In Cortona, Italy, at the Temporo restaurant, I had shrimp gnocchi with artichokes that was superb. I had a yen for some fagioli, which was probably a little too white on top of the gnocchi, but it was good, too. Then a delicious crème desert with a delicate flavor, topped with a fabulous home-made limoncello which was a gift from the lady owner because I had to sit outside.
In Livorno, Lonely Planet recommended a local place called Cantina Senese. The waiter brought an English menu, then told me the specials. Screw the menu. I did a mussel&clam antipasto, then 3 little fish baked in a tomato sauce. Yum.
Barcaggio, Corsica – the waitress was overloaded with a ton of tourists all at once, but smiled through it. She graced me with a great bean salad, a fine wine and a Magnum choco bar.
Macinaggio – ripped off, sorta. Asked for the daily 15.5E special. They said I could have a mixed fish plate with a salad and potatoes on the side instead. They brought a big plate of fish, but no potatoes and charged me 28E for the fish. Very good fish, but a real bait-&-switch.
Porto – a GREAT meal at La Cyrnee! The 19E daily special started with a large tureen of fish soup. The waiter first brought an empty bowl and said “Your fish soup.” Huh? A little joke. Then he brought the tureen, which had toast slices, garlic pieces, and small bowls of grated cheese and mustard on the side. Dunno what the protocol is for that stuff, but the soup, which had no fish pieces and was a dark broth, was delicious. Then followed the entrée – a fillet of dourade (dorado?) with saffron rice and sautéed veggies(squash, eggplant, onion). Desert was an excellent tiramisu.
Zonza – another excellent meal. Auberge du Sanglier. I wasn’t all that hungry, but I should have ordered a few more courses, just because it was so good. I had the tagliatelle (w/shrimp) based on the recommendation of Leila, the black waitress in Levie at Le Café du Progress. (She was born in NYC, grew up in London, Switz., Nigeria, etc.) After the pasta, I had a chocolate fondant garnished with strawberries and kiwi fruit. Wow! And then they brought a nice liqueur that is a local Corsican specialty.
Oh yeah. The French definitely make better pastries than the Italians.
No comments:
Post a Comment