Piedmont Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[pedalaforte]

Just back: Great restaurants in Piedmont, Veneto

I’ll surprise some people here with my recommendations because the places are not necessarily profound spots – at least they’re not profound in the Michelin-stars definition of the word.

But I’m comfortable with my picks and my reasoning. … extremely stream of consciousness – forgive me.

Near Alba

Antine (in Barbaresco) – brilliant place and I doubt I’ll get much grief for the pick from anyone here (since the place came so highly recommended here). You were all right. Thanks, especially, to Bill K. for all the ideas. Antine, star and all, lived up to its accolades at every level – food, wine, service, smiles. Go there. Definitely. We made one, somewhat humorous, mistake. My Italian is scabby, at best, so I made a first-night-in-Italy mistake of thinking I could effectively communicate at least restaurant Italian. Nope. My friends and I (five of us) are used to the American habit of sharing a couple of appetizers among all of us; so, when I ordered three appetizers and did that little animated, in-my-Italian-blood waving of my hands around the table and, in effect, pointing to everyone, I MEANT, and said (in English), that we’d share the three. They, of course, thought I meant all five of us wanted all three. Damn. Then, before we knew it, it happened again with the primi. Agnolotti and the tajarin for all. Damn 2. Luckily we were engulfed in too much barbera and Barbaresco by that point to care. Then I had the bunny. Great stuff. And the panna cotta was the best of the trip. (Disappointingly, no one else even came close.) We spent a lot of money -- $100 Euros each. But we ordered too much food. You can definitely get by for much less.

OK, now we change tracks, and I’m going to argue that there is more to life (and restaurant recommendations) than great (perfect) food, (perfect) wine, and (perfect) setting.

Crota (in Calosso/a) – next night we took up another recommendation from this site and went to Crota. The food was excellent, the wine very good, and the place had stories. That adds up to perfect. Nothing there was stunning, as at Antine, but the entire experience was, yes, profound. That is to say that our moment there was perfect. I am always stumped by people who look only for Michelin stars – ANY stars for that matter, including even recommendations from ME – as reason to judge some place. I do the same thing, and it’s with somewhat good reason. We don’t want to, ya know, just put food in our bellies. We want the magic. Well, magic comes from different hats.

Crota had it that night. Which is to say find your own stories, not only mine. We got to Crota and there was only one couple and this server guy – Seba – who knew how to make us smile. We put our wine picks in his hands and it worked. The food was flawless in a simple-yet-yummy way. I wish I had my notes to be more specific, but I’d bore you anyway. But here’s the story of the night – I referred to it as the magic up above. The local winemakers were meeting there to discuss whatever the heck they wanted to discuss. But as the wine began to flow -- into us, into them – we started this interchange of friendship and, well, guttural yahoos/silliness to where, in the end, the president of the local win co-op or coordinator or some such title drove back home to bring us back a series of local wine labels for our collections (it helped to have along with us a beautiful, without-spouse woman or two). Then we were singing in the streets of Calosso together – and we were NOT embarrassingly drunk, despite what you may think. Our Italian moment.

So, what’s the best restaurant in Italy? Crota. That night. The night before it was Antine; the next night?

Next night

The next night we ate on the porch of Cascine della Rosa – our B&B in Tre Stelle. Now, Bill recommends La Meridiana for good reason (been there and loved it). It was full this time so we found Giovanna and Italo at della Rosa. It was fantastic. I can go into details for anyone who wishes, but it was inexpensive, charming and the hosts were beyond incredible. (We were problem children for them in many ways.)

We tried to get take outs from Il Vicoletto, which was closed for construction last time I was in Alba and this time was out of bread. Jeez, man. In their defense, it was the end of the night, but pickings were slim. (We had spent too much time in a wine bar tasting boring old Giacosa, Vietti, Monsordo? and others. I wish I had my notes. And I am joking about “boring.” Star appeal in this case meant great.) So we just went into another place closing up shop on the main drag and mama filled bags with all her favorites, including wine. We went back home, dragged out sweaters and ogled at spotlighted Barbaresco in the distance as we oooohed and ahhhh’d the night away while slathering gooey stuff on bread. Italy. Ah.

Then, Ostu d’Ajou? – I’ve butchered the name, but it’s close (maybe it’s in Castegneto; maybe not. I can find out for anyone who cares). So, Bill, we were planning to go to Rondo or Il Centro or that other place whose name escapes me at the moment. And they still sound great. But Giovanna, our host to whom we had become close over the previous cheery days, invited us to join her and some out-of-town friends at a favorite restaurant. We had done this brutal bike ride that day into the mountains where Castlemagno cheese is made. We actually hiked, in sandals with cycling shoes in jersey pockets, through snow with our road bikes to get beyond some drifts so we could make it to the top of this pass that was one of the main reasons I wanted to come – we were tired, in other words. But how could we turn this invitation down. Her friends were restaurant owners, chefs, cheese makers, bar owners and such from near Sondrio. And they wanted us to join them.

Well, take a little Vioxx (no, not Viagra!) and get in! This place was, well, … the best restaurant in Italy. Hey, friends matter. The place only serves magnums. Our friends ordered everything. We HAD everything. And it was all great. We talked about my 8 chickens, their 80 chickens. My favorite dish to cook, their favorite … this and that. My stories. You don’t need them. It was a perfect, and, as I’ve said, the best.

At the end of the night, this guy I sat next to (Alessio) and his spouse handed me a magnum of some blend of barbera and nebiollo. To do what with, I asked? He spoke very little English, me, very little Italian. “To drink, later, as a gift from us! You seem so excited by life!” Who, me?

… I’ll continue this discussion if anyone cares. I can tell you about Bolzano, our surprise city of Trento, and our stay near Verona (La Forestiere, dinner in San Giorgio – thanks Marco and, hmmmmmm, I know who you are and I love you, but I don’t have time to look back at my notes). And cycling if anyone is truly a geek. That's my true passion.

Anyway, cheers to all. Bill Klapp, thanks for doing that thing you do (giving us all those great details).

Now I have to work.

[Bill Klapp]

pedalaforte, you make a PROFOUNDLY important point that I have failed to emphasize-even my Piemontese friends think that antine's panna cotta is without equal. I could not agree more! Sorry about the slim pickings at Vicoletto, but I can assure you that we are still talking Michelin-starred eats at about a third to a half what a meal in the old Vicoletto ristorante would cost you...

[Marco_Polo]

Sounds like a brilliant trip, Pedalaforte. Would love to hear about the cycling, too, as well as the food and wine. It's my passion too (along with food and wine of course!). What else is there in life? Well, quite a lot actually. But cycling, food and wine are mighty important in my book.

Cheers,

MP

[hathor]

I agree with Marco Polo...more details about everything, please!!

Did you stay in one place as a 'hub', or did you travel with all your gear from place to place?

I also agree that the 'conviva' (to use a Slow Food word) is almost as important as the food.

Funny, I was just thinking about your bike trip yesterday and wondering how it went! (I think I recommended a bike skirt to wear!! )

[ecr]

Thanks for trying Crota, despite its distinct lack of Gambero Rosso and Michelin qualifications. Your description brought a smile to my face, you captured the essence of the place perfectly. Every visit has for us has been memorable in the sort of way you describe. Can't wait to go back.

Wouldn't mind reading a bit about the cycling in Piemonte (weave some more food details in to make it legit for the board ).......

[Boris_A]

I return every year to the Crota. I don't visit that place in search for highest culinary delights. Food is good, occasionally very good, and sometimes there's a really excellent dish.

But the Crota is more than a restaurant. It's the meeting point of Calosso and surroundings, ther's people who come to eat and people to have a drink at the bar. It's a hard to define place, but it's somehow the Big Relax in the circle between Asti and Canelli.

The first time I was there (they just started) I was irritated. Luckily, I returned.

[SWISS_CHEF]

Melanie and I will be in Piedmont the in a couple of weeks to look for new wines to import and so I thought I would ask for some hot tips. We are not star chasers so there is no need to list all the top restaurants. We like fun simple places that serve good regional food and you can wear blue jeans and not feel out of place. We are staying here because we get a rate of €90 with breakfast and dinner included. We plan to spend most of our time tracking down wineries and tasting but there will be a little extra time for site seeing too.

Thanks in advance for your tips,

Ed

[albiston]

Ed,

you can find plenty of tips for Piemonte searching the olde rposts in this forum. Among the threads started in the last year or so you might want to have a look at this thread and its close relative . Have fun.

[SWISS_CHEF]

Ed,

you can find plenty of tips for Piemonte searching the olde rposts in this forum. Among the threads started in the last year or so you might want to have a look at this thread and its close relative  . Have fun.

←

Ciao Alberto,

Thanks for the tip. I have been reading all the old posts and I think I have some good ones picked out. I can't wait!

Ed

[Peter Rodgers]

I can report a weekend of very successful eating, just concluded yesterday. An exceptional dinner was had at Il Centro in Priocca. This restaurant is better each time we visit. We also had our usual wonderful lunch at I Bologna in Rochetta Tanaro. Both restaurants are very traditional. As reported elsewhere, perhaps to best cooking in the region is to be found at Antica Corona in Cervere. We had a superb dinner there Friday night. Unfortunately, we were quite disappointed with our first visit to Clivie in Piobessi d'Alba. We also returned to La Ciau del Tornavento in Treiso. Since our last visit several years ago, they have completely remodeled with resulting spectacular views of the Barbaresco vineyards, but sadly, the food was mediocre. While not on our list this time, it would be worthwhile to pay a visit to Trattoria della Posta in Monforte d'Alba and to l'Enoteca in Canale.

Unfortunately, most of the suggested restaurants are a bit distant from Acqui Terme, but a journey for lunch to any would be very much worth your while.

[Bill Klapp]

Ed,

The hotel in Acqui Terme looked really interesting and the price is right, but I must tell you that, unless you want a spa vacation and nothing else, Peter is right. Acqui Terme is 45 minutes from most of the great ristoranti, better shopping, etc. Closer to Alba is the ticket, as the wineries and ristoranti are dominantly to the north and south of Alba.

Edited May 10, 2005 by Bill Klapp (log)

[SWISS_CHEF]

Ed,

The hotel in Acqui Terme looked really interesting and the price is right, but I must tell you that, unless you want a spa vacation and nothing else, Peter is right.  Acqui Terme is 45 minutes from most of the great ristoranti, better shopping, etc.  Closer to Alba is the ticket, as the wineries and ristoranti are dominantly to the north and south of Alba.

←

Hi Bill and Peter,

Thanks for the advice! I have been slowly figuring that Acqui Terme is too far away. Luckly, we have plenty of time to reconsider the hotel. My thanks to all of you for pointing that out. I told you I'm a first timer in the Piedmont.

Switzerland, on the other hand is another story and If I can return the favors concerning advice in my home country I would be more than happy to do so.

Kind Regards, Ed

[bobsdf]

Ed,

My wife and I stayed at Castello di Verduno and really enjoyed it. Beautiful property, decent price (at least compared to Tuscany) and great location (it's very close to the towns of Barolo and Monforte d'Alba and fairly close to Alba and the towns of Barbaresco.) We ate at La Ciau del Tornavento which we thought was pretty solid. Had a great meal cooked and served by a wonderfully hospitable wife and husband team at a place called Osteria del Brutto Anatroccolo, which had been recommended by Andrea Sottimano in an Egullet Q&A. We hope to get back to the region this summer.

[Boris_A]

We are not star chasers so there is no need to list all the top restaurants. We like fun simple places that serve good regional food

←

Ed, I don't know about you time constraints, but maybe you can combine a bit.

I visited the Piedmont many times, and for my taste Aqui is a really cute town. It's the home of the sweet, bubbly, ruby Brachetto d'Aqui wine, a "twin" of Moscato d'Asti. Some of the producers make also very decent Barbera. Also, check out the producers of the Nizza Monferrato region, just NW over the hill from Aqui.

Aqui is situated at the entrance of the upper Bormida valley, which is - at least for me - the most beautiful, poetic landscape of the eastern Langhe region.

There are some very nice restaurants - admittedly not the ultimate top notch league of the Piedmont - as "Caffi" in Cassinasco, "Madonna delle Neive" in Cessole (20 km westwards from Aqui), "La Violetta" and "Bardon" in Calmadrana/San Marzano Oliveto or the very traditional "Da Posta di Camulin" in Cossano Belbo.

The ride to the relatively nearby (20km SW) mountain village of Roccaverano (really spectacular views) can be rewarded with some of the best pure goat cheeses of Italy, the Robiola di Roccaverano. "Cascina Caramello" of Gianfranco Nervi is an excellent producer among others.

As a guide for adresses of wineries, I'd recommend the "Vini die Veronelli" and for restaurants and food shopping a copy of "Guida Critica Golosa" di Paolo Massobrio. You'll find these books it in every library there. If you're going to visit and revisit the Piedmonte - an I'm sure you will - these guides are very fair investements.

Anyway, over there you are a bit off the well beaten paths.

[Scarpetta]

I would certainly recommend La Crota d' Caloss in Calosso d'Asti: a winery in a beautiful setting with warm, easygoing service, good, carefully prepared Piedmontese specialties and a great list of wines. Quite cheap, BTW.

Another place of the same type is La Vineria della Signora in Rosso (a lengthy name, I know) in Nizza Monferrato, set in the basement of old Palazzo Crova. Tullio, a retired bank clerk oversees this little jewel bestowing his few but excellent preparations.

Third and last I wouldn't miss the Ristorante Moderno at Carrù, where you will be served the best bollito misto in all of Piedmont. Everything else is also very, very good. Enjoy!

[SWISS_CHEF]

Thanks EVERYONE for the advice. I have to say that I have been researching the restaurants you have suggested and I must say I am impressed. You have suggested some really great places that even I can afford!

I am looking forward to the trip and I will keep you post as to the results.

[robert brown]

Just to chime in, having put in a lot of time in Piemonte, but not so much the eastern part. Peter is pretty much on the money as far as my experiences go. Antico Corona, Cesare and Enoteca are my current favorites. We had a great meal outside of Turin at Combal.Zero, but ordered a la carte as opposed to the more avant-garde multi-course menu Bill had. Ciao was good until the desserts, which were pretty bad. Il Centro was last year a bitter disappointment after a great first visit. Something was wrong, I sensed. Maybe it's back on track. I Bologna is great fun, though a bit on the modest side in terms of available dishes.

In Acqui Terme there's a cheap little restaurant specializing in a version of socca; i.e. a chick pea pancake. It's fun, but is no longer in the Slow Food Osteria book. I forgot the name, but people should know it.

Good eating, Ed, you lucky fellow. Where kin Switzerland are you?

[SWISS_CHEF]

Just to chime in, having put in a lot of time in Piemonte, but not so much the eastern part. Peter is pretty much on the money as far as my experiences go. Antico Corona, Cesare and Enoteca are my current favorites. We had a great meal outside of Turin at Combal.Zero, but ordered a la carte as opposed to the more avant-garde multi-course menu Bill had. Ciao was good until the desserts, which were pretty bad. Il Centro was last year a bitter disappointment after a great first visit. Something was wrong, I sensed. Maybe it's back on track. I Bologna is great fun, though a bit on the modest side in terms of available dishes.

In Acqui Terme there's a cheap little restaurant specializing in a version of socca; i.e. a chick pea pancake. It's fun, but is no longer in the Slow Food Osteria book. I forgot the name, but people should know it.

Good eating, Ed, you lucky fellow. Where kin Switzerland are you?

←

Hi Robert,

We are in a tiny village called Sulz half way between Zürich and Basel on the Rhein. If you are ever in the area drop me a line and we will link up. A couple of eGulleters live near by and we will use any excuse to get together and cook and eat.

[Peter Rodgers]

If anybody is going, don't miss Lalibera in Alba, which had 8 different porcini offerings, including shaved raw like white truffles in a mound over parmesan with an egg yolk-mustard sauce drizzled around the edges!  Buon appetito!

←

So where, might I ask, other than Lalibera, did you manage to dine? And what were the highlights?

[Bill Klapp]

Trattoria del Peso in Castagnito (open for lunch only, closed Mondays). Terrific, old-style Piemontese trattoria, set menu with choice of pasta and secondo. The fresh ricotta with mirtilli (like blueberries, but with flavor!) preserves will make you weep openly, as will the hot focaccia. Also hit Flipot (I encourage all of you to be totally dismissive of anyone on this board that cannot recognize this as one of Italy's, and maybe Europe's, finest dining experiences), Belvedere, Antine (both better than ever), Villa Crespi and Da Renzo. The latter two were excellent, but I couldn't get that excited about either. I think my palate is becoming jaded...

[robert brown]

Okay everybody, don't pay attention to me, the Sultan of Dining (vmilor) and our wives, all of whom enjoyed Flipot, but hardly would call it one of our greatest dining experiences in Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, and so forth.

[Bill Klapp]

Robert, my every instinct is to offer you and The Sultan an apology, but alas, I cannot. I have dined at Flipot on multiple occasions over the years with Italian friends whose palates and food knowledge I consider to be superior to my own (and lest anyone thinks that I am getting soft in my dotage, there are only two of them, and I give them only the slightest edge!), and always with the same outstanding result. This has nothing to do with the twin Michelin stars, which I think were awarded more for the beautiful, peaceful dining room and the impeccable service, regardless of what Michelin may claim. Like terroir in wine, this is food which derives solely from a totally unique Alpine microclimate: the lamb, the herbs found nowhere else, the cheeses, the lavender, the salmon trout perfectly broiled on a piece of the local lucerna stone used for roofing, the freshwater crawfish known locally as river shrimp, the duck breast gently smoked and reduced to a foam which is the essence of duck a la Adria. Food does not get any fresher, any more simply or perfectly prepared or any more beautifully presented. Flipot dwarfs so many Italian (and French) restaurants which I once thought superior (Soriso comes to mind). And it just keeps getting better. I can apologize only for this: I have become Italian in all things culinary, and I evaluate what I eat there from that perspective.

As long as I have offended, let me go ahead and get it all out of my system, so that we can one day be friends again!

Your quote from Alberto's post on 2006 Italian restaurant guides:

"Alberto, I don't think you peer into the soul of Italian restaurants until you get to Antica Corona da Renzo in Piemonte. What do you think?"

While this was addressed to Alberto, I feel compelled to answer. Da Renzo is one of the last places I would look to peer into the soul of PIEMONTESE ristoranti, much less Italian ristoranti in general. Does it merit a Michelin star and some, if not all, of the recent positive press that it has received? Probably, although much of the press seems driven by the fact that the place was "discovered" by the Agnelli family (of Fiat fame) or another similarly situated group of Torinese industrial titans (I forget which). It is a good ristorante, and its dining room is pretty, if unexceptional. But like many in the Piemonte today, it is neither purely traditional nor new wave, but rather, someplace in between. In that (and I am a big fan of lightening classic Piemontese cuisine, by the way), it does not do nearly as well as many others, and I would include among its betters Antine in Barbaresco (despite its rather drab dining room) and Enoteca in Canale. As a town, Cervere is one of the major truck-route armpits of the province of Cuneo. The waitstaff is dominantly Eastern European rather than Italian, but the service does not suffer for that. At a recent lunch, I found the food to be generally well prepared and presented, but often so subtle in taste as to be flavorless. A friend and I had the following between us: a red tuna carpaccio not on a par with a good NYC sushi joint; a duck liver terrine that was rather dry and dramatically unremarkable, but for a decent presentation; a carne cruda not up to stuff with many local trattorie that raise their own veal; run-of-the-mill agnolotti dal plin; a ricotta-filled tortellini in butter that was pretty but essentially flavorless; and the house signature dish, Borgo San Dalmazzo snails with the famous leeks of Cervere (in fairness, admittedly before the heart of leek season), which, while good, was not worth finishing and DEFINITELY was not anything that I would feature as the best that Da Renzo has to offer. Worse, there were a limited number of other offerings, and I fear that we chose the best. Overall, the meal was fine, despite my quibbles, but much more satisfying food is available for a lot less money in many places in that region. But fret not: I felt the same way about the highly touted Villa Crespi. I will not deny it its due, but it manages to deliver a consistently good meal made of fine ingredients without causing your heart to skip a single beat. For that kind of money, I want to be transported. Flipot delivered that, and the other two did not...

Edited October 15, 2005 by Bill Klapp (log)

[hathor]

  I have become Italian in all things culinary, and I evaluate what I eat there from that perspective.

Bill, what an interesting sentence. What exactly do you mean saying "Italian in all things culinary". This comment just aroused my curiosity.

[Bill Klapp]

Hathor, I think that it boils down to this: eating what is in season (i.e., no strawberries from southern Italy in February), fresh, local and simply prepared in a way that showcases, rather than embellishes or masks, the central ingredients. I find that I am even losing a little patience with the Piemontese tendency to add extra richness to many dishes, usually via extra egg yolks, quail eggs or the like. It rarely seems necessary when the raw materials are of superior quality. It may have to do with the fact that my best friends in Italy are retired restauranteurs and that I eat at their house so often, where virtually everything (other than meats, fowl and seafood, of course) is right out of their garden (organically raised) or the preserved version of the same. (For example, I am feasting right now on peach and apricot preserves from a friend's orchard, canned at the peaks of the respective seasons with no extra sugar added and only the fruit's natural pectin supplying any jelling. Unbelievable!) Thus, whenever a ristorante, trattoria or osteria does the same, I generally find the results to be superior to those where the chef may secure first-quality ingredients from other places and then work his/her artistry upon them. I have no problem with the latter approach, to be sure, but it does not always yield the best possible result.

[Jonathan Day]

Bill, this last post is more than helpful. You're telling us about your culinary aesthetic, your criteria for what makes a restaurant good -- "your model", we might say. You're saying that the Piemontese tendency to enrich sauces with egg yolks, etc., clashes with your model. Others may view things differently. You've stated your criteria with passion and clarity. Now, I can do a better job of interpreting your comments on restaurants.

This is quite a different thing to saying that so-and-so has a "superior palate" (especially when the purported difference is minuscule) or that "I encourage all of you to be totally dismissive of anyone on this board that cannot recognize this as one of Italy's, and maybe Europe's, finest dining experiences".

Unquestionably, there are errors in cooking. Some ingredients are fresher and of higher starting quality than others. Fish can be overcooked. There are classic recipes, and if a restaurant is going to call something Sole Véronique then it ought to have green grapes and sole in it, not whiting and grape jam.

But let's distinguish differences in aesthetic preferences -- "model clashes" -- from assertions about whether someone has a better palate than someone else, is "better dined" than someone else, is the Sultan of dining, etc.. To be clear, I'm not saying that the second kind of assertion is off limits here. Go down that road if you must. But it rarely leads to anything but anger and upset.

Edited October 16, 2005 by Jonathan Day (log)