Chianti

We were up early for our train trip to Tuscany and Vicki called a taxi to take us to the train station, stazioni termini. She asked them to hurry (subito, per favore!) and the cab was there to pick us up in what seemed less than two minutes. Breakfast at the train station was cappuccino, cornetto, and fresh-squeezed orange juice—all for only four euros. Our train ride was uneventful, but when we got to San Giovanni Valdarno where we were supposed to pick up our rental car, we found that the Hertz agency was a few kilometers away and there was no taxi to take us there. Almost all businesses in Italy close at 1 p.m. and by 12:45, we realized we were not going to make it. So we called our hosts, and Bob Monroe said he would pick us up. This was just the beginning of the incredibly warm hospitality we received from our hosts.

Bob and his wife Ally live just outside the village of Moncioni, which is in the hills of Chianti. The little house we are renting, called Podere La Rota, is attached to theirs and as we approached it we were stunned by the beauty of the area, it was beyond even what we had imagined. Bob dropped us and showed us the ropes, including the two welcome platters full of many different delicious bits of food, also cornettos for the morning, even chocolate for dessert, which for the most part, was more than enough for our sustenance for the next two days.

La Podere la Rota

It was a warm afternoon and from the terrace of our house, there is a large grove of olive trees, heavy with fruit, along with persimmon, fig, and apple trees. The mountains in the distance displayed a heavily wooded area with trees beginning to change color―I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the camera.

Our evening meal consisted of the welcome feast of Italian meats, cheeses, salad and bread, accompanied by an outstanding Chianti, which Bob & Aly purchase from a producer and bottle themselves.

Our first meal in Chianti - lots of meat!

It is almost impossible to describe the view from the terrace of this wonderful little house. Its beauty is positively hypnotic, making it hard to do anything but sit and gaze out at the hills. The weather has been perfect so we have been able to spend many hours on the terrace, including dinner by candlelight every night. We head off for walks each afternoon, taking roads deep into the woods, which are thick with chestnut trees.

View from the terrace

The house too couldn’t be more charming. It has been perfectly restored, keeping the cotto floors and terracotta tiled roofs with the old wood pole beams. The walls are whitewashed and there are many lovely brick framed arches and sections of exposed stone walls. Every comfort has been thought of and provided. We have NEVER stayed in such a comfortable place in all of our travels in Italy. Lovely dishes, wine glasses, real towels, lights for reading, a wonderful collection of books about the area, a wood-burning stove, beautiful pieces of art and old photographs hanging in every room, and maybe the best of all—a huge bathtub, which sits right under a window overlooking the valley. This is not just a vacation house, you could live here happily for a long long time.

Sunset on the terrace

On Sunday, Bob and Ally brought us cakes from the local bakery and Ally left some of her homemade yogurt. We were lazy sods most of the day; Bob taking many photos and me writing and reading. Late in day we walked up to Moncione to buy a few things, including pecorino cheese so fresh you could hardly cut it. Accompanying us on all our walks is Bob and Ally’s dog, Livia. She is a large sheep dog breed native to the Maremma area of Italy. Livia is an incredibly sweet dog who acts as if she has known us forever.

Sweet Livia

Ally took us on Monday to pick up our rental car in Terranuova. Let the excursions begin! Of course, we first stopped at the huge coop in Montevarchi, where the selection of superb Tuscan food is beyond belief. Back to the house on the hill for an alfresco lunch feast. Once again, our hosts came bearing gifts: a basket of chestnuts from their tree and a new roasting pan to use over the fire. Dinner later was tagliatelle with shrimp and garlic.

Gosh, Vicki's cooked another fabulous meal!

Tuesday, after strawberries and Ally’s delicious yogurt, we head off to explore some of the Chianti countryside. Our first stop was Gaiole, an old market town for a quick cappuccino in its charming long, narrow piazza. Then we headed up to Vertine, a perfectly pretty little village with an 11th century church, beautiful gardens, and many breathtaking views across the hills. At the entrance to the town, in a grove of holm oaks, sits a very moving monument to the war dead of this small village.

War memorial - Vertine

Continuing on up the road, we stop at Meleto, a castle that served as a Florentine military post beginning in the 13th century. It was deserted as we were now well into the lunch hours. Back down the hill for lunch at a little Osteria in Gaiole on the river. Though modest, the Osteria was lovely inside, red and gold linens, white leather chairs. Bob had pappardelle with cinghiale sugo and I had pici cacio e pepe. Being artichoke lovers, we couldn’t resist something on the menu called artichokes in a paper bag. It actually was a delicious salad of thinly sliced artichokes with lemon and garlic. We haven’t figured out what the paper bag bit meant.

After lunch, we made our way to Badia aColtibuono, a stunning abbey that dates from 770. Though privately owned now, the owner’s wife Lorenza d’Medici, runs a cooking school there and all is open to the public.

Badia a Coltribuono

You can see in the pictures that the real story here is how splendid it is to simply drive these small roads through the valleys and hills of Chianti. The vineyards with their leaves turning red and gold, the groves of olive trees heavy with fruit, and the warm golden light on the stone farmhouses all combine to make you feel this surely is the most beautiful place on earth.

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Rome - Final Day

Our final day in Rome began with a trip to the Piazza de Spagna (Spanish Steps) to book some train tickets for our journey to Tuscany. After doing that, we wandered through the piazza, marveling at all the tourists. Vicki, the horse-lover, found one to pet that was attached to the carriages that give rides to tourists.

Vicki's new friend at Piazza Spagna

After that we wandered down to the Via del Corso, a main artery to the Piazza del Popolo. We stopped at the church of Santa Maria de Popolo to see their fabulous Caravaggios, but were rather trampled by gawking tourists so made a quick get-away to the Café Rosati where Vicki indulged in a pre-lunch dessert called Caffé Granita con Panna (coffee ice with whipped cream)―what the heck, we’re on holiday.

Caffé Granita con Panna — a perfect pre-pranzo snack!

From there we wandered on to the Osteria de Margutta with their beautiful blue dinnerware to have our final pranzo in Roma. This a marvelous little osteria, a place that Vicki had found on her trip to Rome last November. Always promising to eat light, we once again indulged in a two course lunch with a nice bottle of Sicilian white wine. We began with a lovely antipasto di mare, which came with shrimp presented in a rounded half-leaf of radiccio. From there we were on to our primi.

Primi - Antipasto di mare

Vicki had tasty spaghetti with clams and Bob, Saltimboca, that classic Roman dish of veal and ham. It was a thoroughly marvelous lunch.

Spaghetti e vongole

Saltimbocca - sauteed veal and proscuitto

with sage in wine sauce

Our wonderful waiter (cameriere) at Osteria de Margutto

Evening found us walking the streets of Rome again, enjoying the evening light from the setting sun reflected on the city' beautiful buildings.

Evening light

Our passagiatta ended back at the bar across the way from our apartment on Via d’Orso. It’s a busy little street with lots of shops, bars, and restaurants.Our little bar generally attracted a good crowd at its three outside tables and we found it a good place to sit and enjoy a cocktail, watching the world walk by. Our drink of choice was usually a negroni, made with gin, vermouth, and a splash of Campari. In the U.S., I’m sure it would be thought of as a fancy martini.

Due Negroni

After our drinks we decided we were hungry again so we walked over to have a pizza at the Campo dei Fiori. All of the market stands are gone by evening and the piazza is filled with people either eating in outside cafes or just wandering around.

Pizza di Roma

We ate a pizza at what seemed to be the best place and then strolled back to our apartment, thus ending our last evening in Rome.

Rome Day 2

Couldn’t sleep, so up at four am and out for a walk in a futile search for coffee, the Romans do not start the day that early! At a more reasonable hour, we headed over to the Campo de' Fiori for pizza bianca, cappuccinos, and a stroll through the market, where we bought some cheese and blackberries.

Early morning - Campo de Fiori

Then it was on to Santa Maria sopra Minerva to see Filippo Lippi’s poignant and lovely Annunciation, the tomb of Fra Angelico, and Michaelango’s Christ bearing the Cross. Although we could have stayed for hours under the Gothic arches and dark blue ceiling, I was eager to show Bob the wonders of the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, which contains an almost overwhelming number of gorgeous works of art. The highlights are Velasquez’ portrait of Pope Innocent X, which is frighteningly intense and powerful, and the two Caravaggios, Mary Magdalene and the Flight into Egypt. The silvery, otherworldly glow on the angel’s legs in the latter must be one of the most beautiful uses of light in all of western painting―I could have sat in front of that painting all day. When I was here in November, I asked about seeing the Lippi Annunciation (you cannot see too many!) that normally hangs in the private apartments and was was told it was not possible. But on this day, there it was, the gold so brilliant you could have seen its glow from the other end of the palazzo.

Courtyard - Galleria Doria Pamphilj

This museum is unique in Rome for several reasons. It is one of the largest collections of art still in private hands and it is usually semi-deserted. The audio guide they provide is narrated by the current head of the family, who provides wonderful bits of family history along with information about the art and how it was acquired. Especially moving is the story of one his ancestors, whose devotion to his English wife, Mary, was so great that upon her death, he retired to the country where he planted a hedge spelling out her name and placed so that it would be the first thing he saw each morning when he awoke. It was this couple who is responsible for the well-preserved and authentic interiors of the Palazzo today.

After so much beauty, what did we do? Lunch, of course! We dined just a few steps from our apartment at Orso 80, a bustling little ristorante that Vicki discovered last year. Because we are obviously Americans we were seated in “international” section populated with Germans, Canadians, and some of our countrymen. We began with an antipasti misto―a plate of Italian delights―eggplant, squash, meatballs, peppers, beans, etc., a wonderful combination.

Orso 80 - Antipasto Misto

Vicki’s primi was also outstanding, gnocchi with butter and sage, simple, but perfectly prepared.

Orso 80 - Gnocchi with butter and sage

Evening found us back near our apartment in a wonderful little bar where we sipped Negronis and munched on peanuts and potato chips. Then it was off to the Campo de' Fiori again, a veritable mob scene of people strolling and sitting amidst outdoor cafes.

Rome — Day One

Roma!

After an easy plane ride from the States, in seats complete with our own personal tv screens, we arrived at Termini and must have found the best taxi driver in all of Rome. When we arrived at the street address where our apartment was supposed to be, he promptly got on the phone to make sure we were at the right place. The apartment was nothing to write home about, so we won’t, but it was in the very best part of town, the Campo Marzio. Its narrow medieval streets are the very ones Caravaggio himself walked―and so did we. Immediately we headed out for a walk, stopping first at S’Agostino to see Caravaggio’s stunning Madonna of Loreto. Unbelievably, there was one else in the church, and when we looked at this painting, the sweet fatigue on Mary’s face and the light of hope on the the upturned faces of the kneeling peasants say more than you could hear in a thousand Sundays at church.

From there we wandered the streets around the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona, ending up at ristorante Due Colonne for a perfect Roman lunch (pranzo). Gnocchi with clams for me, and rigatoni ameritriciani for Bob.

This is the same restaurant where I had the fabulous gnocchi when I was last in Rome in November. After lunch, as much as we resisted, we had to have a nap. Then it was another walk, out to the river Tiber, where Bob took many photographs from Ponte Sant’Angelo.

We walked along the river up to Ponte Sisto and over to Trastevere, where we stopped in at the Almost Corner Bookshop. I think this is the best English language bookstore in Rome and I always find something interesting there I’ve never seen before. Almost directly across from the bookstore is a bakery, Al Forno, with some of the best pizza in Rome.

We shared a slice topped with squash blossoms and anchovies, and this was just our first day in Italy!

Sura - Korean Restaurant

Last October, my son Matt and I ate at an awesome Korean restaurant in Oakland after a Cal football game. Sura is located in Oakland's Temescal District (4869 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609) an area where there are many ethnic restaurants. We entered an elegant dining room, which was very open, airy, and filled with Asians. As we walked by a table occupied by two diners, I couldn't believe the number of banchan side dishes that were in front of them. We sat down and were immediately brought a bowl of Korean egg whites, which was tasty, but not like what was to come.

The menu is substantial and features many interesting traditional Korean dishes, most of which I'm not familiar with. Matt was born in Korea and has eaten at many good Korean restaurants so he was able to explain a few things. We settled on the all-you-can-eat barbeque, which featured beef, chicken, and pork belly. Each table has a dome-shaped cooker that is heated by a gas flame underneath it. The meat is cooked on this dome until it sizzles and is done.

Before our huge platter of meat arrived, a waiter covered our table with banchan, Korean side dishes. The most common is kimchi made from cabbage or cucumber, but there were other vegetable-based dishes, some with sesame oil, and others pickled—to describe all of these is a blog entry in itself. We also received a bowl of lettuce leaves and small bowls of garlic and jalapeno slices, and gochujang, a very spicy Korean bean paste.

The drill is to place the meat on the grill in the middle of the table with tongs, then turn it and cut it into more manageable pieces with the scissors you are given. When the meat is done it is placed in a piece of lettuce along with some garlic, jalapeno, and gochujang, rolled up and eaten—fantastic! All of the meat was great, but the pork belly was wonderful when just done—don't let it cook too long! The thin pieces of beef and chicken were also superb; I ate until I was very full then watched Matt put away about twice the meat I had; poor, starving, college student! Together we did a pretty good job, though, there wasn't much left.

Banchan. Photo courtesy Shannon I.

We also ordered a bottle of soju, which is an alcoholic Korean beverage distilled from rice, sweet potatoes, and tapioca. It is a pretty neutral taste, like vodka, but with a touch of sweetness. We tossed it down along with numerous glasses of ice water.

Sura is a wonderful restaurant and I highly recommend it. A good indication of how good the food is was that it was filled with so many Asians—I imagine mostly Korean. Glancing around the room after we sat down assured me that I was the only caucasian in the restaurant. All of the staff that helped us were very pleasant and we had a nice chat with our Korean hostess who, it turns out, was born in the same Korean city as Matt, Jeonju City.

Sura is a very classy Korean restaurant and a little pricier than most others I've been to, but the food is worth it and I'm looking forward to going back very soon.

Sura. 4869 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA 94620.
(510) 654-9292

Leaving for Europe in four days

Yesterday evening Vicki and I were watching television and talking about the past five years of her job as marketing manager at the University of Nevada Press, which she resigned from last week. Yesterday was her last day and we talked about the ups and downs that job had given her as we ate a very mediocre formerly frozen pizza. Suddenly we both started laughing as we realized that in a week we'd be eating pizza in the eternal city of Rome. Forget her job, the economy, the election (hard to forget), and the general gloomy state of affairs of the world, we would soon be leaving for a month in Europe!

We've been planning this trip for months and needless to say, are very excited! Our itinerary is as follows:

Leave SFO, Tuesday, October 7 - to Rome.

Rome - 3 nights.

We've rented a nice little apartment near the Piazza Navona.

Chianti - Tuscany - Moncioni - 2 weeks.

We've rented a house in the country called Podere La Rota near a small town, Moncioni, in the Chianti region. Here's a link to info about our house:

http://www.summersleases.com/chianti.cfm

Here's a Google map with the location of Moncioni. If you zoom out, you'll see the close proximity to Florence and Siena:


View Larger Map

On October 24th we take an overnight train via Florence to Dijon where we pick up our rental car and head to our new destination, Chateau Les Roches.

France - Burgundy - Cote d'Or - 1 week

http://www.lesroches-burgundy.com/en/home


View Larger Map

After a week in the Burgundy region, it's off to Paris for three days, arriving home to San Francisco on the eve of election day, November 4th.

More to come ...

Felidia - New York City

I first learned about Lidia Matticchio Bastianich from Vicki a few years ago. For some reason, this Istrian-born Italian cooking show host, cookbook author, and restaurant owner had stayed under my radar, despite our love of Italian cooking and television cooking shows. In 2007, at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which we attend as exhibitors every year, Vicki met Lidia and acquired a signed copy of her most recent cookbook, Lidia’s Italy. She is also the author of four books on Italian cooking.

During our semi-annual trip to New York this May for Vicki’s sales meetings, we had the opportunity to dine at Lidia’s flagship restaurant, Felidia. It was opened in 1981 by Lidia and her former husband, Felice (Felice + Lidia = Felidia). Lidia is now involved with two other restaurants in Manhattan, Becco (with her son, Joseph Bastianich) and Del Posto (with her son and Mario Batali), along with Lidia’s Italy restaurants in Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

Located on a busy street in Midtown East, we arrived at Felidia just in time for our 12:30 lunch reservation. We were led past an opulent mahogany bar to a dining room with light yellow walls bathed in orange-tinted lighting, while a skylight on the second floor provided the entire space with a hint of sunlight.

Since everything on the menu sounded tempting, there was no way we could choose so we decided on the tasting menu, which features three courses and dessert, selected by the chef. We also chose the wine tasting menu to pair wines with our courses.

We began with an antipasto course, a delicate julienne of fagioli beans, lightly steamed and tossed in olive oil with pickled red onions and sliced almonds. With the beans we were served Bastianich Rosato, a rosé from the Italian winery owned by Lidia’s son Joseph in partnership with Mario Batali. It paired well with the bean salad and had a rich fruity taste.

Our primi course was the superb Ravioli con Cacio e Pere, pear and fresh pecorino-filled ravioli, garnished with aged pecorino, crushed black pepper and slices of green olive. The pasta was paired with a crisp white wine, Calcare, from the Sauvignon grape, grown in the Marche. These small square ravioli were one of the best pasta dishes I’ve ever had; they simply melted in your mouth with the sweet, musky taste of the pecorino cheese and the tang of the green olive—wonderful!

Secondi consisted of three different cuts of veal cooked three ways, “Vitello, Vitello, Vitello.” Arranged around the rim of the plate were a veal sweetbread braised, then sautéed; a braised veal cheek; and a sautéed veal tenderloin. These gorgeous morsels were served on a bed of asparagus with a mushroom sauce reduction and a little Castelmagno cheese. The entire dish was sublime—the sweetbread was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of browning, which added flavor; the veal cheek fell to pieces when touched with a fork; the sautéed tenderloin was savory and cooked to a moist, medium rare. It was served with a super Tuscan, a 2002 Tassinaia, a blend of sangiovese, cabernet, and merlot grapes. The wine had good fruit, depth, and maturity, and paired perfectly with the rich decadence of the veal.

Dolce consisted of a trio of desserts; Tiramisu Agli Agrumi—orange liqueur-soaked lady fingers with orange mascarpone cream, and blood orange-poached cranberries; a warm mini-Caprese cake with chocolate, passion fruit and caramel; and a citrus sorbetto. The small bites of dessert were served with a heady sparkling moscato from Piemonte. Both wine and sweet made for a perfect ending to a divine meal. All that was missing was the intoxicating smell of jasmine that hangs in the air outside almost every café in Italy.

The tab for the tasting and wine courses plus coffee and Pellegrino was $180.00. Outstanding service, great food, excellent wines, highly recommended.

Link:

Video - Lidia Bastianich discusses here restaurant, Felidia