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This is the blog of Steve Burkett of Italy, Our Italy

Michelin-Starred Experiences

The original Michelin Red Guide, French Edition

Last week I explained how the Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants in Italy…and I also explained that many of our favorite Italy restaurants aren’t even in the Michelin guide at all.

But today, I want to show you what you can expect when you dine at a starred restaurant in Italy. And, since I am writing this article, what I personally expect for my own dining experience ,so that my peculiar, I mean particular, expectations are met…or even exceeded.

So, here is what the Burketts expect as they dine with Italian stars!

First is Dressing Up

We like to dress up a bit when dining at a nice restaurant in Italy…and we don’t want to feel out of place because we did so. Three stars? Take the opportunity to get spiffed up.

And, speaking of dressing up, here is a photo of the two dapper gentlemen who started the Michelin guide, as well as the Michelin tire company…André and Édouard Michelin.

The View

If the evening is to be special, then a meal with a view would be nice. These are views from starred restaurants that we’ve visited.

Bread!

That’s right, bread! I tend to judge an Italian dining establishment by their bread. It needs to be nice and crusty. Grisini, or breadsticks, need to be house-made, not wrapped in a waxy, paper envelope. Here are examples of 3-star breads.

Presentation

This involves more than plating…it is how the food might be presented before plating, like this nice branzino presented by Elizabette at La Terrazza Danieli, just before it was fileted and deboned for serving. By the way, it is really a lot better looking after plating…and it tastes like no other seafood you’ve had.

Smiling Faces

I believe that you can judge a person by the way one treats the waitstaff at a restaurant. And, it’s much easier to relate to a smiling face, isn’t it?

A Bit of Music?

How about live music…and, with a smiling face, too…double your pleasure! And, it’s not often we’ve found such an amenity.

Table Settings

Of course a nice table is appreciated. And what a surprise it was to find an embroidered charger at our table at Ravello’s Il Flauto di Pan.

The Food

This is pretty much why we came, right? I know, the other things are nice, but the food is the star of the starred show.

Endings

Dessert has a special place in our dining experience. There are desserts in the ‘Food’ grouping above, but this one from La Caravella dal 1959 in Amalfi gets special attention. We thought this soufflé too large for two people when presented, but two was just too perfect not to finish. Being a soufflé, it was really lite…seriously…please don’t judge…you had to be there to appreciate it.

What’s All That Stuff on the Plate?

In my opinion, some restaurants on the Michelin-starred list try a bit too hard to embellish the plates with little dots of this-and-that (we call them ‘plops’), and special plates that are not necessary to one’s dining enjoyment. You will note a bit of simplicity in the photos of ‘Food’ above. Nice and clean.

However, here are a few Michelin-starred plates that we’ve been offered along the way where we think things were a bit messy and they were trying a bit too hard to impress, but didn’t. Give me the plating at a Cracker Barrel restaurant and I would have been happier.

A Parting Shot

But what about a Michelin-starred restaurant in the morning? Here is my selection from a typical buffet breakfast at Poggio Rosso at the fabulous Borgo San Felice. We took our breakfast with a mimosa out to the terrace and dreamed of coming back!

Breakfast at San Felice - is it too heavy with the bread…I don’t think so

So, there you see a few of the things that Ellen and I feel make up a scrumptious evening…or breakfast. But you know what? These meals are missing one thing…and that’s you.

We love to travel with friends, building memories along the way that we can reminisce about for years to come. I sincerely hope that you can join us in the future at a restaurant of Italy…or anywhere in the world, actually.

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eat Here: Enoteca Della Valpolicella

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Has there been a time when you’ve had a meal and you think, “Wow, I’d like to come back and eat here again!”. We said that. And, we then went back and ate there again. It was that good. Italy at its best. Here is what you can expect.

We had just completed a mourning tour and tasting of the wines of the Allegrini winery, and it was oh, so good. Now it was time for lunch. Because of a recommendation by Silvia at the Salvaterra winery, we had made a reservation for lunch at Enoteca Della Valpolicella…and we are glad we did, as the locals already know about this gem.

Getting There

On this map, you can see the short drive from Villa Allegrini (red circle) to Enoteca Della Valpolicella (blue circle) in the small village of Fumane, just 9 miles north of Verona. So, it’s possible that Juliette and Romeo had their first date here. Yeah, I know. Right?

Drive through the gate and park in the small lot.

“Whether you dine for lunch or dinner, either experience (or both, as in our case) will please you no end”

Eating There

First of all, don’t expect to be treated like a customer…you are a guest at Enoteca Della Valpolicella, and that’s the way you will feel.

Dining is upstairs, and it is a very pleasant place to eat. Add to that our very pleasant cameriera (waitress), and you have a very pleasant meal, assuming the food is also very pleasant.

Elisa Riolfi took or order, with a bit of a twist. She asked us what sort of things we liked (and didn’t like) and she then suggested that she bring us what one might call a 'chef’s menu’. We handed her our unopened menus and put our trust in Elisa.

We were glad that she approached our meal this way…because it turned out that, along with everything else, the food was very pleasant, indeed!

It turns out that Elisa has a good relationship with the chef, as Chef Ada is her mother.

I mentioned in the introduction that we returned to dine for dinner after having eaten lunch at Enoteca della Valpolicella. One of the reasons we wanted to return? This absolutely heavenly starter of Tomato Sauce alla Veronese.

It is finished with a bit of burrata cheese, basil, and a splash of EVOO.

And, for our dinner, once more we let Elisa and her mom take the reigns, but with one demand —- we wanted this starter with our meal, once again!

In this photo, you can see the texture of this scrumptious delight.

In testament to just how good this simple dish is, Ellen’s action speaks for itself! This gives new meaning to ‘diving in’ to a dish!

Ellen says, “It is remarkable that something so simple should be so flavorful!”.

And it is super simple. There are only three ingredients, and one of them is butter!

We know how to duplicate this dish. Click this thumbnail and you can see for yourself.

Wine with Our Meals

As with virtually every meal we eat in Italy, wine is always appropriate.

For lunch, we opted for a bottle of La Grola from the Allegrini winery which we had just visited that morning.

For dinner, it was a nice Amarone. This wine is the one that is made from grapes that have been raisinated for about 100 days before being pressed, described in the article here.

They have over 800 labels in their cellar. And they know each one…as well as the families that produce them. Just ask, and you will receive a wine that you will enjoy with your meal.

Whatever the meal, there is always a toast to Italy and friends not present — and that includes you, of course!

Ellen and Steve (in photo) along with Leslie and Craig, offer a toast

Here are the chef’s selections for our lunch and dinner. And it is oh, so good to know that bacon is often a part of a meal in Italy! That particular dish is Dandelion Leaves with Monte Veronese Cheese and Crispy Pancetta (which you will find on page 47 of the yet to be mentioned cookbook, below).

See the third dish in the top row? That is Duck Breast with Recioto & Honey Sauce…and it was absolutely fabulous.

Recioto is a sweet, red dessert wine made in the Valpolicella Amarone style. By putting the Recioto together with the honey, a delicious sweet, but not overpowering, accompaniment is created for the duck breast.

Here is the recipe so you can try it at home. Just click on the thumbnail to get a larger view.

Dessert? Yes please. And thank you!

A Visit from Chef Ada Riolfi

During our trip, we had found a cookbook that we really liked, as it had dishes that were the specialty of Italian chefs of the Lake Garda, Verona, and Valpolicella area - the area which we were visiting.

The cookbook is titled, “Polenta & Amarone: The Flavors of Lake Garda, Verona and Valpolicella”. It so happens that Chef Ada is featured in this cookbook with 7 of her recipes. As we happened to have our own copy with us, we had Ada autograph our book. Surely you too have a cookbook with you as you travel. I certainly hope so!

It is interesting that Ada had not seen the cookbook before tonight, as it was not of her creation. And, upon taking a look at some of her recipes therein, she spotted errors in cooking temperature and time.

Here she is as she signs our cookbook, after penciling in changes to the Duck Breast with Honey and Recioto Sauce recipe. She changed the ‘brisk heat’ of the Recioto sauce to ‘low flame’, and the time of ‘15-20 minutes’ to ‘40 minutes’. It’s nice to have a chef handy whilst you’re cooking, so we will try to do that for our future at-home cooking sessions! We’ve already scheduled Keller, Douglas, Flay, Giada, and more!

Four women of whom bother-in-law Craig and I are in awe

The Cookbook

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the cookbook (without Chef Ada edits…unless you make a personal visit to Enoteca della Valpolicella, of course), click here.

Just be sure to select the Italiano-English version (rather than the Italiano-German version). Each recipe is given in both Italian and English.

By the way, the woman on the cover is Pierina Caprini. Though we know her, you probably don’t…but you will soon when i publish an article featuring her restaurant and cooking. So, stay tuned for that…it was one of the most truly magical evenings of our lives.

That’s it for our back-to-back visits to Enoteca della Valpolicella. Both lunch and dinner were fabulous.

Want to give Enoteca Della Valpolicella a try for yourself, To the right is their contact information.

And here is a direct link to their website, where you can make a reservation…which is a must. Click on the British flag to get an English version and/or let Google translate for you. Click on the word ‘Reserve’ and fill out the form to make your reservation.

Whether you dine for lunch or dinner, either experience (or both, as in our case) will please you no end. If a bottle of un-ordered Amarone shows up at your table, make no fuss…just turn to the table near the window to see Ellen and me giving you a thumbs up of affection…that bottle is on us.

Ciao for now,

Steve

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Eat Here: Ristorante Bovio

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Would you like to dine with a view like this one? Then you need to eat at Ristorante Bovio.

This lovely restaurant is situated on the slope of the hill upon which the Piemonte town of La Mora is situated. Whether you are dining on the terrace for lunch, as we did, or eating in the beautifully appointed dining room in the evening, the view is magnificent.

As seen from the restaurant, that’s the Church of San Sebastiano in La Mora, blessing Ristorante Bovio. And, well blessed it is.

As with virtually every meal we have eaten in Italy, we start with wine…and usually the first bottle is a white wine. Here we are poured our new favorite white northern-Italian wine, Arneis. Note the unique bottle holder at the table in the background…it keeps a white wine at just the perfect temperature. Here you see Craig’s look of anticipation.

With every toast, we celebrate having the great friends with whom we are traveling, sister- and brother-in-law Leslie and Craig Johnson.

The terrace of Bovio is oh, so pleasant. And, it is a gorgeous day in the Langhe area of the Piemonte. Craig, Leslie and wife Ellen await our first course.

“Would care for a scrumptious bread product?”, asks Leslie.

“Yes!”, I say.

Most every Italian restaurant has olive oil available for dipping one’s bread, but here, we also have butter. I’m assuming that there is nothing wrong with putting butter on a grissino. Would you agree?

As an appetizer, we tried the fried zucchini blossoms, which we found delicious.

Also tasty were the mushrooms over creamy pollenta, topped with black truffles.

In the dining room, we found a covered plate of several black truffles, topped with a truffle shaver, ready to do its job.

While we were seated, we saw a local man park his vehicle and unload a box which he took inside the restaurant. I followed him to the kitchen to see what he had for sale and found that he brought these large mushrooms. The chef liked what he saw and the grower left with cash in his pocket.

If we had been at Bovio for dinner, we might have sampled some of their spirits…but as it was lunchtime and we had a special place to be after lunch, we passed.

Lunch has arrived and here it is. A nice Bolognese pasta, mushroom risotto, beautifully-cooked scallops, and a bit of beef with scalloped potatoes were enjoyed as we ate with a view.

And of course, we needed more Arneis.

As is an Italian custom, dessert consisted of cheese. And we had a large selection from which to choose.

We mad a selection of seven cheeses, accompanied with honey and fruit preserves.

The dining room awaits evening diners. And they will also have that nice view during their meal.

Ahhhh, what an outstanding meal. As we leave, we take one last look at the idyllic Langhe countryside, as seen from the terrace of Ristorante Bovio.

BONUS MATERIAL

Above, I mentioned that we had plans for the afternoon. What might those plans be? We have reservations for massages at the Chateaux Castello di Guarene spa in the hilltop town of Guarene.

That’s the castle sitting smack dab in the middle of the areal photo.

According to the Relais Chateaux Castello di Guarene website, the castle was built by Carlo Giacinto Roero di Guarene, who laid the first stone in 1726 on 13 September at 8.30 pm.

The grounds of the castle are well manicured and provide a pleasant place to relax for guests at the hotel.

The spa is actually located in the subterranean depths below these gardens.

To get to the spa, one goes down a couple of flights of stairs into the bowels of the hill. And then a long tunnel through the hill leads you to the spa.

At the end of the tunnel, Craig and Leslie stand on a balcony which juts out from the side of the cliff below the castle grounds. There is a nice view from that balcony.

But the inside of the cavernous interior reveals an ideal spa atmosphere.

Ristorante Bovio

Relais & Chateaux Castello di Guarene

That’s it for lunch at Bovio, and then a relaxing time at the Castle Guarene spa.

I have to admit that such a lovely lunch, followed by a couple of hours of relaxing spa time, is a great way to spend an afternoon in northern Italy…or anywhere else for that matter. If you are able to reproduce this day’s itinerary, you may find me floating in the grotto pool.

Ciao for now,

Steve