hathor

At least you've had rain. We're heading into porcini season and it's dry....dry....dry. Strange weather this year.

Hathor, Sorry to disagree with your reply. Scampi has absolutely nothing to do with the size of a shrimp because it is not a shrimp. From Venice to San Remo, from North to South, scampi is scampi and shrimp is shrimp. Scampi is from the lobster family. In French, it is similar to langoustine. Gamberi is very similar to the French crevette, which are shrimp. They are both crustaceans, but that is it... not similar in taste or texture. ← You are absolutely right. But...to an American, it's a big shrimp with claws. What can I say? Americans can be silly sometimes.

OK, here's a new new thread where we can talk about tradition and change. Tupac, in Italy, scampi refers to the size and type of shrimp. "Shrimp scampi" is an American dish. Just like spaghetti and meat balls is American.

We veered off topic on another thread, and wound up discussing something that has much wider implications. When does one cross the line from traditional regional cooking to non-traditional? How do you serve very traditional dishes and still push the flavor envelope? Is there any reason to cook totally traditional dishes, if you want to be a cut above a trattoria? Can a restaurant attain and/or maintain "stars" cooking completely traditional, regional foods? At the moment, I'm most intrigued by what's going on in Spain. Now, I have not tasted the food, I've only experienced them through Docsonz's eyes and words and other research on my own, but there seems to be a connection, a grounding to the traditional foods while they are expanding the limitations of those dishes. To me, it's critical to know, understand, appreciate the foundations of regional cooking before you go blasting into the kitchen. I've wrestled for 2 seasons with how to sophisticate the classic combination of melon and prosciutto. I've tried pulverizing dried prosciutto, I've tried melon sorbetto, melon aspic...but nothing comes close to the texture and flavor contrasts of the original dish. For me, this exemplifies what I try to do in the kitchen....respect the original dish, while attempting to seduce the diner with a new rendition that is equally satisfying. I haven't found the answer yet, but that's ok, the journey to finding the answer is a pleasant one. I don't think it is 'enough' to constantly remake the traditional dishes, even if you use the finest ingredients and the purest, most classic preparation techniques. Traditional dishes sprang from the ingredients and techniques that were available at that moment in history. To me, it's ok to now push the boundaries with new preparations and techniques. I don't want to work in a food museum, if you know what I mean. edit to add link to Docsconz's topic

What a lovely name for a book, evocative. I'm still yearning to get to Sardinia, but there never seems to be the time....

OK, while I'm soliciting opinions: We have a little, very local magazine that gets distributed to all the stranieri (foreigners). It has a fair amount of influence and exposure with foreigners who live here. It probably gets delivered to the local agrotourismos, etc. They came for dinner last night, 2 people from the magazine and 2 friends, for a 'social' evening. We comped them on the wine ($$ expensive wine) and desert. They then explained that they are now doing restaurant reviews, and that it costs 450,00 euros to have your restaurant reviewed....and she's a vegetarian...in Umbria. She did let me know that they were impartial, and did give some bad reviews, but that they submitted the review to you prior to printing. Am I crazy, or is this just about the strangest 'review' situation you've ever heard of?

Thanks!!! Rucola is arugula is rocket. Depends on where you live. It's a thin, peppery tasting green that is used a lot in Italy.

And now the moment you've been waiting for! A picture of some food! We had 2 little kids eating in the garden last night and we got a little silly. The funniest part is that they both wouldn't eat their Mr. Tomato heads and walked home clutching them in their little hands. Very cute! Here is one the menu covers. Sorry, it's a funky scan of the menu. But we have 3 menu covers: one with a square hole, one triangular, and one round, each shape has 3 different photographs either taken by me, our son, or Claudio and one by Jeff. The photos are either of places in town, or of food that we've grown or use. These radishes were our first harvest of the season from Corlo. We have some very interesting art on the walls, either paintings by a local artist friend or photos that my son has taken. I'm hoping to post some of the art on the restaurant web site. Although, take a look at this: Emilio, our friend and local artist, created these metal diavolos that are positioned way up high on the walls. I think there is a photo of Emilio working on the installation somewhere up thread. I love them, but they are certainly a bit eccentric! I'm beating around the food bush, but I have a reason. I'm not happy with any of the food photos that I've taken. The lighting is operating room bright and white and not very conducive to good photos. But here you go: One of our most popular antipasto's is the Insalata Tiepida, which is a bed of rucola, covered in warm sauteed in porcini and grated pecorino cheese. Another popular dish is the Filleto in a Grand Marnier sauce. We serve contorni (vegetables) on the plates, which is somewhat unusual in Italy. Frequently you need to order the vegetables separately. As soon as we have some time, I really would like to photograph more of the dishes. The "as soon as we have some time' list is pretty long though.... Happy Labor Day Weekend to all you Americans!! Ciao-ciao!

I hope somebody has some inspiration because we always wind up at the dumb Autogrill!!!!

The road to Urbino is gorgeous, over a mountain pass....and it's about a solid hour of driving on switchbacks. Unless you have a really strong stomach....plan on eating when you get to Urbino! I can't recommend any specific place, but we always eaten very well just stumbling in to a trattoria. Eating seafood in le Marche is a real treat, as Tupac said, because here in Umbria, we eat MEAT! Can't wait to see you!!

that might work... Then again, it would blow Jeff's cover. He let's the english speakers struggle for a moment or two, and then asks, in his finest NY/Brooklyn accent, "Can I help you with the menu?" Gets a good laugh every time!

This should be a whole new thread: what is a Super Chef? Just a marketed brand? Boh. I have had sublime meals at starred restaurants, tastes that I will never forget. So, I can't dismiss the top tier so easily. But, I'm a trattoria girl, at heart. We are trying to achieve a casual elegance balance at our restaurant...good food with a relaxed, fun atmosphere, and it's a balancing act for sure. As far as smells from the neighbor's windows...you bet! I'm all ears when Luciana tells me how she prepares her trout. Luciana is an older woman in town, who sprouts the most amazing white hairs from her chin mole....you know the type! Now, after rambling, I guess what I'm saying is that their is room, and a time and place for all styles of cooking. And now to go on topic: nothing here is convincing me to try Vissani.

Can't eat chocolate? I'm so sorry! I can't imagine life without chocolate. Thanks for the information. ← It's a migraine trigger...so it's sort of like an electric fence....after getting shocked, you lose your desire. But, the good news is that I can still drink red wine!

But sparkling wine of carrots, sounds so much nicer than fermented carrot juice! I know what you mean about being weary, but when traveling, translating is part of the deal. I have very mixed feelings about all of this, and I doubt there is one definitive answer. The plain text menu is an option that we could explore. I met 2 lovely Australian ladies yesterday who were outside the restaurant, and they were explaining to me the stress they felt when they couldn't translate a menu. To me, it was always fun...not stress. But, that's me. We had a house guest once who just couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that she was in a real foreign country, and not some Disney land version of a foreign country. One of those, if I say it louder, they will understand me types. We went to a cafe-bar, and there was a newspaper laying on the table, she picked it up, glanced at it, threw it on the table and said, "How do they expect me to read this?" Traveling where you don't speak the language is always an adventure. Somewhere on eG there is a thread about embarrassing gaffs.

I can't eat chocolate... so, I've never been to the festival. But...the press coverage is extensive and looks like you would certainly be entertained for 2 days. Besides, Perugia is just a lovely city with a great museum. And we are only 20 minutes north of Perugia!

No. I think that you are dead right. Olives are a pivotal flavor in a dish...unless you only get 1 olive. I've had downright bizarre conversations with our italian partners in regards to vegetarian issues. Umbrians in particular simply don't understand why anyone would be vegetarian. I'm not taking sides on the issue, I'm just stating a fact. They seem to feel that if the predominant ingredients are vegetables, who would care if some meat was thrown in. It's a cultural thing, but it's been a difficult thing to explain. Then again there was a customer who declared she was a vegetarian...except for lamb that was raised in a nearby field. She saw the lamb eating grass, and explained to us that this was why it was ok for her to eat.

All good points, and I'll bring a menu home tonight to scan and post. Oh....we're multi-lingual...Jeff speaks one lingua, and Martina can cover in Italian and French...and we all do amazing sign and sound language. We're small...so we can cover for each other. Ok....what about this: we make a pesto with multiple nuts. The Italian words for mixed nuts is "frutta secca" which sounds like dried fruits. We don't want to list all the nuts....so for now, we are going with Pesto al Erba Luna, which doesn't really help a diner in making his choice. We like to have conversations with our customers...it's Italy after all... but how do you feel about a generic description like "al Erba Luna"?

Grazie Tupac!! You must be nearing the end of the journey....are you still skinny?? What a fantastic summer you have had! Judith

Expect crowds! Its a very popular festival, and can be crammed with people! Be sure to book a place to stay...as in, book now. If there is something specific that you wanted translated, pm, ok?

Ciao Naftal. You have neatly summarized our philosophy in having an Italian only menu. We just felt that it would encourage a rapport between us and our customers. I was hesitant at first because most of the restaurants in our area are dual language, but I think that we made a good choice. presbyopia ? Is that what happens to you old people where you start needing longer arms?? Our menus must be too pretty...they keep getting stolen! Ask for a menu if you want a souvenir....I'll even autograph it!

We wrestling with our menu descriptions and I'm curious. Do people like to see every ingredient listed? Do romanticized descriptions intrigue you or turn you off? And if you are traveling in a foreign country (say Italy)....do you want an English menu or is it more fun to learn and experience the language? I'm a fan or short, no nonsense descriptions with just a key ingredient(s) listed. There is a restaurant in Philadelphia, has the word cat in the name, but I can't remember the name of the restaurant...that has to win the award for longest menu descriptions. What do you appreciate in a menu? Other than print large enough and bold enough to actually be readable.

So, Culinista, are you saying that I shouldn't squander my one day off on visiting Vissani? Hardly sounds like it is worth it.

OK! OK! I get the message...I'll take some photos of food. The problem is that I don't have time to stop and take photos. When we are hopping, there isn't time to say, oh can you wait a moment while I change my lens? Actually I'm hoping to get my son back over here to do some photos for us. He did a series of photos that we have on the walls, and I'd love for him to do some food shots as well. But, the damn kid is working like crazy in Philly and has no time for his mama. (I'm just grousing...I am so thrilled that he is working!!). Ed, I totally understand what you mean about developing the stamina and strength. It's just like anything else, you need to develop that 'muscle memory', and you use up so much more energy when you are learning something than when it is second nature. But what fun is life if you are not learning something new? ciao!

Red pepper flakes are a commonly seen item. You just lucked out at a place that was feeling a bit more 'snob'. (any deviation from plain-old can be construed to be 'snob'....I'm just the reporter...I don't have a good answer about why). We used them a lot in the Marches, and yes, you will find them in Abruzzo. Black pepper mills are a bit...'snob'. At least in my neck of the woods. They are there for stranieri...not many locals ever ask for pepper.

I live in rural Umbria...my food choices are limited. Or, let me say, my 'international' food choices are extremely limited. We can get some stuff in Perugia, but compared to what I'm used to in NY..... well, it just doesn't compare.