Is Gener Neuv Asti's Best Restaurant?

[Sampaguita]

What strange weather we are having this year, first no rain at all, a real drought, and now in late August it’s pouring with rain. Last night we were in the middle of a two-hour electrical storm and it was still raining this morning. Tim is worried about what will happen to our vines, almost ripe, in this unseasonable weather, so in order to avoid rainy-day-too-close-to-harvest-vintners-blues we treated ourselves to lunch at Gener Neuv, Asti’s most famous restaurant, which somehow we have never been to in our 6 years here.

Getting there at midday, we were asked to wait for 10 minutes, so we walked along the bank of the Tanaro River, where about 60-70 years ago the town’s laundry-women used to do there work. Today would not have been a good day as the river was muddy and swollen, and since the flooding in the 80’s a containing wall has been built, which provides a nice wetlands walk.

The restaurant itself is an old villa facing the river, with nice gardens; it would be very pleasant to eat outside in summer. The interior is quite small, only about 10 tables in the main dining room, with another room for banquets or private parties. The décor is very cozy and traditional, elegant and relaxed. We were served by Piero Fassi, the owner and after leafing through the well-appointed menu, we decided on the menu tradizionale, the tasting menu, and also opted for the version which included 3 wines recommended by the sommelier (in this case Piero). Although the set was for a minimum of 2 people, Piero didn’t mind that we ordered different primo and secondi piattis, and was OK with changing some of the anti-pasti dishes as Tim doesn’t eat red meat.

We started with a pre-starter, scoops of goose pate, Russian salad and lardo, served with fresh made bread (the pate was exquisite) and a glass of Erbaluce Spumante. Then onto the anti-pasti proper a selection of 4 dishes tastefully presented on a special plate with small bowls (see pictures).

· Hot porcini mushroom – stupendous taste of mushrooms, stands out as it is. Loved this one.

· Pesce Crudo – chopped sashimi style salmon-trout and fresh anchovies marinated, delicious and not fishy at all.

· Carne Crudo (steak tartare) - v. good, but have had better.

· Pepperone stuffed with Tuna - have eaten this so many times before but the difference was carrot mixed in the stuffing, very unusual. Slightly overcooked.

· Vitello Tonato – an old standby, but this veal was cooked to perfection, very pink and tasty, the first time I did not want to eat the tuna sauce.

· Torta with Cheese (don’t remember the name) – in a light puff pastry, sorry can’t remember the type of cheeses, but eating it with the carne crudo was an incredible taste bite. Slight mistake should have eaten it first when it was hot, not last!

Now we were into the second wine Mej Chardonnay 2003 from Langhe. Normally we don’t care for Piedmont Chardonnays, but this was very good, unoaked and with the real Chardonnay fruit taste, not as buttery as the old California style, but equivalent of a good Meursalt.

For the primi piatti

· Gnocchi al pesto – v. good, not doughy in texture and just about perfect (although the gnocchi at the old Barolo and Co. was still the all time best).

· Agnolotti with 3 fillings – small size agnolottis, paper thin pasta and infectious from the first bite! One of the best examples I have had of this classic Piemontese dish.

Somewhere in between we had switched to a Barbera d’Asti, Cascina La Barbietelle 2001, which although had oak in the nose, was in fact a perfectly balanced classic Barbera, not oakey at all as the new trend in Barbera’s. Piero tells us that they use a botte (large oak barrel typically 1000 litres or more) to age the wine and not a barrique, which explains all. Highly recommended.

And now for the secondi piatti’s (OMG, the food keeps coming)

· Faraone (pheasant) – succulent and moist, cooked to perfection, , not gamey at all, in a light sauce, served with sweet semolina torte, wonderful.

· Finanziata – banker’s mixed grill – can’t describe what the meat (s) were (Tim says innards, hence finanziata for a rich dish!), but the composition of the dish was very good with fresh mushrooms (not porcini) – a complete dish.

Just when we decided we couldn’t eat anymore Piero arrived with the mixed dolce plate, and served with a glass of Moscato d’Asti.

· Panna Cotta – old Piedmontese desert, caramelly and refreshing

· Zabiglione – delicious if a bit yolky, which is typical of this dish.

· Bunet- excellent , the best example we have yet had in Piedmont.

· Semifreddo – again the best we have had in Piedmont, sent by heaven.

· Sorbet with mixed berries and Barolo Chinato – wonderful tartness to counteract the richness of the Zabiglione.

And to top it all a glass of Moscato Passito with the plate of sweet nibbles, now the 5th wine out of a course of 3.

After lunch we chatted with Piero and met the cook, his wife Pina. The restaurant was started on Jan 3rd 1971, now 36 years old. It was not cheap, the 2 tasting menus plus wine added up to 196 euro (Tim’s birthday treat) but we could have selected a la carte items from the menu without having to pay the fixed cost. Not a place to eat everyday, but if you want to treat yourself, its up there with Piedmont’s best restaurants and probably the best we have eaten at in Asti to date. (I believe it has a Michelin Star, but I can’t find Michelin ratings on-line).

Gener Neuv picture album

Gener Neuv webpage

[tupac17616]

Great report, Sampaguita. Sounds like your experience at Gener Neuv was much like my own back in July...

Gener Neuv

Lungotanaro 4, 0141/557270

Another Fodor's Choice from my guidebook, this place sounded quite promising. Come to find out later, the place has one Michelin star, which I would say is just about right. Anyhoo, I had the tasting menu, the Menu Tradizionale: che, dal 1971 ha fatto la storia del Gener Neuv.

Things started off some champagne, ahem, prosecco, along with four types of bread (salted!) and grissini. The stuzzichino di benvenuto, amuse-bouche, consisted of four tastes: a frico of parmigiano-reggiano and, I think, chives, topped with creamy robiola fresca; a piece of an herb frittata; peperoni ripieno, a yellow pepper stuffed with some sort of cheese; a cube of prosciutto layered with prosciutto gelee; and finally, what tasted like some kind of potato salad. The robiola was my favorite among the bunch, but all were pretty good.

Then came the Quadro di antipasti, composto da: Vitello tonnato, Terrina di verdure, Galantina di coniglio e mandorle, e Anguilla marinata in aceto cotto di barolo. The vitello tonnato was the best version of that dish I've had, with essentially carpaccio-style thin slice of rosy pink veal, yet this dish is still, perhaps, not really my thing. The vegetable terrine was light and flavorful, a great summer dish. The gallantine of rabbit and almond was flavorful, and had a pleasantly chunky consistency that reminded you this was, at heart, rustic cooking. The eel, marinated in cooked barolo vinegar, was great, definitely the best of the four. It was also served with raisins that acted as a nice sweet counterpoint to the richness of the eel. As an alternative to any of these 4 dishes that might not be to one's liking, there was an option of Foglioline di vitello crudo, e battuta al coltello, olio, limone, e robiola di Roccaverano. I eat anything and everything, though, and once the very kind owner learned that I love raw meat, he sent this dish out to me as well. Thin slices of lean raw veal on one part of the plate, simply drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper. On the other side, more raw veal meat, "battered by a knife", literally, roughly ground. This was had the same simple adornments, along with a squeeze of lemon juice, and a little block of robiola cheese alongside it. Fantastic.

Next up was agnolotti "ai tre stufati" (vitello, coniglio e maiale), light pasta pillows stuffed with a rich mixture of veal, rabbit, and pork. Quite tasty.

For the secondo, I had finanziera all'astigiana (filoni, animelle, creste di galleto, funghi sott'olio, infarinati, saltati in olio d'olive e marsala). God only knows what animals, or more specifically what animal parts I was eating. I'll admit my food Italian isn't perfect, but from what I gather, I had veins, sweetbreads, coxcombs, and marinated mushrooms all stewed together with marsala wine. This was tasty, if perhaps, surprisingly, a bit too subtle. I was expecting more of a meaty flavor, but it just never came.

I spied a cheese cart, and just about all of the cheeses were new to me, so I asked if I might have a sampling before we headed toward dessert. Sure, they said, no problem. The Degustazione di formaggi piemontesi d.o.p. was fantastic. Eight different types of cheeses, along with chestnut honey, a dark cherry compote, and a fiery cherry mostarda. My favorites were one of the two types of robiola they served (the fresh, unaged one), the bra duro, and the toma di murazzano.

I'd finally made it to dessert, the Dolcezze di Asti: Semifreddo al torrone, Bonet, Panna cotta, Zabaione freddo al moscato d'Asti, e Sorbetto di Barolo Chinato. My, my. Everything was so good. It was my first time trying Bonet, the traditional chocolate pudding-like dessert of the region. The semifreddo was very good, as was the panna cotta. The stars, though, were the outstanding zabaglione, and the Barolo Chinato sorbet.

Of course, I wasn't done yet, as there was still the Piccola pasticceria della casa on the way, a tray of lovely little chocolates, cookies, cakes, and confection. Good show.

All this food, by the way, was accompanied by regional wines. Monferrato, Barbera d'Asti, and Moscato d'Asti with dessert. The tasting menu was €55 to begin with, the addition of the wine was nominal. The raw veal dish was gratis, and the outstanding cheese course, I'm almost ashamed to say, only tacked on an additional €11. All said and done, I was out the door for €88. Not cheap, of course, but very well worth it, I'd say. The best meal of the trip up to that point.

The family, too, was very kind. The mother is the chef, along with her two daughters helping her in the kitchen while her husband runs the front of the house. Great group of people to have met after a meal. I thanked them profusely, vowed to return, and went on my way.

[pedalaforte]

Wow! Thanks for the details, both of you. I think we're going to have problems narrowing our restaurant list -- to say nothing of narrowing our waists at the conclusion of this trip. Vignaiola, Rina Cucina, Al'Enoteca, I Bologna, and now Gener Neuv? And my wife says she likes the small trattorias!

In fact, I do have a serious question. La mia moglia e' una vegetariana, pero lei e' tranquilla. Can we get stuff from the a la carte menu at these places for her without offending the chefs? She does love anchovies, and she is definitely, definitely not militant in any way about her vegetarian ways. She likes to just quietly blend in and not make any scene.

Be well.

[Sampaguita]

I don't think its a problem being a non-meat eater, the fancier restaurants have pick and choose menus, and the smaller ones will acommodate you if tell them that you ar a veggie. Gener Neuv changed all the ant-pasti for Tim as he doesn't eat meat either.