Saturday, Sept 28
Dinner at Crianza – you definitely needed reservations here! Lots of people turned away. We sat outside and enjoyed watching the streams of people, and a considerable number of cars and bikes, go by.
We started with a bottle of the Tenuta Paraida Rosato (light cherry, hint of nuts, some mineral. Light finish, a little creaminess – light acidity.)
I ordered the Rustichella sandwich, which had slow cooked porchetta, pistachio cream, grilled peppers and roasted pistachios – yum! Leandra went for the bruschette with Black Angus carpaccio, goat cheese, pickles, grilled zucchini, rocket and toasted almonds. It was a LOT of food.
Sunday, Sept 29
Breakfast at Miro Coffee Bistrot was included with our room. There wasn’t a menu per se, but they offered a large assortment which you could say yes/no to as they asked. Coffee/OJ, yogurt, croissants, full eggs plate with bacon, ham and cheese. Surprisingly, the berry croissant was better than the chocolate, while the yogurt and the cheese were rather plain. We sat outside both mornings.
Midday we went to Natale Pasticceria to try they savoury rustico (bechamel and mozzarella with tomato) and the sweet pasticciotto (shortbread pastry with custard filling). Worth trying but neither were entirely memorable.
In the early evening we stopped at Gelateria Naturale – I choose chocolate fondant and nocciola (hazelnut), and of course Leandra went for the pistachio (one of her favorites on this trip).
For dinner we went to Tranquillo, where our reservations had us sitting outside. It was a bit chilly with the breeze, so thankfully we brought layers.
Their pistachio cream sauce with pasta was great and inspired us to find some recipes at home, and it paired nicely with a Susumaniello rose. Leandra also liked her octopus with broad beans and chicory greens, and paired it with a non-primitivo red blend.
After dinner we headed to Prohibition for cocktails. The basement atmosphere was cozy and quite relaxed on a Sunday night. Leandra had a classic old fashioned (a little too much ice) while Eric had the citrusy Manda…rino (vodka, venturo, yuzu syrup, lemon and lemon tonic). We were fortunate to finish up just as a large group arrived.
