Crotasc

[DeirdreStraughan]

We've discovered a new treasure, Crotasc, a restaurant attached to the Mamete Prevostini winery in Mese, just outside Chiavenna. Their specialties are salumi and insaccati (dried meats) and wild game (including salumi made from wild game), and of course their own wines.

The house welcoming nibble consisted of thin slices of slinzega, a dried beef similar to the Chiavennasca specialty, violino di capra (goat), along with several kinds of excellent bread, ranging from pure white to the traditional pane di segale (rye) - I wish I could buy the bread the restaurants get!

My husband had the 30-euro wild game menu, which started with a small selection of wild game salumi, followed by ravioli with fagiano (guinea fowl). I had home-made papardelle with duck breast. Both were wonderful.

Enrico's secondo was a medallion of venison with a sauce of Sfursat (the local "fortified" wine); I had a venison cutlet. Both were served with a dollop of polenta and a vegetable "spume." My cutlet was excellent, but Enrico's with the sauce was even better.

For dessert I had a chocolate pudding in vanilla sauce, Enrico had an orange semifreddo, which again I liked better than my own - maybe I'm just envious.

We accompanied everything with a Grumello 2000 by Mamete Prevostini, also excellent. We could probably have bought some of their wine while we were there, but they were disappointingly out of the lovely white called Opera that we had tasted last summer at a different restaurant - they're waiting for the new vintage to be ready. I guess we'll just have to go back for it.

The restaurant is divided into two rooms, one traditional with a huge fireplace, and big dark wooden ceiling beams. We ate in the non-smoking room, which looked as though it had been recently done or re-done, in light wood with lovely modern fountain chandeliers and stone paving. There is also lots of outside seating, so the place is probably even more delightful during daylight, in good weather.

I've put details and a map link for Crotasc on my site, http://www.straughan.com/italy/restaurants.htm

I warmly recommend this restaurant to anyone who's visiting Lake Como - it's well worth the trip.

[Jim Dixon]

Deirdre,

Sounds like another reason to visit the Lake country...we flew into Milano for one trip but didn't really spend any time there before driving south. But the problem for us is that, even if we stretch our stay in italy to a month, there are just too many places we want to return to, so it's hard to decide where to spend out time. We prefer to settle in at one spot for at least a week at a time.

Not exactly on the same subject, but I read your comments about Camilleri on your site. I just found his books (read two so far) and agree that he provides an interesting perspective, especially with the asides about food. I just finished Dibdin's new Aurelio Zen book, Medusa. He does the same thing, and the sense that it's a very natural part of the Italian view on life (that is, to think about food this way) is something that always seemed very accurate to me.

Jim

[DeirdreStraughan]

Well, that sounds like a good reason to spend a week on Lake Como. We were in love with Valtellina food and wines already, so moving closer to them in Lecco was just a bonus. I'll be posting about some other favorite restaurants in the region (plus any others I happen to run across in my travels).

Most Italians we know appreciate food as much as we (or Camilleri) do. I think part of it is being raised by parents who taught them how to like the good stuff, and didn't just take them to MacDonald's to keep them quiet. Our daughter is already quite the gourmet; she and her friend have birthdays close together in August, and the tradition is for all of us to go to Lanterna Verde near Chiavenna. This resulted in 11 people for a lunch last summer, which made the restaurateurs happy even though we were horribly late getting there and kept them serving long beyond their usual closing time.

[Craig Camp]

It is amazing to see how Italian kids eat compared to American kids. Our friend's 3 year old eats anchovies, snacks on Parmigiano like candy and prefers sparkling water to Coke. I have never seen her turn down a thing at the table yet.

[DeirdreStraughan]

Our daughter, now 14, is a bit of a mix. She generally likes food that is good for her, with the occasional foray into junk. She hates most cheeses, which is a shame, but hopefully will grow out of it. She's been a wine connoisseur since she was three, routinely demanding to stick a finger in and taste it. I was afraid that when I took her to the States I'd be arrested for child abuse!

[Sentiamo]

Ahhhhhh....Valtellina!

I lived there for 9 years, at Bormio, a ski resort. Do miss so many local dishes that just will NOT replicate themselves in my kitchen

Still, I have 2 big jars of dried porcini from my sisters 'mountain' to bury my nose in when I get homesick for Polenta Taragna and spezzatino!

Spent Christmas there, and totally pigged out, still paying the price!

[DeirdreStraughan]

Ah, Bormio. I wanted to get back to the terme this year, but it looks as if we've run out of time. I've mentioned it on my site (with pictures) at http://www.straughan.com/italy/slowfood.html and http://www.straughan.com/italy/bormioagain.html