Renovating a villa, hunting for white truffles, eating and wine tasting in Piedmont, Italy
Restaurant Review - Ristorante Bovio
Restaurant Review - Ristorante Bovio, La Morra, Piedmont, Italy. I review this restaurant run by the historic Bovio family and remember my first white truffle meal a decade ago served by Mr. Bovio himself at their former location, Ristorante Belvedere, also in La Morra.
Memories come streaming back to me as I sit down for dinner with Franco Frutta at Ristorante Bovio located just outside the village of La Morra, one of the five primary Barolo wine producing villages. I remember my first experience with white truffles while visiting and photographing the famed Ristoranta Belvedere, then owned by the Bovio family, in the center of La Morra. It was a crisp autumn day in 2005 with crystal clear views of the Italian Alps on one side and the mesmerizing undulating landscape stretched out below me covered in nebbiolo vineyards whose grapes transform into the ethereal and age worthy Barolo wines. This has become my home. I have claimed this land as my own. Mr. Bovio, way back in 2005 while speaking to me, was filled with such extreme pride and passion for his region it was as intoxicating as the aroma of the giant white truffle he proudly displayed for my photographs that cold day.
Fast forward to this evening. His daughter Alessandra is now running Ristorante Bovio while her father Mr. Bovio lives above, wheelchair bound, but still greets customers with enthusiasm in the restaurant when he can. Franco Frutta and I are led to our table. The restaurant is divided into smaller dining rooms and the maximum capacity is approximately 70 seats in total. There are ten services per week which include lunch and dinner Friday - Tuesday. This is a hard reservation to get without making a reservation weeks, or even months, in advance depending on the season. The chairs are comfortable, the staff extremely efficient and polite, and the ambiance hushed with anticipation but pleasantly relaxed and convivial. There are six people working in the kitchen and four people working not the floor. Service is impeccable.
There are bread rolls and grissini on the table with a bowl of butter, the bread is somewhat dry but the grissini purchased from a pannetteria in Alba are delicious. Menus are presented along with the monstrous wine list which I study for a good ten minutes searching for potentially overlooked bottles. Wine prices are fair but by no means a bargain. We decide on our antipasti and primi and agree on a bottle of wine to begin our meal.
The wine, 2005 Valferana from the Azienda Vitivinicola Nervi located in the village of Gattinara, Piedmont, is presented table side and is simply outstanding. The wine is made with 100% Nebbiolo and aged for a minimum of five years in large oak casks. Franco Frutta smiles with enthusiasm, he is absolutely delighted to discover this wine. With the wine we are presented with a breaded and fried zucchini flour stuffed with salsiccia (fresh sausage) which my older daughter Isabelle adores. This version is very good except for the fact that they leave the stem attached which, Franco Frutta, confirms, is almost never eaten.
Our antipasti arrive and they present two stark contrasts in style. First the 'Trance di baccala su crema di topinambour e salsa di acciughe' (Slice of salted cod with cream of Jerusalem artichokes and anchovy sauce) is absolutely beautiful to look at, sits on a hot plate, and the fish is cooked to absolute perfection. The only drawback, for me, on this plate is the sprig of fresh thyme. Truth be told, I am not a fan of food served on a plate that, while edible, is merely placed for decoration. A small sprinkling of fresh thyme leaves would have been perfect. The second antipasti is the 'Millefoglie di peperoni di Cuneo con tonne e capperi di Pantelleria' (Roasted peppers with tuna, capers, anchovy, and green salad) also comes on a hot plate, has many diverse colors, but the salad leaves that surround the roasted peppers quickly wilt. The dish, although not as beautiful, is equally delicious with peppers from carmagnola that add a really enjoyable hit of heat while the salad leaves are an unnecessary extra. I savor the wine between courses.
For our primi piatti we order, without hesitation because I've never seen this on a menu although I've photographed a book on the subject (link at the bottom of this blog), 'fettuccine di farro monococco con calamaretti, gamberi rossi e triglie' (Fettuccine made with einkorn flour and served with squid, red shrimp, and red mullet). Our second primi is 'Lasagnetta di verdure autumnal gratinata su fonduta di parmigiano e basilico' (A single portion of lasagna gratin made with seasonal vegetables, parmesan fondue, and basil). All plates are steaming hot as is the food. The Einkorn Fettucine looks dry but is in fact is toothsome and bursts with brilliant seafood flavors and is served in a generous, but not overly abundant portion. The single portion lasagna also is a good size and the pasta is very thin and not dry which for me is a success. The drawback on this dish is the bay leaf on top for decoration that simply gets discarded.
Our secondi piatti arrive, almost too quickly, but expertly prepared. I have the 'Capretto di Alta Langa arrostito al forno con verdure' (Roast baby goat from the Alta Langa with vegetables) and Franco Frutta has the 'Trancio di peseta, verdure croccanti e mayonnaise di olive taggiasche e capperi' (Slice of fish, crisp vegetables and mayonnaise with taggiasche olives and cappers). The baby goat is glistening and the meat is delicate, savory, and sticky with goodness. The slice of fish is less interesting as is the sprig of rosemary topping the dish. How can we pass up dessert? I ask the waiter for ten minutes to savor the wine before we delve into the sweet course.
I can't leave without trying 'La Panna cotta con fruity di bosco' (Panna cotta with berries) and Franco Frutta orders the 'Sformato al cioccolato Gobino blend 75% con gelato al pistacchio' (Warm chocolate cake with a Gobino blend of %70 percent chocolate and served with pistachio ice cream). For the most part, until dessert, the plates have straddled between simple modern and slightly old school. The desserts are both topped with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar which, unfortunately takes away from the very well prepared panna cotta and warm chocolate cake. Additionally, there are unripe strawberries served along side for decoration. The desserts are so delicious that they would happily stand on their own.
It was a delight to eat at Ristorante Bovio. Although there were some extras that could be considered missteps on the plates, the food is served warm, very well executed, and reasonably priced, the service seamless and outstanding, and the wine list has great selections from smaller budgets to top dollar wines covering numerous vintages. I look forward to returning.
All photographs copyright 2015, Clay McLachlan
Restaurant Review - Locanda dell'arco
Restaurant Review - Locanda dell'arco, Cissone, Piedmont, Italy. We visit the well celebrated restaurant with a deep and dedicated wine cellar in the Alta Langa.
I receive two texts that are music to my ears early Thursday morning just after dropping the girls off at scuola. The first from Sara, "sure, I'd love to go out to dinner with you tomorrow, find out if Elisabetta can babysit, please." And the second from Elisabetta, "si perfetto, ci vediamo domani sera verso le 7!" Yes, our date is confirmed! In our family, clearly I am the one who is driving the interest in restaurant dining. It's not that Sara doesn't like to go out, it's that she prefers a hike or a bike ride over a meal. Me, I love both!
Immediately after hearing from Elisabetta I speed-dial Locanda dell'arco in Cissone in hopes of securing a reservation for two for tomorrow evening. My heart races as I hold the line while my mind meanders the long list of wines the restaurant has to offer. "Yes," we have a table for you. I breathe a deep sigh of relief. Thursday evening I struggle to convince Tamar that, although tomorrow night's meal will most certainly include many of Piedmont's traditional recipes, the wine list has been cultivated for more than twenty years and there will be a delicious bottle of nebbiolo for us to savor. "Whatever you like, it's fine by me, you know I will be ordering the same thing anyway," says Tamar.
Friday evening I meet Sara in the main Piazza in Dogliani where head up the hill to Cissone. We drive up the hill and park. It's a crisp autumn night with fog encircling the town and church above the restaurant. We take a short walk around town up before entering the packed restaurant. We are shown to our corner table next to shelves of enticing wine bottles. We peruse the menu and I beg Sara's forgiveness before I delve into the large volume of wines. There is no rush with service as we have the table for the entire night and the staff is busy tending a number of large groups already in the middle of service.
We order from the menu and I ask for a few more minutes to read the entire wine list. Finally I settle on an outrageously good 2004 Langhe Nebbiolo from famed wine producer Giuseppe Rinaldi located in Barolo.
We order to share, although I know full well that Sara won't try everything that we order. First we have 'Filetto di trota salmonata marinato alle erbette con limone confit al sale' or 'Marinated trout salmon filet with lemon confit' and 'Linguine all article con sumo di verdure e nocciole' or 'Noodles made with wild nettles and topped with a vegetable sauce and hazelnuts.' The Salmon trout is made in house and served in a fairly small portion and, honestly, I can't recommend this dish as it is flat and uninteresting. The handmade wild nettle pasta, on the other hand, is toothsome and quite delicious if slightly sweet, this is a dish to try. The negative for this plate and the next pasta is that they are both served on small plates which result in a heap of pasta and not a lot of thought for presentation.
For our second course, Sara orders the 'Tajarin al sugo di carne langarolo' or 'traditional thin noodles with a meat ragout sauce.' I have the ultra-traditional 'Brasato al Barolo con polenta di mais integrale "otto file," or 'Roast beef braised in Barolo and served with corn polenta.' First the Tajarin pasta. In my opinion, this was a lackluster version of this outstanding dish. The Roast beef was well prepared, the sauce delicious, while the polenta cake was clearly prepared in advance and reheated. It was savoury, but not spectacular.
The wine, on the other hand, was spectacular. It unfolded throughout the evening and had me thinking more about how spectacular and nuanced the nebbiolo grape can be and thinking less about the edible, but not spectacular food that accompanied it. I decided to order the pannacotta in order to give one last attempt with food. The small dessert arrived on a large plate which stood out to me mostly because of how remarkably small the pasta plates had been. The panacotta was not silken and smooth, but it was well balanced. All in all, I would not hesitate to return to this beautiful, homey, and warm dining room with a spectacular wine list and a hope of more precisely prepared food.
All photographs copyright 2015, Clay McLachlan