Dinner Prepared by Italian Angels

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It is a well known fact that Gus and I love good food. We love preparing it, dreaming about it and eating it. And when you find REALLY good food, it is a monumental moment. This dinner was a monumental moment.

The first tipoff that it was going to be good was that all the food is sourced locally and daily. The second was that the restaurant only seats about 16 guests - that means real attention to each guest. There are also NO prices on the menu. This would normally make us really nervous, but the dishes sound so amazing we don't give it a second thought.

To get our appetites started we were presented with some tasty bits: a pair of blanched green beans in herbed olive oil, a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar that was the consistency of maple syrup (sweet, tangy and perfect), a toast crisp and fresh ricotta cheese piped into a proscuitto di Parma roll up. It makes me hungry just thinking about how each small bite complimented the other. This was the third sign that this was going to be an unforgettable meal.

I started with the Zuppa Porcini con Farro e Castagne (Porcini Mushroom soup with Farro and Chestnuts). Does it really get more autumn-y than that? I think not. Gus started with a trio of goat cheese served with sweet onion chutney and grappa. The soup was phenomenal! I spent about 15 minutes enjoying it and trying to break down the ingredients so I can replicate it when we get home. It was heavenly, each ingredient complimented the other and the aroma was fall in a bowl. I could have eaten a pot full. Mmmm...I get all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it.

The goat cheeses on Gus's plate were from local farmers. Each had it's own distinct flavor and texture. One was fresh and crumbly with a biting flavor. Another was smooth, salty and creamy and melted on your tongue. The third was a harder cheese that had a thick rind and a very pungent aroma. Each of these paired beautifully with the onion chutney and the crusty bread at our table. The Italians know their way around a nice cheese plate.

Now we didn't think to bring the camera to dinner, so there are, unfortunately, no photos of this event...but they are forever burned into my memory.

Now it's time for the main courses. I went with the simple and elegant half rosemary-roasted chicken (fresh that day) with roasted potatoes. Basic and executed perfectly - the chicken skin was perfectly salted and crisp. Gus was a bit more adventurous (I still can't really do red meat)...he ordered the braised cinghiale (wild boar). The recipe dates back to the Medicis and has the tell-tale ingredients: cocoa powder, raisins, red wine and a hint of cinnamon. The cut was lean and the braising made the meat perfectly tender. It melted in your mouth. The dish was rounded out with a broccoli timbale that was subtle enough not to upstage the boar. There was not one bit of braising liquid left. We used the bread to make sure nothing was wasted!

And as if all that wasn't quite enough we decided to be extra decadent and go for the dessert. We decided a long time ago that this was going to be my belated birthday meal as a couple. So you need to have cake, right? We ordered the chocolate cake with strawberry and mint sauces. It sounded simple, but it was divine. It was a molten chocolate cake, prepared to order (which explained why it took about 15 minutes to arrive after ordering). The sauces were homemade and complimented the cake.

And with that, dinner was over and we were happy to see that our dining experience took 2 hours! Two unforgettable culinary hours!

We retired to the fireplace and basked in the glory of the perfect meal.

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Comments

[Kendra]

use of "executed"
I'm lovin' the blog and am terribly restless for a vacation of my own. IN the meantime, I'm living vicariously (both in the food and the adventure). However, perhaps don't use "basic and executed perfectly" when talking about chicken and potatoes. "Did she just say the chicken was executed perfectly, ewww???" ;-) You guys are awesome!