MMerrill

We travelled in Piemonte about 5 years ago and are returning for a short visit this May. When in Italy, we always use the Gambero Rosso guide and especially seek out the restaurants which they award their "oscar for quality and price." This has never failed to lead us to restaurants where we've had extraordinary food and drink, and has never broken the bank! One of those restaurants on our earlier trip was Antine, which we loved and from what I read is only getting better year after year. In the 2007 guide there are 5 places with this designation (an unusually high concentration for one province). We hope to try out as many as we can get to on our upcoming trip. Here they are: 'I Bunet in Bergolo (CN), Marsupino, Briaglia (CN), Villa Tiboldi, Canale (CN), Lo Scoiattoio, Carcoforo (VC), and Collavini, Costigliole d'Asti (AT). For someone on a budget, these should be good choices. So, do any of you all know any of these places? Their names haven't come up here.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=576896, http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=865190, Check out the threads you can link to above. As someone on one of them says, look up old posts by Miguel Cardoso. We were in Lisbon a month ago. and ate at Solar dos Nunes, which remains a favorite. Also Conventual, just a lovely restaurant, and the fish place in Alcantra (can't remember the name, but it's in one of those earlier posts) which remains great. Of course there are places that are closer to where you're staying - Pap Acorda in Bairro Alto is supposed to be very good. Never been, but my daughter likes it. We always shop at the wonderful grocery in the department store, Il Corte Inglese, but also at the neighborhood shops near where we stay. Seek out the wonderful Portuguese cheeses! In restaurants, pay attention to daily specials. They are often excellent and sometimes real bargains too. I'll see what else I can think of for you.

Da Vittorio is open for lunch and dinner. Closed all day Sunday and Monday night. Their telephone # is: 0925 78381. Il Vigneto is closed Monday, open for lunch and dinner both I think. Their # is: 0925 71732.

Several years ago, we had a wonderful dinner at Cantina Siciliana in Trapani. Outside Menfi, near Selinunte, we love Il Vigneto. Have always gone for lunch - it's out in the countryside sitting in the middle of an artichoke field. I recommend the selection of pastas, fried artichoke hearts (probably won't have these in the fall), grilled fish. There are a number of wineries in that area that you can visit. We visited Planeta which was great. (http://www.planeta.it/ENG/visite.htm) Settesoli is another. Da Vittorio is a restaurant in Porto Paolo di Menfi that gets rave reviews, but I haven't been there. Sounds wonderful. My favorite of the archeological sites is Selinunte, and Segesta is magical too.

"Fratelli La Buafala is a chain" Oh my, a chain! Well we were steered there by a Neapolitan native who said he grew up eating at da Michele.

We drove from Fiumicino to Naples on a Friday afternoon and the driving all the way was the worst I've ever experienced in Italy, but when we reached Naples, total chaos ensued. By the time we reached our B&B and stashed the car, we were too frazzled to go far to eat, so tried a pizza place in the neighborhood (via Medina) that the proprietor of the B&B recommended - the name of which translated to "Buffalo Brothers." Pizza was perfectly good but not out of the ordinary. Next day (Saturday), walked all around and had lunch at da Michele. We liked the look of what the policeman from Ancona who sat across from us was eating, so ordered the same thing - pizza Margherita, doppia mozzarella. This was a sublime pizza, definitely the best we had, although we did not get to Salvo (darn). On Sunday, most pizza places were closed, but we found one "vera pizza Napolitana" place near us open and went there - Lombardi a Santa Chiara. They offer more topping choices and the pizza was excellent. Clear winner - da Michele!

Does anyone have the list of new "oscar for quality and price" restaurants?

We have travelled in Sicily 3 or 4 times in March and experienced weather from balmy and sunny to rainy and cold, but always enjoyed every minute. Two years ago we stayed at an agriturismo estate owned by a producer of fine olive oil (www.becchina.com/index.htm), not far from Selinunte (my favorite temple site). Our father and daughter hosts were delightful. They love good food; will cook a meal for you, or direct you to the best restaurants and wineries in the area. At our favorite nearby restaurant - Il Vigneto - near Menfi, in the middle of artichoke fields, we've lunched on outstanding pastas and fresh grilled fish. Between these courses, we were presented with a platter of fried artichoke hearts to die for. On the road between Selinunte and Agrigento you'll pass men selling crates of just-picked navel oranges. Buy them - they are delicious! Palermo is a fascinating city which abounds with great eating opportunities. From there you could visit Segesta, Monreale and Cefalu. In late March, the almond blossoms are gone but there are fields of wild flowers all over and the countryside is green and beautiful.

Wow! Thanks for your opinion. I'm scratching La Notizia and adding Salvo.

We'll be spending 3 days in Naples later this month and plan to visit several classic pizza places as well as trattorias. Any updates? I read a review on Gambero Rosso's website about La Notizia which sounds very good. Has anyone been there? We're also venturing into Molise to Campobasso to eat at 2 Gambero Rosso "Red" restaurants there, and to Bojano where there's one. Ending up with a night at the Torre Gaia "Wine Resort" near Dugenta in Campania. These places are somewhat off the beaten track, but - what do you all know?

Check out this review in Atlantic on Vila Lisa not too far from Lagos:(http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200111/kummer). We ate there several years ago and it was fun, also inexpensive and food quite good. It's a bit hard to find and barely marked, but you could manage I'm sure. Check for restaurant reviews in this forum by Miguel Cardoso. He is right on! In Guincho, we've enjoyed Joao Padeiro for sole, which is extraordinary if somewhat expensive. Portugal is delightful. Have a wonderful time!

I recently queried the Vietnamese staff of a nail salon in Brunswick (that I was walking by) and was told to try the place just mentioned - Huong. They concurred that you have to go to Portland to find Vietnamese food. After my daughter gets here, we'll give it a try. Ghostrider, thanks for all the other suggestions too! By the way, johnnyd you sure get around! The hotel and restaurant in Christmas Cove have closed. The hotel has been torn down but the restaurant is being reopened by a group of Coveside locals - today. Looks nice. I'll check to see if Ivan Boesky's shoes are still around

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look around up the coast and if I find anything that looks promising, I'll report back. Portugal has fabulous seafood, and it's usually less expensive than here. What a treat!

You might consider visiting the east coast too, either coming or going. Several years ago we had a spectacular meal at Ristorante Ribo in the countryside near Termoli. You could spend the night in Termoli as Ribo is only open at night. We also stopped for lunch at the Locanda del Palazzo in Barile ( p.zza Caracciolo, 7, tel 0972771051 - fax 0972771051), a lovely place with wonderful food and very nice accommodations. These both are also recommended by Gambero Rosso. We spent several days in Matera and stayed in the Hotel Sassi, which is actually in the Sassi - some rooms are former caves. A delightful hotel experience! In Puglia, our most memorable meal was at Gia Sotto l'Arco in Carovigno, just south of Ostuni. Also loved the Osteria del Tempo Perso.. This is making me hungry - maybe we'll see you down there. Oh and I just saw a Gambero Rosso review of this B&B in Naples which sounds great - the Donnalbina 7 ( http://www.donnalbina7.it/english/home.htm).

We'll be in South Bristol for two months and my daughter (visiting from Portugal) is craving pho. Any recommendations, including Portland?

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1184330 Check this link. We just returned from a visit to NZ. We were unable to get to The Engine Room, but I thought it sounded worthwhile. We did have some good meals outside of Auckland.

I subscribe and my issue just arrived in the mail. Very nice. Matakana is not an area I'd planned to visit, but now I'm tempted!

Thank you all so much for the good suggestions. We'll only be in Auckland on a Sun. and Monday, so The Engine Room won't work, unfortunately. But I like the idea of taking a ferry - to have that experience and have a good meal too. In Auckland, we're staying in the Ponsonby Rd area, so all those suggestions are great. But we are willing to travel around too. We'll be in New Zealand from May 28th until June 7th and are so looking forward to meeting people, drinking great wines, enjoying the food and getting a brief taste of what the country is like. I know we're going to love it!

Thanks, all, for your wonderful suggestions. I'm compiling lists and will see what fits in once we're there. Will definitely report back when we get home mid-June. My husband has been told that there are great Chinese restaurants in Sydney. Anyone have special favorites? Thanks again, Molly Merrill

Okay, we're doing 10 days in Australia followed by 10 in New Zealand and looking for restaurant recommendations that showcase food that's uniquely good for the region - fresh, local foods - or good ethnic foods. We wouldn't exclude Temples of Gastronomy, but that's not our main focus. Where do you go to eat for reliably good food, not necessarily for a special occasion? Or which restaurants feature foods we are not likely to find in the US, or that wouldn't be as good here? We'll be starting in Melbourne, driving to Sydney, flying to Adelaide, and driving back to Melbourne probably following the Great Ocean Road. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Okay, we're doing 10 days in Australia followed by 10 in New Zealand and looking for restaurant recommendations that showcase food that's uniquely good for the region - fresh, local foods - or good ethnic foods. We wouldn't exclude Temples of Gastronomy, but that's not our main focus. Where do you go to eat for reliably good food, not necessarily for a special occasion? Or which restaurants feature foods we are not likely to find in the US, or that wouldn't be as good here? We'll be staying in Auckland, Marlbourough area, Wellington, Napier, Rotorua, Coromandel Peninsula - and visiting places in between. Thanks for any suggestions!

Check out this from Slow Travel: http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/restaurant_l...venice_dean.htm

Check out the Hotel Gutkowski on Ortygia in Siracusa - good value, great location. Look at "lovesicily" web site. Katia and Ronald used to post here. You could search back. They give suggestions about south east Sicily. We stayed at the Casa Albergo Garibaldi in Modica that they used to recommend,(http://www.casalbergogaribaldi.it/index.htm)and loved it. Sicily is fabulous. When are you going? (P.S. We are travelling to Australia for 10 days mid May, flying in and out of Melbourne. Any suggestions?)

In case you stray down the coast a bit, here's a post about a wonderful restaurant in Eboli we visited a year ago: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=879868 Paestum is also well worth a visit and there's a restaurant right on the grounds that's delightful. Has amazing crepes filled with fresh mozzarella!

D'O was certainly one of the highpoints of our trip. The food is exceptional and the chef friendly and charming. The restaurant is outside of Milan to the west and easy to drive to. We were not staying in Milan but driving from elsewhere and went for lunch. To make reservations, call between 10 and 12 am (I got up at 4:30 am in DC to do this!), but was rewarded with a fabulous lunch on our last full day in Italy. I was advised that you need to reserve 6 weeks in advance, but we got our lunch reservation about 3 weeks in advance. I would call it a "must" meal!