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Erba Luna


hathor

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Ciao Rgagazi!

My apologies for the long absence. I got double whammied: my internet has been intermittent ( oh, gee, what a surprise!!  :blink: )  we've been busy, oh and Chufi came for a visit!!  :biggrin:  :biggrin:  :biggrin:  Chufi was here with her husband, and we had a fine time!

Weinoo, thanks.  :wub:  :wub:  :wub: Your kind words and support are truly appreciated. Not to mention that it was really fun to have you and Ms. Weinoo stay with us.

I'm sort of thinking of opening up our house as an eGullet B&B.  The house would be a private b&b, buy youmust you be an eGullet member. You don't have to pay, just bring us treats to eat.

Mitch brought lovely cheeses, wine, salumis and LIMES!  Chufi brought this amazing cumin/clove scented cheese and some killer wine, and some salty Dutch licorice, and some spices. Swisskaese is coming next week, and she is promising us N.African spices. Now, is this good luck, or what??

Karen, I Call the Duck....we better see you next year! We are about 1/2 hour from Arezzo, which is one of our favorite small cities. What Philly treats can you bring? Cheese steaks don't travel very well.  :laugh:  :laugh:

Kelly, reservations are appreciated, but not a requirement. And if I get to finally meet you in person, that would just be wonderful!

Oh, you're so welcome - you two are the most gracious hosts ever - both in the restaurant and in your home!!

Maybe a cheese steak would go over big on the menu - just don't tell Claudio!

Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

Tasty Travails - My Blog

My eGullet FoodBog - A Tale of Two Boroughs

Was it you baby...or just a Brilliant Disguise?

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Judith if you take my kid for a few days she will bring you whatever you want from NJ :blink:

more pictures.....

tracey

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

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Judith if you take my kid for a few days she will bring you whatever you want from NJ :blink:

more pictures.....

tracey

Deal! :laugh::laugh: I want corn. Real summer sweet corn. It's been 3 years since I've had any!! OK, send the kid over in the summer! :laugh::laugh:

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Alas we are dropping her in Munich in May...a packet of seeds maybe

T

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

My Webpage

garden state motorcyle association

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Judith,

No, unfortunately cheesesteaks don't travel well. That and either Mr. Duck or I will eat it along the way. Neither do pretzels. Well, they do travel well, but they'll be hockey pucks by the time they get to Italy. How 'bout cream cheese? Philadelphia is supposedly famous for it :raz: .

When we go visit my SIL, we usually bring her wasabi peas, maple syrup, and cranberry sauce. What else haven't you had in awhile?

Karen C.

"Oh, suddenly life’s fun, suddenly there’s a reason to get up in the morning – it’s called bacon!" - Sookie St. James

Travelogue: Ten days in Tuscany

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I want corn. Real summer sweet corn. It's been 3 years since I've had any!! OK, send the kid over in the summer!  :laugh:  :laugh:

Judith I have seeds left over that my sister sent last summer. PM me your address and I will send you some packages.

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Grrrr.... I need to e-mail somebody at eGullet about my wonky e-mail notification....it's totally random! :sad:

We can actually get "Philadelphia" at the COOP! It's considered sort of upscale and exotic. Odd, but true. I brought over a stash of spices and hot sauce, so I'm pretty ok for now. I've even had some limes, so I have nothing at all to complain about! :laugh:

Judith,

No, unfortunately cheesesteaks don't travel well.  That and either Mr. Duck or I will eat it along the way.  Neither do pretzels.  Well, they do travel well, but they'll be hockey pucks by the time they get to Italy.  How 'bout cream cheese?  Philadelphia is supposedly famous for it  :raz: .

When we go visit my SIL, we usually bring her wasabi peas, maple syrup, and cranberry sauce.  What else haven't you had in awhile?

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I want corn. Real summer sweet corn. It's been 3 years since I've had any!! OK, send the kid over in the summer!  :laugh:  :laugh:

Judith I have seeds left over that my sister sent last summer. PM me your address and I will send you some packages.

Deal! We can plant them in the orto for next summer! If the animals don't figure out that our corn is better than the cow corn in the field next door......

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Yesterday was great! Kellytree AND Cinghiale came to the restaurant for lunch...along with a very fun group of people. In the 'it's a small world' vein, Kellytree and I have a mutual friend, Bruce, and somehow the magnetic Kelly managed to get everyone to show up at Erba Luna.

I even got to come out of the kitchen and chat for a bit, so I'm a happy girl!

Hopefully we'll get over the LeMarche to see Kelly on her home turf, and we have plans to sit, chat and drink some wine with Cinghiale in Philadelphia!

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Edited by hathor (log)
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Deal! We can plant them in the orto for next summer! If the animals don't figure out that our corn is better than the cow corn in the field next door......

Never mind, got the address off the web page. Will pop them in the mail.

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When in Montone or anywhere near Montone go to Erba Luna.

The first thing that gets you is the silence - it is so silent that you can hear it.

A very nice silence.

Almost like listening one of those new agey type CD's where you only here a few birds chirping and feel almost like you are being vacuum packed.... and then you walk into the restaurant and there is some loungy-cool- just the right volume music playing giving everything a really hip feeling.

The restaurant is amazingly perfect. Just the right music, beautiful table settings, cool little things here and there.

We decided to eat outside (only after deciding did I think about those 100 meters from the kitchen to our table- sorry!)

The food was perfect - I'll post pics later.

Everything was perfectly executed - not one single flaw.

All of the flavors complemented each other - you could taste every single ingredient in each dish. Perfect pairings- perfect platings.

The nicest thing about this whole perfect place is that when I was sitting there eating my meal and enjoying the company it didn't feel "perfect" - it just felt right.

Go as soon as you can because I can imagine that very soon Erba Luna will be featured in the New Yorker or Condé Nast and then you will have to beg or bribe to get a seat.

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Thanks Kelly!! It was such a treat to have you guys there...I really looked forward to meeting everyone.

I think the garden is really special, you almost feel as if you are floating in the treetops. Of course that could just be some exhaustion talking, but I love the garden. I'm glad you ate out there.

As far as the plating goes...mmmm....I'm not so happy and I know there is tremendous room for improvement. But, we are feeling our way, and your positive feedback is fantastic!

Swisskaese is coming to the restaurant tonight! This should be fun as well.

Now, this is the best part of having a restaurant!!

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I'd like to add my thanks to Judith and Jeff for an excellent, luxuriously all-afternoon meal in such beautiful environs. The transformation of this wonderful space is superb, the view and quiet a tonic. I always look forward to a meal at La Pianella when in the "area" (which we had), along with whatever magic emanates from the cucina of kellytree (this time it was a gnocchi cook-off). I now happily add Erba Luna to the fun list. I'll be back very soon.

A few more pix from the restaurant and the top of Montone:

Signage at the base of the hill below the restaurant:

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Outside the entrance:

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Weinoo mentions the malfatti with 5-nut pesto. The sauce was changed, seasonally, to pheasant breast, and I had to have it. It was delicious:

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Post-prandial perambulation -- ascending the stairs, directly above the restaurant, into the town:

gallery_7898_5317_22621.jpg

Poorly lit but still evocative -- the very top of Montone:

gallery_7898_5317_23923.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
I'll def. be back!  Are you in touch with the school?  I miss that place...sooo fun!

No...I've lost touch with Mancini and the crew...but it's on my list of things to do. Yeah, it was one of the best things that I've done.

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  • 10 months later...

My, you dug this thread up....

Not sure how to put this as there are legal issues, but our partners turned out to be less than honest and things got ugly. We're in litigation.

I've spent the summer catering and giving cooking classes for visitors to our beautiful area. Much less stressful than being afraid to turn your back on your partners. 'nuff said?

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My, you dug this thread up....

Not sure how to put this as there are legal issues, but our partners turned out to be less than honest and things got ugly. We're in litigation.

I've spent the summer catering and giving cooking classes for visitors to our beautiful area. Much less stressful than being afraid to turn your back on your partners. 'nuff said?

:shock:

I'm so sorry that happened to you! I hope when things get settled (legally and otherwise), you'll open up again, if you want to, that is.

If not, I guess I'll have to take cooking classes from you, instead! :biggrin:

(And it took me forever to find this thread again, but I had been thinking about it for ages!)

Edited by prasantrin (log)
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