albiston

I always use a pizza stone and I'm really happy with the results. I've tried unglazed tiles but the result was not as good, though I have to add that the tiles I was able to find were pretty thin. I'd imagine thickness is quite important for the tiles/stone to keep the temperature they've been heated to.

Not for me thanks, and not at that price. I'm still learning about Barolo, but even I know that's not the way they're supposed to taste. Funny coincidence, a few days ago the same wine, but different vintage ('96) caused a very heated discussion on an Italian wine forum because of the 100 points it got from Parker on the Hedonist's gazzette. I was not surprised to find Italians that like this style of wines. I was a bit confused when I heard these people attack those who prefer "traditional" (whatever that means) Baroli in such an aggressive way. Is there a similar attitude between producers?

Alexander, very nice post and great pictures. Thanks. I'm curious about what you thought of Focacceria S.Francesco and the focaccia you had, I've only eaten there once but I'd love to go back and have another "focaccia maritata". The zucchini in the first pic look very much like giant cucumbers I have often eaten in Calabria. Could be a local Sicilian zucchini though.

I have cooked quite a few recipes from the first Cafe Paradiso (wheras I seem everytime I decide to buy season amazon.co.uk runs out of it). I also like Dennis Cotter's comments to his recipes, a bit too agressive to meat eatears at times but full of wit. Apart on or two uh-uh dishes the rest were a success. The only criticism I have is the excessive use of cream in the recipes, but Cotter is Irish and I'm Italian, so you can guess what I'd use instead . My favourite source for vegetable (and often vegetarian) recipes are two Italian books on the cuisine of Naples and of Sicily , comprehensive and well written but sadly not translated into English.

Franci, great tips, I'll keep them in mind once I'm in Puglia. Good to know Tonio Piceci's book is so nice, it's one of the things Iwas considering bringing back with me from Puglia. grazie mille e ciao

Readinge L'Eco di bergamo, me? I didn't want to be negative about Vittorio. I found the article on both an Italian food forum and the Italian restaurant newsgroup and thought the information should, for correctness sake, be passed on. there's two reactions which impressed me in this story: first and foremost the quickness with wich the management solved the problems. second the reaction of Italian food lovers: those who know Vittorio expressed pretty much your opinion on its quality.

After such a nice review I feel slightly uncomfortable about posting these news: Yesterday "L'Eco di Bergamo" reported of problems "Vittorio" had with health officials this week. After a control on Tuesday the restaurant was forced to close down because of hygene problems in the kitchen and in the locker rooms. They managed to fix the problems in a record time using the day of Wednesday, their normal closure day anyway, and were up and running again on Thursday. It's not too clear what the problems were. According to the restaurant it was only minor stuff. According to the ASL (health officials) the problems were quite a few: dirty work surfaces, old malfunctioning equipment, malfunctioning employees toilets and so on. It's undeniable the problems were there, since the owners admitted to it, but reading the article I almost have the feeling this was also a chance for the ASL officials to get some publicity.

In Gaja's case the price of the wine, as delicious as it may be, has little to do with its objective quality. What Gaja sells are very much status wines, like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini could be in the world of cars. Angelo Gaja himself is quite clear about this. In an interview to the European magazine Vinum he said, talking about the sale crisis of Itaian wines, his wines have nothing to worry about because: If his wine had 97 or even 95 points I doubt the price would go down that much. There'd still be enough people buying them just because they're from Gaja.

I would, like other Italians, find it indeed a bit weird but apart maybe a rised eyebrow I doubt anyone would say anything. Anyway, not as bad as ordering a cappuccino at the end of the meal . It has to do with the fact that grappa and other spirits are considered "digestivi", digestion helpers, which should therefore be served after the food.

I always thought, Squaquarone, a soft cheese from Emilia Romagna in Italy, has a very funny name. Not as funny, but 1st prize for honesty is Puzzone di Moena, from Trentino, meaning simply "stinky" from Moena. At least you know exactly what to expect.

Alberts, not only Americans. My German wife and quite a few friends, both when I was living in the UK and now in here in Germany, make jokes about the many pasta shapes we Italians use. I can't get anyone to understand why I crave for tubetti, a small cylindrical pasta shape, to make pasta e patate and pasta e piselli (potato pasta and pea pasta, two Neapolitan home-cooking classics). It's no use trying other shapes, the taste just isn't the same. There's many reasons for our pasta shape madness, many historical, but others merely gastronomical. Some pasta shapes just work better with certain sauces. A great description of the kinds of pasta with matching sauces is in Jeanne Carola Francesconi's "La Cucina Napoletana" (Newton Compton). Too bad it's been only published in Italian because it's IMO one of the best regional Italian cook-books I've come across.

Italy? Maybe I'm only being silly, but why would the above quote be the trademark of American cooking, or the fresh vegetables? I'm not arguing about the fact that the chef himself points the origin of these influences out. If he does, why shouldn't I believe him? Still, in today's global village, as Pim properly pointed out, it is really difficult to claim one influence is strictly connected to one nation alone unless you're talking about very specific recipes or ingredients. The fact that the US have been the centre of the new international cuisine certainly makes America the reference point for many chefs around the world. Nonetheless I find the points you mention in your quote as defining aspects of US cooking alone, not necessarily such. I'm not being polemic for the sake of it. I would only like to understand your point.

Fantastic report agbaber and for the nice pictures. I wanted to make just a little addition to your comment above. The chef of Enoteca Pinchiorri is Annie Feolde, the wife of Mr Pinchiorri. I don't know how much cooking she actually does nowaday but she is the one that overlooks the kitchen. so the chef is a really nice gal I thought the most expensive bottle they had was a 1985 matuzalem (6 litres) of Romanee Conti for €195.000, but I see they've topped that!

albie, you make an interesting point, which I can very well understand. As I've said before I'm very happy that the Italian eating out scene still has plenty of places serving unpretentious traditional fare. When I travel to places in Italy where I've never been before those are the places I look for to get to know the local cooking. But I find what you say about celebrity chefs revealing about the idea many foreigners have of Italian cooking, and, no intention to offend, I find it quite ironic that you talk against celebrity chefs in Italy quoting an American celebrity chef who has made his name with Italian cooking. What Batali said is BTW not wrong, actually I'm sure quite a few Italian big names agree, but the way he talks about Italian cooking, though intelligent and pretty exact, reveals he's not Italian. He tends IMO to make things quite easier and simpler than they are. I personally have nothing aginst celebrity chefs, if they're good pros who love their job and use media to get something across. A celebrity is not only the Emeril kind of figure but also the Thomas Keller one. While I'd do without Emeril any day I think the fact that Italy lacks a famous and charismatic figure a la Keller (or whoever rocks your boat) also contributes to our cuisine not being taken very seriously abroad. See, what I as Italian, and I'm pretty sure others, find quite annoying when I hear discussions about our cooking is not that foreigners prefer simple regional fare, which can indeed be delicious, but the fact that some think Italian cooking simply is not a cuisine capable of reaching certain peaks of sofistication other cuisines are known for. I've often read about top Italian restaurants on this forum and every now and then the critique would come about how these restaurants are too French-influenced. I feel that's quite unfair: there are quite a few chefs who have evolved a very personal style that often has very little to do with French cuisine, while clearly evolving from homr cooking style. But even in the case of those chefs that are indeed inspired by the French I don't really understand: if it is OK when the British have top chefs making a cuisine derived from the French (MPW, Ramsey, and so on), if it's fine when the top US chefs have developed a cuisine which owes a lot to the classical French technique, if nobody complains about the clear French influence the great Basque cooks have, why do Italian chefs who behave the same way have to be criticised? All these chefs have their own regional/national style that doesn't disappear only because they use a more refined technique. It would seem to me our cuisine is locked in this picture for many people abroad: great simple regional cooking but pretentious and unoriginal top-class dining. I know not everyone sees things this way, Bill, Deirdre and Rob have all been pretty clear, but I feel many do. If Italy had an internationally known chef I'm pretty sure more people would see things differently. It absolutely wouldn't mean renouncing to our regional dishes: we're too attached to them to let them go, they're as much a part of us as our language is. ciao

There's one little accent between a cat and a cake Actually eating cat was probably more common than people think. Fabrizio de Andre', the great Italian songwriter from Genova, sang of a levre de cuppi (roof tiles hare ) dish in his song Creuza de Ma, and, if the prejudice is true, in Vicenza probably no one would be too surprised if they got a gatto on a dish, at least not the old vicentini.

Ore, thanks for the great posts. It's a pleasure to read them, and in the case of chef Tubelli a walk down memory lane for me. Chef Tubelli and his brother have a very nice shop called Timpani e Tempura in the city center of Naples (vico della quercia, don't know the number but the street is quite short) serving a few of Tubelli's signture dishes, to eat on the premises or take away, and a lot of delicious cheese, salumi and preserves from around Italy. If anyone plans a trip to Naples it's a handy address to have. Tubelli used to be the chef of Il Pozzo a very interesting and unique restaurant in Naples, specializing in Neapolitan cooking from the XVIII (or was it XVII?) century. It was the first restaurant I went to as soon as I earned my first paycheck and I still remember it fondly. I actually always heard the story that baba' was invented by king Stanislaw of Poland who also named it baba', in honour of Ali Baba, and that the french changed the name to savarain. Anyone else?

Well, gateaux is certainly the correct term, but most Neapolitans call it (and write it) gatto' di patate. It is a dialectal expression but it isn't wrong, and if you used the French expression in Naples people would probably think you're being pretentious .

This sadly matches to my own experience with Feudi. A few years back ('98) I took part to a cellar visit organised by my local AIS (Associazione Italiana Sommelier) group. The visit had been organised by one of the AIS members who is a minor investor of Feudi. We had been promised a tasting of different wines, from the "every-day wine" line to some of the top ones produced by Feudi, guided by one of Feudi's enologists (spelling?) plus the chance to discuss about production strategies and such. The experience was very disappointing: the wines served were only those of the "every day" line (and quite a few wines less than promised) and we hardly saw anyone from Feudi's wine-makers, forget discussing about production strategies. We asked if there had been some misunderstanding but we got no comprehensible answer back. I would have hoped they had changed their way of relating to wine enthusiasts but it would seem that's not the case. It makes me even more angry since Feudi is one of the leading (if not THE leading) wine producers in my own region, Campania .

With quite some delay, here it is. Gambero Rosso June Issue digest Editorial see the thread about Italian restaurants from a few weeks ago. Wine editorial Daniele Cernilli previews the '99 Brunelli di Montalcino and gives them the thumbs up. These are wines which, in his opinion, the wine enthusiast should invest some money on even in times of economic "difficulty". Some of the wines named as a good investment: Poggio di Sotto (Palmucci), Poggione, Pietranera (Centolani) The event: Sirio Maccioni gives a short interview in occasion of the launch of his autobiography and talks about La Cirque, his views on restaurants, his plans to bring "his" Italian cuisine to Paris, and his critical views on Italy's too French-influenced new chefs Wine Bar story This month's cover story is about the wine bar phenomenon in Italy. Ranging from restaurants with a focus on wine to places serving fine wines by the glass with a few cheeses and salumi, wine bars are becoming more and more popular in Italy, since their beginning in the mid '70s. They are the natural evolution of the osterie and wine shops. A brief interview with Giorgio Pinchiorri opens this special. Pinchiorri opened his famous Enoteca in Firenze back in '72 with a concept very similar to today's wine bars. Only in '79 did Enoteca Pinchiorri start to serve food. Pinchiorri shares his wine philosophy, his new wine interest (Spain and Argentina) and his not too flattering opinion on today's wine bars. A few symbolic wine-bars are presented: - Enoteca del Gatto, in Anzio (Roma). This wine shop and now wine-bar has been one of the important players in the gastronomic "revolution" which has turned Anzio in one of the most interesting places for seafood restaurants. They've been responsible for setting up the wine list of many of the city's restaurants. - Enoteca Ombre Rosse in Parma, an emerging and young wine bar with a love for Spain and spanish wine. - Enoteca Picone in Palermo, probably the best wine shop in Sicily and a precursor in southern Italy where the wine bar phenomenon still hasn't reached the proportions seen elsewhere in Italy. - Enoteca Vanni in Lucca, is an example of a wine shop between old, with its tradition and middle age cellars, and new, with their on-line sale system. - Treviso's Vineria story is instead one of a group of wine lovers who have decided to open the wine shop of their dreams: low prices, up to 40 wines to try by the gass and a big collection of smaller producers and smart buys. - Last but not least Vinus Peter's Weinbistro in Brixen/Bressanone (BZ), the shop of Peter Kantioler, former sommelier at Pichler (Val Pusteria), offering all the best of South Tyrol's wine production. Syrah and Shiraz: GR reports on the birth "Syrah Worldwide", a network of syrah wine producers from around the world, including personalities like Michel Chapuotier (France), Lagier Meredith (USA) and Planeta (Italy). Tastings Top wines (over 30 Euro): Cerviolo Rosso '00 (S.fabiano Calcinaia), Terre di Franciacorta Chardonnay '00 (Ca' del Bosco), Fratta '00 (Maculan), Barbaresco Serraboella '00 (Cigliuti), Recioto della Valpolocella '01 (Begali), Collio Merlot Selezione '99 (Toros). Some of the best Italian whites in the category between 30 and 8 Euro Wines under 8 Euro: focus on Abbruzzo Beer: porter and stouts The chef's school. Three recipes from chef Gaetano Trovato of "Arnolfo" (Colle Val d'Elsa, SI): thyme perfumed red mullet filets with artichoke variation, lamb variation with Taggiasche olives stuffed salted potato and Brunello sauce, puffed and caramelised green apple tart with Calvados sorbet. Cheese tasting. Focus on "pasta filata" cheeses, i.e. cheeses produced with the shaped-curd method, like mozzarella. The tasting ranges from fresh cheeses, like mozzarella and burrata, to ripe ones, like caciocavallo podolico and ragusano. Books. This month's reviews: JM Smith's "L'inganno a tavola" on genetically modified organisms, the re-published Luigi Veronelli classic "Alla ricerca dei cibi perduti", P. Mazza's "I grandi vini del mondo", "Racconti a DOP" a fiction-food pastiche with stories centring on DOP products from Modena, "Primi piatti alle stelle" a collection of the best primi piatti from Italy's top chefs published by Bibliotheca Culinaria, "Cucina da mar" on the evolution and history of sea cuisine around Veneto. Health and food. This month's theme is overweight children. The role of familiar and personal habits is analysed. The negative role of TV (as opposed to more physically engaging activities) and snacking outside meals is highlighted. In Viaggio: food notes from around Italy Restaurant: Chef Marco Ceriani's Spezie (Gerenzano, VA). The spices of the restaurant name refer mainly to the ones traditional to the North Italian cooking (like saffron and nutmeg), though a "fusion" menu is offered as well. Agriturismo: Monte Pu' (Castiglione Chiavarese, GE). Aurora Giani runs this agriturismo cosisting of a former Benedictine building and the surrounding land which gives plenty of organic ingredients for the kitchen. Bar: Denis Buosi's (Varese) creations make this bar and pastry-shop an emerging address for the chocolate lovers in Italy. Artisans: In this issue highlight on the meats and salumi classics from Macelleria Carani (Bevagna, PG) and the interesting ice cream, both classics and new creative ones (like parmesan and pears, dukkah with hazelnuts, cumin, coriander and sesame) from Fatamorgana (Rome).

Adam, I think you're quite right. I've followed the thread with interest but whas a little surprosed about the comment on the bite of pasta. In general, while we Italians would scream in horror at the sight of an overcooked dish of spaghetti we don't really apply the same rule to oven-baked pasta dishes especially if fresh pasta is used, like lasagne Emila-Romagna style are traditionally made. If you use fresh pasta and the lasagne turn out sloppy there's either too much sauce or the sauce is too runny. You can cut a good lasagna, slightly cooled, in wedges, bricks, whatever rocks your boat and you should be able to pick them off the pan without sauce or pasta sliding off your piece. The whole thing should pretty much hold together.

Rob, first of all welcome to eGullet, and thanks for a very stimulating first post. Your description of what makes Italian cooking great is very well put. Certainly the richness of great local products is fundamental to this. The problem is maybe that many Italians take this for granted. We (I'm Italian too) grow up with certain tastes and they become, for many, the norm. In a certain sense we are sitting on a treasure chest but often ignore it is there. A little more self-awareness would certainly do some good. Since you put the view-point of a foreigner down so well, there's a point in your post where I'd like to share an Italian point of view. you write: I understand your point here, and certainly I'm not calling for places that serve traditional fare to disappear, but is Italian cooking only that of traditional Osterie? If I'm in Italy I certainly like to eat traditional fare but every now and then I also would like to have the chance to eat Italian top-range cuisine. I've often read on this forum that many top-range Italian restaurants monkey the French too much. The question then is: what should Italian restaurants do to reach excellence without loosing their identity?

There's a few Southern Italian versions of lasagne and they're as traditional as the one from Emilia Romagna. Just two different things. Probably the original Southern version didn't use "pasta all'uovo", just fresh durum pasta, but it does today. A more or less standard "Southern Italian lasagna" is made with: - ragu' sauce, i.e. a tomato stew with meat (often ribs) which has been cooked for hours, till the sauce turns a deep brownish red. - ricotta, often ewe's milk ricotta. - meat in any of these forms: meatballs, sliced sausages, meat from the ragu' sauce. - parmesan. - optional additions: sliced mozzarella, sliced hard-boiled eggs. These lasagne are pretty much a traditional Carnival dish though today you could find them in restaurants serving traditional fare all year long. BTW, though I lived many years in Naples I prefer the bolognbese version too

Craig doesn't Slow Food have a part in this too? After all the wine guide is a GR-SF joint effort, each going throughthe production of certain regioni. I'm sure SF does Piemonte for example.

I'm afraid that's a quite widespread opinion in Italy, at least between opera lovers. Guess it's another of our Italian idiosyncrasies: if someone has commercial success start criticising them

Batali is Italo-American and sure, he does a great job in communicating about Italian cooking. And Marcella Hazan's fantastic work needs to be mentioned too. But they're almost unknowns in Italy. And if you try to explain to Italain foodies that it is these people who carry the Italian food flag abroad, I've done it quite often, you'll get, if you're lucky, a look of disbelief. It's like a link was missing. We Italians have great food, at least I believe , but we take it for granted. If one of "our own" could show what our food is like abroad and, to us, what the world appreciates about it, we'd probably start seeing things with a bit more self-consciousness. At least I hope. I'm with you there. I really like what Slow Food does in Italy, except maybe their recipes books . Their guide is the reference I use when I look for places to eat in Italy. But don't they push for products legislation too? If I remember correctlyin '92 when the first GR came out, they were quite close to SlowFood. I never really understood why they moved apart so much. I was reading GR occasionally back then and it was full of references to Petrini and co. Four years later I picked up GR again and references to Slow food had almost disappeared. Anyone knows what happened there?