasau with stracciatella di bufala and white tuna.
The pastas are good and homemade.
We enjoyed the orecchiette with broccoli and bottarga, but they had an overgenerous hand in spiking it with chile pepper.
Even better was the lasagna: Lasagnetta with a ragout of Chianina beef, smoked prosciutto and scamorza cheese. The addition of an egg in the middle of the béchamel cream worked well with the rich pasta.
Our favorite pasta was the handcut, rather thick and shapeless flat “testaroli”. This is an eggless pasta, and it was served with thick slices of fresh porcini. It was delicious.
The meat dish we shared was the least spectacular: “Maiale grossone di 24 mesi di La Bettella Guancialino e costine con cumino e curcuma accompagnate da mais mute”. This was a Bolivian inspired casserole dish from the Bolivian cook. The spectacular part of this dish was the quality of the maize.
We finished with capra cheese with fig jam and very good zabaglione with coffee.
Everybody was most friendly. They offered us good oil and jarred peeled tomatoes with no additives upon our departure.
WINES: They have a very serious and fairly priced list.
2011 Egon Muller, Scharzhof Riesling.
This is an introduction to the great wines of this Saar producer. It tastes of freshly cut pipen apples, has nice acid/sugar/fruit balance, is elegant, and has a tinge of biting edge in the finish. 92/100
2009 Frederic Mugnier, Chambolle Musigny Vielles Vignes.
This wine is quite dark for a village Pinot. It has wild herbs, licorice, anise, and strawberry punch in the aroma, which is followed by a creamy and unctuous texture. It is quite concentrated. There are the flavors of raspberry fruit on the palette, and it has and earthy, meaty, and medium-long finish. It is the level of a premier cru Chambolle from a good millesime. 94/100
Ranking: 4/5
DA VITTORIO NEAR BERGAMO
This once great restaurant under the father Cerea’s supervision, is now merely a nice place for celebrations for Italian families. It has a ballroom atmosphere, with spaced tables and formal service, but much less generosity compared to the past and it has an adequate kitchen which has lost inspiration.
Anchovies with butter on toasted bread are served for the amuse. We did not understand the logic of the pairing.
We requested the great goat milk butter of the past. This time it was frozen and ordinary. The foccacio with tomato was good.
We requested a couple of antipasti with truffles. The pizza with mashed potato and cubed ordinary farmed mushrooms tasted bland and reheated.
The polenta with tallegio cheese and braised winter vegetables was OK, but was neither a good vehicle for Alba truffles nor an interesting amuse. This would have been appropriate as a garnie to a main course.
The risotto with grape and meat stock was a sturdy winter dish, but the sauce overwhelmed the truffle aroma. We had the impression that the risotto was partially cooked and then finished before serving.
Much better was the gnocchi with fonduta and white truffles. Unfortunately they only served a single piece.
The most intriguing dish was the so called “elephant ear,” a giant veal scallopine. Half of it was served with melting cheese on top, the other half with tomato and lemon peel. I made the mistake of nodding my head when they asked if we wanted truffles on it. Nonetheless, this hefty portion is a great example of comfort food, and I would not mind trying it again. Be warned that two people can only finish it if one doesn’t eat anything else.
I don’t like their modern desserts. Order the fine sorbets or don’t order anything because there are sufficient sweets served prior to your espresso.
They charge 10 Euro per gram for the while truffles. We paid 3.5 to 4.5 Euro per gram in Alba in the restaurants reviewed below.
2009 FRANCHETTI CONTRADA
This wine has a floral, licorice, and wild yeast aroma. It has nice red fruits and raspberry, with very good acidity buried in the fruit. Tannins don’t bother at all in the long finish. It has body for Nerello Mascalese, but remains elegant. Old vines are grown at 850 meter altitude on Etna’s volcanic soil. 94/100
Ranking: 13/20
DAL PESCATORE NEAR CREMONA
This restaurant always delivers.
Top quality charcuterie was served as an amuse: Prosciutto Langirano from Rulliano, culatello di Zibello, and salame Montevano. We also were served parmesan chips.
The second amuse was pumpkin soup with olive oil.
The first course was Lumache Petit Gris della Pianura con salsa di erbe aromatiche, aglio dolce e funghi porcini. If you like snails, this local dish with an aromatic herb sauce and very fresh porcini is outstanding.
Equally outstanding is the “Coscette di Rana, gratinate alla erbe fini”. The herbs, like escarole and orticchie, are from the restaurant’s garden. The frog legs have not been frozen. They were lightly fried.
Don’t miss the superlative pasta: Tortelli di Zucca (with amoretti, mostarda and parmigiano reggiano). Many restaurants in Lombardia and elsewhere cook this pasta dish, but the version here remains qualitatively above all others that we have tried.
Game is very reliable here, but since we were having lunch (luckily it was warm with blue skies in the second half of November and we sat by the window, looking at the garden and watching the languid house dog, beautiful Urma), we wanted to finish with fish.
Try the local eel, normally served with bitter greens from the garden: “Anguilla alla griglia servita con radicchio dell’orto.” I said “normally” because since we had the bitter green salad earlier, they served this dish with vegetables. They were good, but bitter greens work better with the gelatinous, fat fish which is expertly grilled (meuniere), with its skin crusted with herbs.
The simplicity of expression and the intensity of taste comes together here, as in many other dishes.
We finished with excellent cheeses: a goat cheese from Bergamo, three years aged reggiano, remarkable provolone from the village of Gazzo near Cremona, gorgonzola, and burrata. They serve the cheese platter with homemade watermelon mustarda.
2004 Coche-Dury Puligny Montrachet “Les Enseigneres”.
This wine has a crème brulee, leesy nose with a hint of tobacco leaf, hay, and citrus, apple, and pear. The oak is beautifully integrated, and the wine is very round and intense. It has a good mid-palette, with a perfect acid-fruit balance. It is a touch earthy, with a long finish. 96/100
RANKING: 18/20
LA CREPA NEAR CREMONA
This is a good trattoria near Cremona, 5 minutes from Dal Pescatore, in the town square of Isola Doverese. They give importance to wine and carry unusual Barolos, like Viglione and Camomica, for attractive prices. You can also buy wine on retail.
We started with “salumi artigianale” that also featured culatello. The salumi from Mantova made an impression.
The classic “tortelli di zucca” is good, provided that you don’t compare it with Dal Pescatore’s version.
I like their dry, cone shaped risotto with meat ragu and veal tongue: “Savaren di riso cdan ragu classic e lingua salmistrada…”
Another very good pasta is the local tortellini, called “marubino” in a heady, clean hen broth: “Il Marubino ai tre brodi….” Marubino is hand cut and shaped and filled with veal and salumi.
We shared two main dishes. Not to miss is the homemade “cotechino,” served with lentils, cabbage, mostarda, and fried polenta. The cotechino in Lombardia is different than the Piemontese version and equally good. This dish is a great example of a cuisine rooted in rural traditions, and it is such dishes that great osterias of Italy excel, or should excel.
Somehow we did not feel equally enthusiastic about the Cremona style “Bollito Misto.” It was served with three different sauces and mostarda, but none of them made an impression.
They did not include the gelatinous parts of the veal which are the tastiest in a Bollito Misto. This dish should be tried in Piemonte in the town of Carru.
This osteria has excellent Grano Padano and very good Provolone cheeses.
2004 BAROLO VIGNA ROCCHE ERBALUNA
This is a bio wine, in the classic Barolo style. Tannins have softened a little bit, but they still make their presence felt.
The nose has a pleasant sweet fruit component along with tarry nuances. The palette contrasts with the sweet aromas, as tart plum, pomegranate, and raspberry flavors unfold. The wine is quite persistent. The finish is long, and it leaves an earthy and sweet impression, even though one expects some astringency from the palette. It has 14.5% alcohol. 93/100
TORNAVENTO IN TREISO
This is a reliable restaurant in Piemonte, 10 minutes from Alba. It has a big dining room, and when it is very crowded, the service and the kitchen suffers. Otherwise, it is one of the best in the region.
The amuses were focaccia with onions and cheese, veal wrapped in a cabbage leaf with fonduta, salmon on a cracker, gougeres, and a crisp salsicce.
The lightly fried “Gamberi di San Remo,” dusted with hazelnut crumbs, is very popular and normally quite good. This time they were not fresh enough.
On the other hand, we thought very highly of the frog legs: “Amoretti di Coscette di Rana con Bagnet Verde Piemontese.” The green sauce, with citrus, egg yolk, parsley, other herbs, and vinegar, had the right touch of acidity, and the amoretti dusted, pan fried meuniere-style frog legs tasted fresh.
Last time the Seirass cheese filled “Plin” ravioli, which also soaks up the aromas of buttered dry hay and wild thyme, was overcooked. This time it was steamed just right and every bit of this house special was spectacular.
They make a very good “piccolo fritto”. We ordered two. The description says: “Il piccolo fritto: scottadito d’agnello, farcita di taleggio, cervella di vitello, semolina dolce e mele in pastella.” It features lamb chops, brain, green beans, cauliflower, semolina ball, veal, and chicken. They crust each piece with semolina.
We finished with good (but not as great as other visits) Zabaglione with Marsala, served with hazelnut cookies.
2009 TIMORASSO, MARCO OBERTENGA, STERPI, VIGNETA MASSA.
This wine has a leesy, Chardonnay-like nose. It seems like it experienced a long maceration and batonnage. It is voluminous, with ripe fruit, especially grapefruit and agrumes. It is round, and the acidity keeps it from becoming cloying. 14%. 90/100
This is a good wine, but it is not as impressive and characteristic as the Marina Coppi, Fausto from the same Timorasso cepage.
The Sommelier also recommended Barbera from Cascane del Frate to us.
Ranking: 14.5/20
ALL’ENOTECA IN CANALE
This restaurant remains a favorite for us. It was still very good, but the Japanese pasta chef had left. The favorite anchovy and burrata pasta was not available.
They remain one of the most honest restaurants with Alba truffle. They choose their truffles well. You can choose your own and have it weighed. You will be charged for what you eat.
We had two dinners.
Amuses are very good: pumpkin puree with ricotta and amaretti, almonds, cubed salmon (trout for the second meal) with cream in a cone, a biscuit with gorgonzola and pistachios, a biscuit with a pate of rabbit, and caramelized eel on a stick. They served the same amuses for both diners.
DINNER 1.
1. Coscia di Vitello Battuta al Coltello. This is hand cut Piemontese veal tartare, which is a very good vehicle for truffles.
2. Farm egg with fonduta and parmesan in casserole. This is an excellent dish which is also the best pairing with truffles.
3. Due Ravioli in due Servizi:
a. Al pesto liquid potato and fagiolini. The dish has three pieces. They sitting on a potato cream. The ravioli has a liquid inside, and is served with pinenuts and crunchy green beans.
b. Al Blu del Moncesino pere e mandorle. The dish also has three pieces. The contain blue cheese, pear, and almonds. Thi is also very good.
4. Piccione in crosta di tartufo nero. The baby pigeon was crusted with breadcrumbs and herbs and first pan fried in butter and then roasted in the oven.
For dessert we shared a “biscotto al vapore, mascarpone, caffe, orzo e gelato al caramello.”
2007 BARBERA COLLI TORTONESI, MARINA COPPI, I GROP
The wine has herbal notes and licorice on the nose. It is not oaked. Nice griotte follows on the palette. The wine is silky and persistent and finishes with herbal notes. It is not overly complex, but harmonious. It has 14% alcohol. 90/100
We also tried two glasses of 2007 Ermano Costa Roero, Nebbiolo from Canale. This wine is a very good match with the pigeon and a great value.
The truffles are priced at 3.5 Euro per gram. We chose a 33 gram truffle.
DINNER 2.
We sat in the second, smaller room, which is most lovely. We ordered the truffle menu, supplementing it with the frogs leg course.
Frog legs are served with a garlicky green sauce with bacon puree. Next to them there was an onion stuffed with a beet and pumpkin mousse. It was good, but not as good as the versions in Tornavento and Dal Pescatore.
Truffle menu:
1. Uovo al vapore. This is a simple dish. We prefer the casserole version for eggs and truffles.
2. Topinambur arrosto e cioccolate bianco. This is a nice combination and it works with truffles.
3. Cardi e castagne. This dish is served with fonduta and is good.
4. Costata marinato nel miele, focaccia croccante. The Carpaccio was marinated in honey for three weeks. The Focaccia is spread with mayonnaise and anchovies. This was very good.
5. Tajarin. We added this dish to the menu. It was very good, but it impressed me less than two years ago. Maybe the dish used less eggs.
6. Ravioli alla fonduta. This dish is green ravioli filled with fonduta, and it was excellent.
7. Filetto nocciole e midollo emulsione al fegato grasso. This was basically a nut crustred filet of Piemontese veal with mushrooms and jus. The foie gras was forgotten. This dish did not make an impression.
We then had raisin sorbet with pistachio crumbles.
The dessert was Biscotto al vapore, mascarpone, caffe, orzo e gelato al caramello. This was like a play on tiramisu, with caramel sorbet on the side. It was successful.
The homemade bread here is very good, especially the focaccia.
2011 RAMONET PULIGNY MONTRACHET “CHAMP CANET”
The wine has an intense, leesy, crème brulee nose. It is concentrated, with citrus, grapefruit, and pineapple. Minerality is detectable in the long finish. It has a good structure. The aftertaste is pleasantly bitter, like chewing grapefruit skin. 95/100
2005 LANGHE ROSSO-DAVIDE PALLUDA
We tried two glasses of this wine, vinified by Matea Corregia for the chef. It is nicely balanced, and is a very well made Nebbiolo. The tannins are mellow; the acidity is there, but buffered by red fruits, especially raspberry. It is like a village Barbaresco. 91/100
They offered us two glasses of 2011 Ermano Costa Arneis as an aperitive.
The truffle we chose was about 60 grams.
RANKING: 15/20
DA RENZO IN CERVERE
Right now this is the best restaurant in the vicinity of Alba. There is no sous vide here, like the Michelin three star restaurant, but uneven Duomo in Alba. The cooking is very solid. The quality of ingredients is high, and the attention to detail is praiseworthy.
The amuse was an excellent vitello tomato. We also requested and they served us their superb cotechino with fonduta, a parsnip chip, and shaved truffle.
We chose a medium-sized, very firm, and aromatic truffle of 100 grams. They charged 4 Euro per gram.
1. Anguilla della Valli di Comacchio in delicate carpionatura il suo spiedino alla brace d’olivo, cipolle rosse, datteri e menta dell’Orto. This is an excellent cold eel salad, rolled, and served with pickled red onions.
2. Terrina di fegato grasso d’anatra ai fichi, la sua scaloppa ai limoni della Riviera ligure, agrumi canditi e pan brioche. They make their own terrine, and this quality is rare anywhere. The terrine is served with fig puree. The thick, smooth fresh foie is served with a caramelized sauce of figs, orange puree and peel, and apple slices.
3. Uovo in cocotte al tartufo bianco d’Alba. This is the best egg-truffle combination, along with the one at Aimo e Nadia.
4. Tajarin ai Trento cinque tuorli tagliati al coltello al tartufo Bianco d’Alba. The tajarin cannot get better. This dish is a great vehicle for truffles.
5. Ravioli with gorgonzola, pear, candied hazelnut and hazelnut sauce. This was another super pasta.
6. Lumache di Cerrasco ai Porri di Cervere, mele Renette e composto di rosa cantina. This dish featured big local snails, with Cervere leeks, and apple slices. It is another must to get at this restaurant.
7. Capretto di Roccaverano arrosto agli agrumi della Riviera ligure e radicchio rosso di Treviso su crema di sedano rapa. This dish has very good roasted goat, but one misses Da Cesare’s version when this great chef roasted the whole kid in the fireplace and served three different pieces to each guest, along with rosemary scented cubed potatoes.
Dessert: Sicilia Coast to Coast. This excellent dessert included canola, pistachio ice cream, and almond milk in a glass.
The petit fours served with espresso were also top quality.
2009 EMILIO PEPE TREBBIANO D’ABRUZZO.
This bio wine has character, and it was not oxidative. I had it decanted. It matched the truffle dishes very well. The nose was complex, leesy and nutty, and the wild yeast was evident. It was not fruity at all, as I wanted (truffle does not match with fruity wines), and it was smooth, steely, earthy, nutty, and bone dry. It has a good inner core. 93/100
2006 COPPA IN CANELLI, FREISA MONDACCIANE VV.
I like Freisa, which reminds me of Poulsard. We had two glasses with the roasted kid. The nose was attractively herbal, with lemon thyme, oregano, licorice, and red fruit. The palette was dominated by bright red fruits. This is a clean and lean red wine with a touch of a vegetal finish. 89/100
RANKING: 17/20
TRATTORIA DELLA POSTA IN MONFORTE D’ALBA
The amuse was cotechino with potato, which was very good.
1. La Cipolla ripiena di toma di Murazzano e salsiccia di Bra cotta al forno. This dish is stuffed onion with sheep milk cheese and salsiccia. It is a classic of the region which was rendered very well.
2. Gli gnocchi di patate con fonduta di Castelmagno. This is an excellent pasta dish, which a strong cheese that is almost like gorgonzola. This is not a vehicle for truffles.
3. Gli agnolotti del plin al burro fuso. This is another excellent rendering of a classic.
4. I ravioli verdi di caprino con Salsiccia di Bra e porri. This is also good, but probably we should have had only two pastas and have shared one of the great looking meat dishes.
2011 LANGHE FREISA BARTOLO MASCARELLO
This is another good example of this lean, light bodied wine, which had a core of herb tinged bright and tart cherry fruit and a clean finish with a touch of spices and herbs. The wine has almost no tannins, but quite high acidity. 89/100
This is a very good refined trattoria.
RANKING: 4/5