cinghiale

Went last night, and it was pretty hopping for 9 PM on Easter Monday -- there was a crowd of waiting diners on the street, and our party of four waited about 30 minutes for a table. The pizza was quite good -- proscuitto/arugula, which arrived without the arugula ("Sorry, we're out") and an anchovy & something. Thin-ish crust but not really charred, unfortunately. I had the spaghetti cacia e pepe. It came with small mountain of parmesan heaped atop. The dish was rather dry -- that is, until I worked my way halfway through and discovered the, well, sauce pooled at the bottom of the bowl. It certainly benefitted from mixing the sauce with the pasta, but isn't it supposed to be plated that way? Another of us had tagliatelle grecia (I think -- I couldn't really see the board well from where we were sitting) -- spicy tomato-guanciale sauce. A straightforward salad, a plate of olive all'ascolana, a bottle of the decent house wine. In all, a pretty enjoyable meal for €58 -- markedly less than the cost of the few negronis and GTs we had at the cafe in front of the Pantheon before eating (I know, but I didn't think it would be as pricey as it was). And I didn't really notice any non-Italians, but the hour was late.

Can someone please 'splain me? Is it, like, turducken? OK, name one. Being an avid reader of the posts of the venerable robert brown, I can only assume this must be tongue-in-cheek. I'd have put it, "In Italy, one departs the table for the reception, confirms the items consumed with the host, and settles the bill. In France, cultural dicates require a pas de deux of delicate proportions to pay the check. At least we have truck stops, in which such cultural relics are no longer observed." Amen.

I'd augment this with types of cuisine in which a cook is not entirely conversant. For instance, I'm planning a large Easter celebration, and my point of departure was (i) I want to prepare Greek food, and (ii) I want to roast an entire lamb. I opened up Kochilas (The Glorious Foods of Greece), and there in the index was a wealth of Easter cooking information – even on a region-by-region basis. And several ideas for roasting a lamb, including stuffed. A mention of one technique or ingredient has you paging back and forth, and quickly you have a good sense of how to compose a meal that is fairly "authentic" (i.e., traditional ingredients, spices and preparations). I'd suggest that this would be much more difficult using the internet alone. The same holds true for me with, for example, Basque or Indian or Südtirol or Umbrian cooking, where I know a few dishes each. When I want to make a dish I remember from a region-specific cookbook, I always learn more about that cuisine just by paging through to the recipe. Again, sifting through the internet would I think be much more time-consuming and perhaps ultimately less satisfying and instructive.

Maybe it's the fact that the shack/slider culture has remained vibrant. Maybe it's the true awesomeness of the Detroit slider. Dunno, maybe it's in the DNA. Me, a like a griddled burger. I never eat 'em grilled (out-of-house, anyway), and Detroit suits my fancy in that way.Re traveling: When I travel, I just search the local board for burgers and always get plenty of recs (that's how I found Greene's, inter alia). Here are a few that remind me of my home state: Vermont, near Vergennes ("Michigan" is what them theres call a Coney Island. The ones I've sampled are passable but nowhere near Lafayette OR National): Vermont, Northern Kingdom: New Haven, CT (the late, lamented Doodle, which IMO stood head and shoulders above Louis' Lunch): North Jersey (steamed and amazing -- see here) Washington, DC: The very personable Ollie makes a respectable burger. Way better than the product peddled at the sorely lacking outpost of the Billy Goat on Capitol Hill, which I sampled 30 minutes later. Chicago: Muskie's is very Detroit, but their burgers didn't hold up. I also had a dog. It, on the other hand, fulfilled expectations. Maybe a Great Lakes dog/burger thing is going on. Slightly closer to home -- Flint: Poor Halo has seen much, much better days. Reminds me of the same fate enjoyed by Lud's in Alpena, where I grew up: And just in case you may have forgotten...

Agreed.I hit either Bray's or Miller's Bar every time I fly into Metro. And if I can swing it on the way back down from Up North, I take the long way back to Metro and stop at Greene's. But hey, I like burgers, and Detroit's way rock.

Very, very nice report, tupac.

Perhaps it's a modern-day equivalent of "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" or, more recently, "I need Amada Hugginkiss" -- only potentially much more costly to the called party.

I've been having good luck with TCI's Trattorie d'Italia. As Maureen notes, TCI guides are directed at motoring. Still, I've discovered little gems that are due passi from the highways I often travel along, never having known they were there. And all entries are cheap, coming in at ca. 20/35 (for L/D) (prezzo medio di un pasto completo bevande escluse) (lower for rural joints). For Rome conoscenti, here's TdI's listing: * Augustarello * Campana * Da Armando al Pantheon * Dal Cavalier Gino * Da Sergio * Da Vittorio * Fabrizio * Gnegno * Hostaria Unione Sarda * La Danesina * Matricianella * Osteria del Velodromo Vecchio * Osteria St. Ana * Ponte della Ranocchia * Sora Margherita * Tram Tram * Trattoria Cadorna dal 1947 * Trattoria del Ragioniere * Trattoria Monti * Zampagna

Not a fuss, rather information for those of us who actually live in Italy. Invective really isn't constructive to this or any other dialogue (i.a., in the flour post as well). But next time you're in your "old country", please do have a look about and let us know where we can find the diversity of raw milk options of which you speak. Raw milk (and products made from them) have generally been banned in most of the necks of the woods in which I have lived.

I've recently started buying raw milk here. It's sold at little self-serve shacks -- sometimes found standalone in the middle of nowhere, sometimes in grocery store parking lots. They're quite simple to use: You can buy 1 L plastic bottles from a dispensing machine that's identical to those used for snacks (or you can bring your own). Pop in €0.20, and out comes a brand-new plastic bottle instead of a Twix. The milk costs €1/L, considerably less that the going rate of about €1.50/L here. Drop in the coin, and a window opens. Some machines have you hold the bottle under a spigot while filling; with others, you set the bottle on a shelf, the window closes and the bottle is filled (these machines then automatically rinse the dispensing area between each use). There are paper towels available to wipe of any drippage. Signage prominently advises the buyer of the delivery and expiry dates, stating that the milk should be consumed within 48 hours (I've kept it a day or so beyond that). And there are the usual warnings to boil the milk before consuming, which likely anyone buying it understandably ignores. The milk is delicious. It makes for a very creamy cappuccino. I used my first L to start a buttermilk culture, which I've kept going for about a month now. With buttermilk, I can make (in addition to the usual suspects) sour cream, which is utterly unavailable here – it's incredibly easy to make and it completely blows away anything I've had from U.S. supermarkets, even the pricey stuff at Whole Foods. There are over 1,000 of these machines all across Italy. You can find a local distributore at Milk Maps (the map wasn't working too well for me this morning, but then again I'm only getting 28.8 kbps on my dial-up right now). And FYI: for making buttermilk and sour cream from raw milk, try here.

It's only coincidental that I'm from Philly and like Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I buy it here all the time, use it for schmearing on toasted pane sale with a bit of jam. It costs about € 2.50/tub (really not a bad import mark-up), and when I find it on sale, I stock up. So it was that my eyes widened when at my local Standa this evening I checked the dairy case for Phill-Wee and found, replacing the standard item, the Yo!(.) There was an obvious insert beneath the plastic cover but over the foil wrap, so I figured it was a markeing gimmick. As I tossed two tubs into my basket, I thought "Thank you, Marketing Guy from Kraft Foods. That's a brilliant ad campaign." Yo, as anyone from Philly knows, is the (now fairly cross-cultural) standard greeting. Get home, make myself a schmear, and -- lo and behold -- it's a "YO-gurt-fied" version of the perennial household favorite. "Scheit!", I thinks, "This is, like, sour cream cheese -- not bad, but not good either." Check the label, and sure enough, it's the Philly Cream Cheese version of yogurt. And it's sorely lacking. I checked the Kraft Foods website, but "Yo!" gets only four unrelated hits, and three of those are recipes (from the Love to Hate city, undoubtedly). Anyone out there tried it? If so, opinions?

A Times piece seems to confirm this: One reason: Yet:

Avoine, says my translator tool. Yeah, brûlée d'avoine definitely sounds like an $11 dessert now, particularly with all the funny accents.

One (1) shortrib spanakopita -- excellent One (1) fried calamari -- disappointing One (1) pork chop -- odd flavor combo One (1) fish o' the day -- error in service, though good One (1) dessert Four (4) drinks, of which at least one was sangria $185 incl T/T Given the economy, Obama shoulda called out the restaurateurs along with the investment bankers...

Count me among the confused.Having just purchased an oven after six months, I'm anxious to get about baking. I read through this and related threads on Italian flour, went to the store, and spent 15 minutes trying to make sense of the variety of flours (and other baking items, which I'll post about later). I came home with: * Lo Conte's "farina '0' Manitoba", which the packaging claims is good for babà, pizza and pan brioches. * Lo Conte's "farina '00' per pane in casa", which the packaging claims is good for tutto pane. I opened both packages, and the '0' was much finer than the '00', almost like starch. After some head-scratching, I studied the packaging more closely. Both had, in small lettering above the farina descriptor the wording "mix a base di". On to the ingredients and nutritional labels: * the farina '0' Manitoba is composed of "farina di grano tenero tipo '0' 80%, farina '00', farina di malto", plus the E300 preservative. Its protein content is 12.5 g. * the farina '00' is composed of "farina '00' (88%), semola di grano duro rimancinata, fecola di patate, farina di lino (2.4%), lievito madre naturale disidratato, destrosio, farina di malto", plus the E300. Its protein content is 13.0 g. My questions: 1. What is the relationship between gluten and protein? Does lower gluten necessarily mean higher protein? How do these factors relate in hard wheat vs. soft wheat? This article in wiki confused me still further. 2. Bearing in mind Judy's comment, when people here refer to refinement or extraction in conjunction with protein and gluten content, doesn't that mean that the most refined -- i.e., '00', I assume -- should be the finest, i.e., least granular. Does that make it higher in gluten than less refined? Higher in protein? The chart linked to above had '00' as the lowest in gluten. 3. If the '0' is 80% '0' and the '00' is 88% '00', why is the '0' so much finer than the '00'? 4. Is there such a thing as, and can one buy, pure '0' Manitoba? If so, who manufactures it (other than the nice-looking flour milled by Rieper, linked to above, which I probably can't get down here)? 5. Same question for pure '00'. 6. As for the '00', I assumed that the "per pane in casa" meant that it's the correct flour for bread-making, since I also found flours that advertised prominently that they contained yeast, ready to mix and bake, it seems. I rejected those since I want to control that part myself. I only discovered that Lo Conte's did, too, after reading the label, and that it contained a bunch of other stuff I don't want. Any idea why the back-of-the-package bread recipe would have explicit instructions on how to add the yeast when there is already yeast in the packaged flour? That just seems crazy to me. (They also note that it's preferable to use fresh yeast, but I have yet to find that here in my neck of the woods.) edited in effort at clarity

My gf had dinner a few weeks ago at Mascarino in the University quarter (via Mascarella 5/a, 051/235424) and really liked it. She also thought Da Gianni (via Clavature 18, 051/229434) looked good, but she couldn't get a table. Dunno if either is open right now, though.

Braised lamb steaks with some of the fresh anchovies last night. Sauteed onions, added anchovies. They don't disintegrate like the cured variety. Added steaks, chicken stock, and white wine, braised for one hour. Decanted the braising liquid, removed the fat, and made a sauce from the stock. Quite good, with the anchovies flavor a tasty highlight without being overpowering. Have several other filets curing in lemon juice and will make tramezzini with hard-boiled eggs later. I'm thinking of turning the remainder into polpette and will report back on results.

Got handed a couple of pounds of fresh anchovies last night, and I need help. I'm thinking: (1) A few tramezzini (thanks, Sam). I've got 10 freshly boiled eggs that came straight from the farm. That'll take a couple of filets. (2) I've got two lamb steaks in the fridge, so I could try Judith's suggestion, but I'm not sure that fresh would have the same effect as cured. (3) I'll steam some, ala Judy. Thanks for that. (4) Bagna cauda sounds good, but do fresh work in it? Also, most recipes call for just 8 or 10 filets. I've got a couple of pounds of cooked cardi in the fridge, plus cauliflower, peppers, onions, etc., so I could whip it up w/out heading to the market. (5) Eating lots of chard and broccoli rabe, so could cure some to use later. (6) How about alici in polpette, using potatoes for body? But again, would fresh anchovies be lost in this?

I ate at Caminetto d'Oro on a December 26.

Lord, the irony (or is it sarcasm?) is killing me.I'm with Mitch. I like a little Led for the head with my pot, just not with my lamb's tongue, Mario. I'm getting old, I guess; I like being able to talk at table without having to shout.

Dale is too kind: Foligno is hellishly difficult to negotiate. This little backwater is poorly planned, poorly signed, and has a grid managed by a roadworks department that has too much money and too little brains. Returning to Marche from Rome this evening, and having been turned away by Moreno at Taverna dal Pescatore at 7:35 for being too early (silly me, having patted myself on the back for finding it in the dark), I remembered Dale's recommendation of a place near the Foligno train station. "Let's just jump of at Foligno, navigate down to the train station, and see what's what," I said to Kate. 30 minutes of back-and-forth, loop-de-loop, "but it said this way for stazione" as we're being shunted off a rotary in a barriered lane for something like the fourth time, we found the train station. What with cold, aggravation, and hunger, we weren't feeling too adventurous, and I hoped that the "Alexander" or whatever name it was trattoria across the street was what Dale had recommended. The prices were certainly great. But after ten minutes of waiting along with four other 2-tops just to get the waitress's attention, we split. Back at the train station, we asked for a recommendation. Barmaid points across the street. "Yeah, but don't have two hours for dinner, though," I said. "Well, you need at least an hour to eat." Right. Any other suggestions? She just shook her head, and we headed for home. After a couple of more circles about the center, we spotted a döner place and popped in for an enjoyable sandwich and a beer.

For those of you with a print subscription to the New Yorker, this week's food issue features a piece by Mimi Sheraton on brodetto, with a focus on Le Marche. She's escorted to the Ancona fish market by Gianni Giacani, the amiable owner of Hostaria Santa Lucia, mentioned upthread. For those of you forced to deal with the distinctly problematic digital version of the magazine, try here. Good luck. I'm on dialup and was only able to enlarge to a readable size the first two pages and can only surmise that there is good information in there. If anyone's willing to fax me a photocopy (I have a U.S. fax number), I'd greatly appreciate it. ETA: Seems Mimi dined at da Dario in Porto Recanati. In July, I ate next door at Le Voci del Mare on a tip from a Senigallian who installs restaurant kitchens for a living. LVdM is not as pricey as Dario, which counts as more "in" though has "excellent" brodetto, according to my friend. Also, locals are reputed to prefer the fish at lVdM. We were advised to try the guazetto, a stew version of the brodetto. We were four and ordered for two. Jeez Louise -- two huge padelle (think paella pan), one with the fish (as described in the article -- triglia, san pietro, monkfish, etc., plus the very ugly testa, which I think is gurnard) and a second with the shell fish. All in a hearty broth into which you dunk bread. Those following Sheraton's moshus might be advised to turn right at Dario (but don't think of parking in their little parcheggio!)

I haven't eaten at Anna's, but I have had Portonovo moscioli at da Gino, across from the Ancona train station. They are truly amazing, allegedly wild -- sumptuous and flavorful. Everytime I remark how good they are, the owner produces a flyer from the cooperative, which I can't seem to locate online. I found instead Petrini's report for Slow Food.

Unsure if the OP's request for "modern" or "contemporary" restaurants refers to the decor (i.e, dated) or the food. That being said, I heartily second Culinista's recommendation for In decor and cuisine, it's modern in a retro sorta way. The OP has likely seen the archived threads on Amerigo, like this one. Following on Mitch's foam comment, fortedei put it best with Amerigo: And the accompanying Design Inn is quite contemporary, as far as lodgings go.

Portonovo is one of my favorite beaches, as it's relatively un-bagno-fied (at least on the Clandestino side of the tower). We usually plomp down right below the restaurant. Funny, but as I've heard mixed things about it, the most I've gotten there is a beer. Being a Cedroni operation, it's also quite pricey. There are other options in Portonovo and its environs -- but of course those wouldn't be sushi. And your right, Judith: they're open only during the season, from mid-May or so through August. Their website is here.