Piemonte restaurant question: Felicin or Le Torri

[rsh]

Hi,

I'm going to be in Piemonte for a very short trip this weekend (Saturday night through Monday afternoon) to celebrate a birthday. (Now that I live in London it's easier to do these things - much more convenient than when I was in New York!) Anyway, reservations for Sunday and Monday have been easy, but Saturday night most places are totally full and since this was a bit of a last minute trip I don't have a lot of wiggle room.

Both Felicin (Monforte d'Alba) and Le Torre (Castiglione Falletto) have room - does anyone have any views on which of these is more worth a try? The trip is centered around truffles and wine, to be sure, but I'd ideally like to have some creative dishes to avoid having the same tajarin, uovo in cocotte, etc with each meal. (Not that I'm complaining and if it comes down to that then fine, but in that case I'd prefer versions of those that are as good as I can get).

For reference on Sunday I have reservations at Enoclub and Bovio, and Monday afternoon at Ciau del Tournavento. Also, I'm staying in Monforte d'Alba, so all things considered if Felicin and Il Torre are very similar then Felicin is preferable if only because I can walk there and back from my hotel.

Any advice is very much appreciated!

Thanks a lot.

Rob

[LindaK]

My last visit to Piemonte was 5 yrs ago, and I had an excellent dinner at Felicin. The focus was definitely on the classics (tajarin, agnolotti, trout, veal, etc), simply but perfectly prepared. A salad of minced rabbit with fresh mint is still one of my favorite food memories. The dining room was traditionally appointed, very comfortable. There's a terrace with a lovely view if the weather allows you to dine outside.

Also in Monforte d'Alba, there used to be a small wine shop in the town square that sold local wines and grappas. We stopped in one morning looking to buy. The wall of grappas was intimidating, so we asked if it was possible to taste before buying. The shop owner disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a tray filled with dozens small glasses and appeared ready to pour as many as we wished. Luckily, we found a few we loved before the tasting went very far. I wish I could remember the name of the shop, but it's a small town, if it's still there you'll see it.

Enjoy your trip, and please post to tell us about your dining adventures.

[rsh]

thanks a lot, linda! i appreciate your help...

[rsh]

...just to follow up on this, we did eat at Felicin and it was a great meal. they initially couldn't find our reservation but were very gracious about it and seated us anyway, next to a table for two that sat empty all evening and turned out to be the one that we had booked (they had not understood my last name when i called to book). very existential to sit and look upon your own empty seat and table.

anyway, the food was excellent: i had ravioli dal plin with black truffle sauce followed by fonduta with white truffles, and my girlfriend had tajarin with white truffles followed by veal braised in barolo. all was perfectly prepared, and the 1996 sandrone barolo that we ordered went fantastically with it.

linda, thank you again for the recommendation.