Sampaguita

One of our guests left behind a copy of the 2008 Gambero Rosso guide, which I have been browsing through, especially interested to compare their ratings of restaurants which I have eaten. In browsing through the top end, I came across the Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, which is rated at 93 points, very high on their scale, but with a fixed menu price given at 320 euro vini esci. Now I have in the days of my indulgent youth eaten at some very expensive restaurants world wide, but I can't ever remember seeing one at this price, so I am really curious if any of the EG readers have eaten at this place and their opinions on the cuisine.

Oh no, its raining again and you know its hard to pretend! Yes the rain started last week, just in time to see out the Alba truffle fair and herald in the real truffle season in Piedmont. Too early to get reports from the trifalau, but I think smiles all around. Should be a good November for white Piedmontese gold.

Still very foggy, getting a bit depressive, I know that October is famous for the Nebbia but I can't remember it going on for weeks on end and the last 2-3 days it has not lifted. Rain is forecast, but it keeps slippining away. Truffes are getting scarcer and more expensive, now running 3-4 euro a gram if you can find them. The truffle dealer in Asti had a bunch last weekend, we bought some for a big guest dinner, before he sent them up to Moncalvo to supply the local dealers at the festival. Even our trifalau is finding less and less, but then its not November yet and it hasn't rained.

Hathor: locals tell me good porcini are coming from Val d’Aosta. Tim: I personally think Asti has a better selection of restaurants then Alba. Ed: We haven’t tried Piola yet, however we sent our Geneva friends who are true gourmets and come to Piedmont a couple of times a year, to try it out and report to us. For them it was very elegant, great to bring the boss or a potential father in law to, and although the food was not bad, not quite up to what they expected given the finesse of the setting. Just lacked the down home touch of the old Barolo and Co. But everyone has his or her own opinion, we shall have to try it out one day, but I may be prejudiced, as I loved the old place. For a fine dining experience with wonderful food my favourite is still Al Enoteca in Canale.

Hathor, the porcini have been virtually non-existant in Piedmont this year, my friend in Giaveno which is the famous mushroom centre near the Sacre di San Michele tells me that they got all damaged by hail, although I tend to think it has been the strange weather cycle we had this year, with rain at the wrong times. Any porcini seen in the market come from Romania or Illyria (easier to call it that then former Yugoslavia!)

Its common knowledge that many white truffles offered during truffle season at the larger fairs do in fact originate outside Piedmont. C'era una volta they used to say the Alba merchants came to Asti early in the morning to buy truffles to sell at the Alba truffle fair, now with all the smaller towns having their own festivals and local markets, they don't come to Asti any more as truffles come in from Umbria, Slovenia, Croatia etc. Buyer beware, I had a guest about to buy a white truffle from a stall at a street fair in Barolo, but when the seller realized he was with a local, he reached under the counter for the real thing, Moral only buy your truffle from a reputable dealer with a local Piedmontese friend or get your truffle fix from a restuarant who will not serve truffles unless they get fresh local ones. Ed, in fact this year in September there were suprisingly good truffles to be had, it was cool and damp, and prices were low, but we now haven't had rain for some weeks and they are becoming more scarce, although I can still find them in Asti covered market for around 2.50 a gram. we are all waiting for the rain to start, and now that the Nebbiolo vendemmia is Barbaresco/Barolo is safely in, it should start raining soon and truffles start a-popping again. And as you know, November is the real season in these parts for tartufi bianchi.

We will be staying @ La Villa - is Il Caffi(sp?) still worth a dinner? Any other good spots in the area? ←

Blissful, all good restaurants throughout Piedmont (and there are so many listed if you scroll through this forum) will be serving truffles on their menus in October and November. I personally like the smaller Osterie and Trattorie who will offer you a basket of truffles for you to pick, and then weigh it and shave it over your food until you cry uncle. They usually leave the truffle and shaver on the table in case you are tempted for more. When you are finished they weigh the truffle (if any left) and you pay for the weight of the truffle you consume. Bigger and fancier restaurants often just offer a truffle option in which the truffles are pre-shaved on the dish in the kitchen - I don't care for this as I can't see the truffle and don't know how fresh it might be (or if its a Piedmont truffle and not from another area). In Alba the best restaurants are reputed to be (but I can't personally say as I haven't eaten at either) La Libera and Osterie del Arco. If you can get out of town try the Osterie Vignaiolo in Santa Maria on the road to La Morra.

Mark, I think that it will get much better as the season progresses, and when it starts raining. Its unusual to have so many truffles and so cheap so early, but it has been cool with moist mist, but no rain yet (which is a blessing as the Nebbiolo's and even Barbera's are being picked late this year. So dar the truffles are quite small, should get bigger as the year progresses. Orange,am I would love to post pictures, just have to remembr how to on this forum.

I forgot to mention 2 other truffle events both at the Castle of Grinzano Cavour, the International truffle auction on November 9th and the Alba white truffle award on December 7th.

You know I think we ate here about 7 years ago whe we first moved to Piedmont and I can't really remember much about it, it didn't really stand out, but we were new to Piedmont. I might suggest La Ciocca in Castlenouvo Don Bosco, its a lot closer to Turin, and if not outstanding (depending on who is eating there) is very very good and it was the first place where we really appreciated truffles. You will need to book if you go on a weekend. 011-9876987

Its the begiining of October and the early pundits are wrong. This year looks like not so good for grapes, too much precipitation in late spring and early summer, lots of fughal diseases in the vines, although the Nebbiolo's are better then most and this year due to a cool September with some rain here and there, will be picked later then usual in mid-October, which is traditionally when they were harvested in the good old days before Parker and Wine Spectator dictated the market. However it is shaping up to be a very good year for truffles, the coolness and the moist conditions are already producing good white truffes and prices are down. As the season progresses and the autumn rains start it should get better, I can't wait for November! But funny enough not good for funghi, such as Porcini, the big market in Giaveno has none, apparently they had lots of hail which devastated the tubers.

Dfunghi, we have been without internet for almost 2 weeks due to a major problem with Asti's server and also this is very busy time for us so I haven't been on the forums much, I will look for your earlier post. Moncalvo truffle festival is usually very good and a big festival with all kinds of local foodstuffes and wine. I don't know Tagliole, but I saw a brochure for their autumn truffle fair and its looks a scenic almost medieval town, quite pretty. I suppoe it depends if you prefer Barbera d'Asti (Moncalvo) to Dolcetto d'Ovada (Tagliole) as your wine to go with the truffles. And of course where you will be staying.

Its autumn again in Piedmont and the scent of white truffles are in the air. This year promises to be a good year for the prized “Tuber magnatum pico” as we have had a cool September and (a lot) more rain then last year. White truffles can be found in Asti market at 2 euro a gram, which is relatively cheap. Here is a list of this year’s Truffle festivals in Piedmont’s provinces of Asti (AT), Cuneo (CN), Alessandria (AL) and Torino (TO). Festivals marked with an asterisk* are major Truffle Fairs (Fiere Nazionali) or Giornata del Tartufo, which indicate a big local festival day in which truffles are part of the whole event. ·Oct 4 to Nov 9th, every weekend, Alba* (CN) international truffle fair. ·Oct 5 - Montigliole Monferrato (AT) ·Oct 11 - Odalengo Piccolo (AL) ·Oct 12 - Montigliole Monferrato (AT); Odalengo Piccolo (AL); Bergamasco (AL); Castagnole Monferrato* vendemmia del nonno (AT). ·Oct 19 - Mombercelli (AT); Moncalvo* (AT); Tagliole Monferrato* Sapori d’autonno (AL) ·Oct 26 – Moncalvo* (AT); Incisa Scapaccino (AT); Trisobbio (AL); Brignano Frascata (AL); Sardigliano (AL); Bene Vagienna (CN). ·Oct 30 – Nov 2 - Mondovi (CN) ·Nov 2 - Montechiaro * (AT); Nizza Monferrato* Barbera & Cardo Gobbo(AT); San Damiano d'Asti(AT); Cella Monte (AL); Avolasca (AL); Serralunga di Crea (AL) ·Nov 7 – Nov 9 - Paroldo (CN) ·Nov 8 – Tortona (AL) ·Nov 9 –Canelli (AT); Costigliole d'Asti (AT); Alessandria (AL); Avolasca (AL); Rivalba (TO) ·Nov 16 - Asti* Cucina e Cantina (AT); Murisengo (AL)* San Sebastiano Curone* (AL); Villafranca d'Asti (AT) ·Nov 23 - Castelnuovo Don Bosco* (AT); Acqui Terme (AL); Montegrosso d’Asti;; Ottiglio (AL) ·Nov 23 – Nov 30 - Vezza d’Alba* Vini del Roero (CN) ·Nov 29 – Nov 30 - Casale Monferrato (AL) ·Dec 7 - Cortazzone (AT); Santo Stephano Belbo (CN). ·Jan 27 – Scagnello – black truffle (CN) Buon appetito!

I suppose we have been luckier as we did have a good rain 2 weeks ago for several days which soaked the ground. Our porcini season was also a non starter, although towns which have porcini festivals seemed to have plenty (Croatia again, or maybe Romanian imports?) . I have just been picking wild mushrooms here in our woods last week too.

The question is really will you have a car or not? If you have wheels, then you are a hop down in Val D'Aosta, well worth a day in Aosta ton, and a skip into Piedmont, which is quite adequately covered in the forum, maybe even too well - I fear sometimes maybe Piemonte is becoming to famous for its own good as a gastronomical mecca! If you don't have wheels, you will need to get through the tunnel and down to Aosta probably by bus and pick up the train to Turin (or I am sure there is a bus to Torino). Turin is a great city lots of attractions and being the capital of Piedmont, obviously has a selection of fine restaurants, although I think that some of the best are to be found in the countryside, especially in the Monferatto and Langhe hills, but a car is almost essential. None the less if you don't have wheels, you can train it to the major towns, such as Asti, Alba, Bra, Saluzzo, Acqui T, etc, all of which have great restaurants. But since you mention 10 days to wander before you take up your job, I would rent a car and base yourself somewhere central in Piedmont in Monferrato or Langhe and tour. Most of the main central part of eno-gastronomical Piedmont is fairly compact. For example here in Asti we are 40 minutes from Turin and not more then 45 -60 min from anywhere you want to go, loads of small towns to the North and South, a little further to Saluzzo and Lake Maggiore (90 minutes) or to Liguria, which you should alos check out, Genoa is one hour away too. And November is on eof the best times for an epicurean to be in Piedmont, not just for the truffles.

Hi Lexma, Thank you for sharing your Piedmont eating experience with us in such detail and from someone who lives in Piedmont fulltime and also runs a B&B/agriturismo whose guests are mainly here for their love of food and wine, may we say how much we enjoyed reading your review. I am glad that you tried out both top end restaurants and smaller osterie. We are familiar with most of the places you ate at, Tornavento and delle Posta are rated in our books are 2 of the top restaurants in the area, Rabaya is very popular with our guests as being a consistently good mid-range restaurant. With great ambience, as you said not to be compared with Tornavento, but look at the price difference too. I don’t know La Cantinella, we usually go to La Cantinetta , , I wouldn’t go out of my way, but a nice little Osterie if you are in Barolo, they ravioli stuffed with a poached egg! I am not familiar with da Renzo or dal Felecin. It’s a pity that this October’s weather was not so nice, it was very hazy for most of the month, which is not typical and this year’s virtual drought did not help the white truffles. In fact it is better to come to Piedmont in November, this is the month that local residents start eating tartufi bianchi, I am afraid that October is regarded as the time for tourists, which also means Italians from outside the area; places like Tornavento would attract wealthy Milanese and Torinese and you did mention the Porsche club outing. There was a real shortage of local truffles, in November all the better restaurants will bring you a truffle basket to choose from and shave it on your dish, not a pre-shaved in the kitchen supplement. If I might add a comment about the cheese, I wouldn’t say the French influence, true Piedmont was a border region, which straddled the mountains, and the Savoy Kingdom included both Provence and Piedmont, but Piedmont by its very nature, ringed by mountains with Alpine valleys has a large variety of cheeses both cow and goat. I would guess that the fonduta sauce you had in many places, is actually a béchamel flavoured with cheese. You would have missed the big Cheese festival held in Bra every 2 years by the Slow Food Society which draws some 400 artisan cheese makers mainly from Piedmont. Also the veal from Cuneo province is regarded as some of Italy’s finest. Another pointer, which perhaps no one told you, is that fixed price meals are quite common in Piedmont, no matter how much you may eat of the selection. I believe that it probably arose because most restaurants only have one sitting per table for lunch or dinner (you experienced how long the meals take, hence the reason the slow food movement originated here), they don’t turn over tables as in USA . And its quite common in Piedmont to go and pay at the cash desk, not to wait for the waiter to bring the bill (and with expectations of a tip, I hope you didn’t overdo this part, its not expected). My husband would like to compliment your husband on his wine taste (and his wine-budget). But did you only stick to Nebbiolo wines (Barolos and Barbarescos)? There are some very good Barbera’s as well as many other types of red wine and if you find a good Arnies, it’s a wonderful light white wine. And lastly, I hope you come back to Piedmont again, so many places to try, and we hope you write about your experiences in Turin and Bologna too. In Torino did you have a gelato at Grom, or sip coffee at the Café Torino on Piazza San Carlo? Myself I don’t drink coffee, but I go there for the ambience. add-on aha forgive me, I just found your review of Drogheria della Rosa in Bologna.

Hi Judith, yuck, I wouldn't eat them! As for why its a mystery to me, next time I talk to our trifalau I will ask him, were they dried out or fresh? Maybe they had been stored incorrectly. To me black truffles don't really have a smell at all, or not like white ones. BTW I don't think Umbria is humble! Are white truffles starting to come in down there now?

That right Saturday and Sunday only.

I Caffi is open on Monday and for Sunday lunch, closed on Sunday night. I would make a reservation if you want to eat at any of Piedmont's better restaurants on a weekend, otherwise you should be OK.

MD not to worry about weather we get more rain or not, its November and the ground is damp, foggy days and getting colder, good season for white truffles. But I hope we gets lots of rain this winter for my vineyard and orchard which really got stressed this year. Enjoy your stay in Mombaruzzo, and you must go to I Caffi restaurant in Acqui Terme while you are here. Also on the 17 or 18th, it will be a good day to come up to Asti for the November Fiere Regionale Tartufo in Asti combined with the Cucina e Cantina festival. Lots of foods and wines as well as truffles.

Its not my intention to use this forum for advertising and indeed I write for the pleasure of talking with food loving people about la cucina di Piemonte. However my husband who does our marketing says post this link, so apologies, but here it is. PS we will be putting together something like what you are looking for for next years season so watch the link. http://www.villasampaguita.com/Live/Cucina.cfm

Well we did have several days of rain last week, the ground has got a good soak and it is getting colder (doh!) as its November, still nice and sunny by day. Talking to our trifalau last night, he says that it definitely is getting better for finding white truffles, last month there really was a shortage of local truffles in what SC calls the zone. As of now the price of the white truffles will depend on the size of the truffle (the bigger the truffle the higher cost per gram as big ones are rarer then small ones) and where you buy from. For an average white truffle say 10-20 grams, from the truffle hunter direct 3-4 euro a gram, at a local truffle market 4-5 euro a gram, at the restaurant 5-6 euro a gram. In Alba also you will pay around 5-6 euro a gram too at the truffle fair which runs for one more weekend.

This is not true, I would say almost the reverse, go to Alba in November AFTER the truffle fair is over, all the tourists have left, the Umbrian and Croatian truffles have gone home and in fact everyone in Piedmont knows that November is better for (white) truffles then October or at least nowadays, and especially this year when the weather has been so dry (still) and white truffles are still scarse. Of course I am being somewhat facetious about the truffle fair, its still a great spectacle and the smell of truffles pervades the town every weekend. You know that there are local truffle festivals somewhere in Piedmont evry weekend from October to December, I I posted a list sometime back Piemonte Truffle Festivals. Although the truffle fairs and festivals are great to visit, I would still reccomend anyone who is not an expert and doesn't spaek Italian to have their truffles at a good restaurant, where they will have their own trifulau to supply them and becaus ethey are catering for Piedmontese customers will obviuously be serving the best they can find. Most of the small trattorie and osterie let you shave your truffle selection as much as you want and charge you by the gram, at a price not too much higher then the market price. By the way thats a white truffle in my hand

Looking for a good restaurant in Piedmont is like a haystack looking to swallow a needle. There are just too many! As well as the "cheffy restaurants mentioned in PF's post and other reviews by me, its hrad to go wrong with the many little trattorie and osterie scattred all over the Langhe and Monferatto towns. I never had the fortune to eat at the old Guido's, the new one at Pollenza is more contemporary modern style of cheffy restaurant. Lidia still cooks at the Guidos at the Relais San Maurizio near Santo Stephano, however the time we ate there we were sadly not impressed, it was OK, but at the price no better then so many inexpensive osteries in the area. Tratoria Della Posta in Monforte d'Alba is closed all day on Thursdays and closed for lunch on Friday. I have heard good reviews on Giardino - Da Felicin but no direct feedback from anyone I know. Nearby at La Morra I could reccomend Osterie Vignaiolo or Osterie Veglio, both a little out of town. Or go over to Bra and eat at Boccondivino. Or (oh the lst goes on for ever..)