Pretty colors on the panna cotta. But I'm curious about your statement, "how the opposition between tradition and modernity can be simply stepped over". To what effect? What has been achieved?
Maybe it's because of the disclaimer about the panna cotta loosing it's essential wobble.
Or the sparse agnolotti on the plate, which unless you ate very rapidly meant you were eating cold pasta.
I usually bristle a little when someone says "Italian cuisine" because there is no homogenized Italian cuisine, it's regional cuisine. But.. when you insert 'modern' into the equation, maybe there is a place for the development of a culinary national identity.
Hi Hathor, I hesitate a little to go back to the vexed issue of tradition vs modern...
Personally, in Torino I felt very clearly the difference between 'unreconstructed' places and places that have embraced the modern world while still serving the classics. If I could just take you around and show you it would be so obvious. I am not only talking about high end places like Crippa's. If you have the chance, go to Consorzio (Via Monte di Pieta'), a fantastic value trattoria (tasting menu 30 euros) that does all the old Piemonte classics with modern lightness, eye for presentation and small extra original touches that show understanding of flavours (talking about pannacotta, theirs is the best, served in three small portions, each topped by a small amount of different sauces of different acidity - e.g. barolo chinato, orange..., a gem).
Back to high end, the Crippa Agnolotti had all you might want from traditional agnolotti, plus an elegant presentation and the elimination of any stodginess, an absolute precision of flavours and a number of small touches, such as the crumbly dimension, that for me make this a great dish to eat. As to your remark on temperature, no: the plate was very hot and the service was performed efficiently, which means that the pasta didn't get cold - it got colder in some traditional places were it was served in the napkin, as tradition wants it...
OF COURSE there is an Italian cuisine, it may be regional, but it is Italian. When I go around the numerous 'Italian' London restaurants I immediately classify them as true and fake Italian. It may be a factor difficult to express in words, but it is there. Crippa for example may be 'internationalised' but his menu could not be described as anything but Italian.
