Genoa – Traditional Food Tour

Over the years, the Missus and I have become advocates of small group or private traditional food tours with locals. Especially in places that have so much to offer like Emilia – Romana or places like Genoa; where we weren't too familiar with the traditional cuisine. And I thought since we basically spending one full day in the city, we might enjoy walking the streets and tasting traditional cuisine. After doing a bit of research; I settled on Do Eat Better Experience's Traditional Genoa Food Tour.

We met at Vascello Neptune, a replica of a 17th century Galleon that was actually created for the movie Pirates.

Located at the Old Port, Porto Antico, it was just two blocks away from our hotel.

It was a small group; just 8 of us. Funny thing, 4 of the folks were actually on a cruise that stopped in Genoa for a day.

We strolled past the Palazzo San Giorgio, which I mentioned in an earlier post.

And were off to "graze"….

It was a drizzly day, but not too cold.

The Missus and I hadn't really heard a lot about Genoa and were quite taken by all the ornate sculptures and monuments, like this one of the Virgin Mary in the cornerstone of a building.

Our first stop was a little shop to try traditional Focaccia Genovese.

The focaccia cannot be thicker than 2 centimeters and it is lightly coated with Ligurian Olive Oil. The crust is crisp, the interior very light, and it is a staple of the typical Genovese diet.

Focaccia e Dintorni
Via di Canneto Il Curto 54
Genova, Italy

The next stop was this little shop.

That's our guide Marina above. The place smelled heavenly!

Here we got to try Farinata which the locals call Fainá, a flat bread made of chickpea flour, quite nutty with the olive oil flavor coming thru. And Focaccia al Formaggio (aka  Focaccia di Recco) which is two thin layers of slightly flaky dough with Stracchino Cheese in the middle. The Village of Recco is most famously known for making this layered focaccia.

Le Delizie dell'Amico
Via di Canneto Il Lungo 31r
Genova, Italy

We passed some interesting looking buildings and churches as we made our north to our next stop.

Which was this restaurant.

Here we had Pesto Lasagne and Minestrone alla Genovese.

The lasagne was quite rich and I was told that it is typical to use a bechamel in this version. The minestrone was quite hearty. Both were bursting with peppery Ligurian pesto flavor.

Ristorante Zimino
Vico delle Scuole Pie 4
Genova, Italy

By this time, it became quite obvious that we needed a short break so we strolled over to bustling Piazza San Lorenzo.

And were given some time to explore the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo (Genoa Cathedral).

Apparently, there has been a church here since the 5th or 6th century. This version was first completed in the 11th century.

The altar is quite stunning and there's a ton to see here, but we only had 30 minutes, so we just wandered around.

This is the tomb of Ibleto_Fieschi.

There are two lion sculptures at the entrance to the Cathedral. The one to the left is famous for looking very sad.

From here we headed more inland, to the East.

We actually passed Christopher Columbus's House, but that photo didn't turn out. 

And then we got to our next stop.

Where we had a wine tasting…..

And more wonderful focaccia…..

Topped with a variety of items; pesto (of course), local cheese, salumi……

Man, I was stuffed!

Locanda Tortuga
Via di Ravecca 13r
Genova, Italy

At this point, the folks on the cruise had to head back, and we bade them farewell.

There was just one more stop. Down a quiet alleyway was this chocolate shop.

Which has been around since 1866!

We went to the gelato portion. Then over at the chocolate shop, the Missus stocked up a bit.

Cioccolateria Romeo Viganotti
Vico dei Castagna 14R
Genova, Italy

From here, we strolled back to the Porta Soprana, one of the two surviving ancient gates of the Walls of Genoa.

Where Marina bade us farewell and gave us instructions on how to get back to Porto Antico….which was straight down the street!

Overall, we enjoyed this tour, it was fun tasting and getting a better understanding of Genovese Cuisine.

But now it was time for a nap!