Italian Restaurants – Page 6

Florence – Uffizi Gallery, Bargello Museum, and Lunch at Trattoria Sergio Gozzi

April 19, 2018 mmm-yoso Florence and Tuscany, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

How'd you like to walk out your front door, look down the street and see this first thing in the morning?

Well, that's the view as we exited the front door of our apartment in the morning.

Today's mission? Getting to Uffizi Gallery right when they opened at 0815. After a couple of shots of espresso….our apartment was well equipped, we still had some time on our hands, we admired the Duomo and the Baptistery for a bit.

The Missus especially enjoyed the bronze doors of the Baptistery.

So we decided that we'd have to visit the Duomo Museum to see the originals (these are reproductions) at the Duomo museum the next day. More on that in a future post.

We headed in the direction of Uffizi down Via Orsanmichele, taking some time to admire the statues imbedded in the exterior of Orsanmichele Church.

We made our way to Piazza della Signoria, usually bustling, was quite sedate at a few minutes before 8 in the morning.

This is pretty much the heart of Florence. With Palazzo Vecchio towering over the square, Michelangelo's David stood in front of the doors of this palace until 1873. A replica now stands in its place.

There's an interesting plaque in the square. Girolamo Savonarola was a Dominican Friar whose prophecies and preaching helped to overthrow the Medici family rule (until 1530) and became the defacto leader of the ruling party of Florence. In 1497 Pope Alexander VI excommunicated Savonarola. On Palm Sunday in 1498, Savonarola and his followers were arrested and tortured. On May 23rd, 1498 Savonarola and two other Friars were executed by hanging on the spot where the plaque is located. Man, what a story!

To the right of the Palazzo is the Loggia dei Lanzi which is filled with statues like Benvenuto Cellini's Perseus with the Head of Medusa, which looks kind of scary and creepy.

And right past that is Uffizi Gallery.

We got into line, under the stares of statues of great figures of the Renaissance.

So, one of the main goals of having the Firenze Card was to be able to get in the reserved line. And being early….there were still folks here before us as we arrived at 8am, we got in with the first group of folks.

There are of course, those works that we all know……Botticelli's iconic Birth of Venus

Or Spring (Primavera).

With so much symbolism.

Or Michelangelo's only known completed painting, Holy Family (Doni Tondo)

Look at the subjects…..they actually look like renderings of statues…….

There are also great views of the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio from various windows.

I loved the Seven Virtues.

Of which, a young Boticelli painted "Fortitude", at the left.

There quite a bit to keep you occupied for hours, like Perseus Freeing Andromeda by Piero di Cosimo, completed somewhere between 1510 and 1513. You see Perseus twice in this work, first flying from with winged sandals. He spies Andromeda, who is to be sacrificed to a sea monster. He swoops down and after dispatching the monster and rescuing the maiden, he wins her hand.

And St Jerome in the Desert by Giovanni Bellini. Bellini panted several versions of this theme, one resides in the National Gallery in Washington DC.

There's an interesting story about this version of Laocoon and His Sons.

You could easily spend the whole day here; though we think about 2 to 2 1/2 hours is more than reasonable.

We left the gallery and headed out across the Arno River on the Ponte Vecchio.

Once upon a time, many segmental arch bridge were covered and lined with shops like Ponte Vecchio; which means "Old Bridge". The bridge was the only way to cross the river in Florence until 1218.

Once upon a time, butcher shops lined the bridge. These days it jewelry and leather goods.

The Missus ended up buying a nice pair of leather gloves.

We walked across the bridge and ended up having a couple of double espressos across from Pitti Palace. Where the Missus planned for our next stop; the Bagello.

Did you know that the Bargello has something in common with my hometown? It turns out that parts of Honolulu Hale, specifically the courtyard, staircase, and ceiling were modelled after the Bargello?

The Bargello is known for its collection of sculpture and statues.

Like Giambologna's "Flying Mercury".

And then there was the one piece that caught my attention. I ended up sending "CC" a text with a photo of the sculpture below and a message that went something along the lines of "and you thought SNF made the Point Move famous. Heck no….it's been around since forever!"

To which CC responded with a comment about the, ahem, attire……no Angel Flights here!

As you can tell, I was getting a bit punchy, perhaps my own version of Florence (Stendahl) Syndrome, it was time for a break.

It was time for lunch.

There's was a place I wanted to try, a place only open for lunch, from noon to 3pm, Monday thru Saturday….three hours! A place that's been in business since 1915. It was just after twelve when we arrived at the rather discreet location across the street from San Lorenzo Church.

I don't think the place takes reservations and the dining area was almost full when we arrived. Luckily we found a table.

The menu is a single page, but it was pretty easy picking out what we were having.

The Missus wanted to try Ribollita (6€ – $7.25US)

Thick, but not too thick, very hearty; this version had beans (delici-yoso) which added a wonderful earthy touch, to the almost potage texture of the soup. The greens added a mild bitter-sweetness. This was wonderful.

Based on our previous meal, I wanted to try the Trippa alla Fiorentina (9,5 € – $11.65).

The surprisingly tender tripe was elevated with a slightly tangy tomato sauce; the flavor of celery seemed present. This was so good…..I've never had tripe so tender and delicious.

Folks in Florence love their meat….so I had to try the Bollito Misto (boiled beef and beef tongue – 10,5€)

This one was kind of odd…though you couldn't accuse the place of false advertising…it was indeed boiled meat……..no seasoning……

Overall lunch was a winner….with a couple of glasses of wine, who could ask for more?

We really enjoyed the service in Florence. Folks were relaxed, but very nice. Trattoria Sergio Gozzi was no different.

Trattoria Sergio Gozzi
Piazza San Lorenzo 8r
Florence, Italy

The Missus couldn't believe a place could survive for over a century open just 3 hours a day. But after eating here we knew why!

It was time for a nap…….

Thanks for stopping by!

Florence – Michelangelo’s David and Dinner at Enzo e Piero

April 17, 2018 mmm-yoso Florence and Tuscany, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

In contrast to relaxed and laid back Bologna, Florence was a beehive of activity. From the tine we arrived at the train station there were crowds of people. And yet, there was the experience of walking from the train station and turning the corner to see the Duomo.

I have heard that there is no greater representation of the Renaissance than the Duomo. Walking down busy streets and turning the corner to suddenly have it right in front of you certainly has quite an affect.

One cannot deny the influence of the Medici Family on the Renaissance and on Florence itself.

And yes, the crowds were large, but that just made people and pooch watching that much more interesting.

We had a nice apartment on Via del Servi (more on that later), which was large, comfortable, and quiet at night. Our host Matteo was amazing as well. Our next mission was to get a Firenze Card

For me, once settled, I believed we needed to get a Firenze Card. There were places we wanted to see, and the 71 Euro price would allow us to beat some of the lines and I was sure the Missus would have us headed to more than enough locales to make up for the price of the pass. The closest location open was in Piazza della Signora.

So we headed on over.

After trying to figure things out and with the help of various folks at different admission windows I found the line. About thirty minutes later I had our passes in hand.

We headed right to Accademia which was fairly close and I knew we'd be able to cover in a short amount of time because everyone comes to see…..

The masterpiece that is Michelangelo's David in full glory. I must say, there are those great works of art that do not impress very much in person. David did.

This Renaissance symbol of the victory of divine good over evil stands seventeen feet tall. The detail, especially of the hands is amazing.

David hold the classic pose known as Contrapposto ("counterpoise").

And yes, it was a bit busy; but not super crowded as entrance volume is well controlled. Great for us as we had a short 15 minute wait in the "reserved" line with the Firenze Card. Not so great if you were in the line stretching down the block at the hour of 430 pm.

The rest of the Gallery was pretty empty.

We explored a bit; taking time to check out four unfinished works by Michelangelo dubbed "The Prisoners" each seems to be trying to be….to quote the "unofficial" Accademia website – "to free the spirit from matter".

These four works were initially intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II.

We spent about an hour in total wandering around.

The close location of our apartment allowed us some downtime before heading off to dinner.

I had made only three restaurant reservations before leaving on our trip, including one for the first night in Florence. I was curious about the traditional food of Florence and after reading a bunch of food blogs and such, especially this wonderful post on Curious Appetite (check them out), I thought we'd check out Enzo e Piero.

We had reservations for 7pm, which is probably "tourist time" for eating in Florence, but the folks working were so friendly and gracious. and we were indeed the first customers for this evening.

Though by the time our first bottle of Vino Rosso made it to the table; the place was half full.

We both started with soup courses.

The Missus with a very thick Ribollita. A traditional Tuscan "soup", in this case very thick like a potage.

I'd read that most versions had beans, but this did not. The "soup" was really super thick, bread is used to thicken the soup, and this seemed to have a tad too much of it for our taste. the flavors of the greens and other vegetables were muted.

I got the Tortellini en Brodo. Yes, it's mainly known as a classic dish from Emilia-Romagna; but it was chilly outside and I thought this would be nice.

While the broth was a bit light in the flavor department; man that hand made pasta was amazing. I'd really never had anything like this before. The texture, light yet substantial, just the perfect amount of springiness.

If the Tortellini wasn't enough of a pleasant surprise the Lampredotto in Zimino was just plain great.

For the unitiated, lampredotto, made from the abomasum, aka, the "fourth stomach" of the cow and named after lampreys due to the resemblance of the "tripe" to the color and shape of the eel like creature. I didn't expect much and man, was I surpised at the amazing flavor and texture. The texture is almost buttery, there's a mild "offal" flavor that's deeply beefy-savory, the light tomato sauce did a great job of not masking any flavors; just adding a touch of tanginess. You can tell; this was love at first bite. From this point on, it was going to be "all tripe, all the time" for us.

The artisanal beans; Fagioli Zolfini del Vardarno, heirloom Tuscan beans from Valdarno had a deep beany flavor, if a bit under cooked for our tastes.

Last up for the Missus was the Taglierini al Tartufo Fresco. The Missus asked me what "tartufo" was and I told Her "truffles"…..so you know She was going to order this.

The pasta was so springy. Another thing I learned on this trip, I'd been putting too little salt in my pasta water. We found the pasta, didn't need too much olive oil, garlic, onions…… These "fresh" (fresco) black truffles were very fragrant, but quite mild in flavor.

Amazingly, all the dishes, and most everything we had on this trip just wasn't very salty. It was a fantastic experience for us.

Enzo e Piero has been around since 1931, we wanted to start our trip eating more traditional fare, and this was a good start.

Trattoria Enzo e Piero
Via Faenza 105 rosso
Florence, Italy

Did you notice the "rosso" after the number? Well, Florence addresses have two different sets of numbers. The "rosso", red is for businesses, you'll often see a number ending in 'r'; this means red. Residences are in black or blue. While it can be a bit confusing; it's got nothing on the Japanese address system, which I've mentioned in a couple of posts before.

For dessert, well, we were in Florence, so the Missus grabbed some Gelato from one of what seems like thousands of Gelato shops in Florence.

Life was good!

Where in the world are we – seconda parte

April 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

Just another quick post from abroad.

We’re in the land of castles,

And where there’s a bridge that the devil might have built.

Regardless, there is great beauty here.

And the food has been oh so delici-yoso.

Tomorrow we’re off to a city famous for their Byzantine mosaics. I’m fairly tired right now.

So it’s time for a rest.

Thanks for stopping by!

Where in the world are we – prima parte

March 31, 2018 mmm-yoso Florence and Tuscany, Italy, Italian Restaurants, Italy, Travel

Yes, it’s that time again. We’re off on another, all too short trip.

Guessing this one is easy.

From the amazing art.

To the great architecture…..

Land views are lovely.

We’ve stuck to mostly local, traditional dishes and the food has been surprisingly good and hearty.

Every meal seemed to be better.

People here have been amazingly nice. Though the crowds can be maddening.

Anyway, I don’t want to hog up your time.

We hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

Tribute Pizza

April 12, 2017 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants, Pizza

For a few weeks before we left on our trip, the Missus was really into pizza. She's kind of over Bruno for now and wanted to try other places. Of the several we tried; two became Her favorites and warranted, in some cases multiple visits. One of these was a place recommended by my good friend Candice……Tribute Pizza.

Located in the renewed and revitalized old Post Office on the corner of Grim and North Park Way, in what is now called the "North Park Post Office Lofts", and catty corner to one of my favorites, Lucky's Golden Phenix. We both liked the wide open industrial, but comfortable space, and the seats were in themselves fine. There's an interesting gastropub meets pizzeria vibe here. A big plus; the staff is very nice as well, with an ok beer list.

As you can tell in the photo on the right…..I guess some folks really want to take a photo of the place!

In addition to pizzas there's the now required cheese and charcuterie plates, which looked quite large and a couple of salads; like the "put on a egg on it brussels salad" ($11).

The Missus loves Her brussel sprouts and these were nicely shaved and topped with a lovely egg yolk. So you'd think She'd be just all over this. Strangely, She didn't care too much for this, as the dressing was a bit too sour and the egg yolk and pecorino romano really didn't add that mild savoriness and sweetness that brings out the best in brussel sprouts. In talking to our wonderful Server about this salad; we found out that we might…depending on how busy the kitchen is, get lardons and Balsamic on this salad as well….which would definitely make it a winna'. So perhaps in the future…..

Hands down, our favorite item here is the wonderful; yeasty, warm, slight crusty Sea Salt Focaccia paired with the spicy, spreadable salumi known as 'Nduja ($9).

The 'Nduja here has a nice bite to it and reminds us of a good porky spread tinged with Harissa.

When it comes to first trying out a new pizza place, the Missus prefers simple, and it doesn't get more basic than a Margherita ($13).

First off; the crust, like the focaccia, had a wonderful flavor and texture. For some reason, the rest fell rather flat. We didn't care for the tomato sauce, which we found watery and bland…….I look for that tangy-mild sweetness, that I call the "flavor of sunshine" and this didn't really have that. While I love the fork and knife style, slightly "wet", Neopolitan style pizza, the middle was way too soggy for us. The mozzarella was good, light milky-saltiness, but strangely, we found the basil tasteless. A mixed bag overall.

But the service had been great and we decided to return mainly for this.

And damn if this wasn't even better this time around; being a bit thicker and heartier.

If you've read enough posts, you know the Missus loves Her meatballs (yes, I know, there's a joke in there just waiting to come out), so we had to order it ($13).

We both loved the roasted peppers and onions; adding a bit of sweetness and pungency to a rather heavy version of meatballs. Ditto with the parmigiano reggiano, layering a bit of milky-saltiness. I actually enjoyed the very "meaty", yet moist and tender meatballs more than the Missus. She said these were a bit too heavy for Her, but still enjoyed them. The sauce was very hearty and thick, almost spreadable, a root vegetable marinara, that was very tasty.

Of course we had to try another pizza. And the theme of "Tribute", are well, tributes to other famous pizzas…..so we decided on the tribute to Chris Bianco's Pizzeria Bianco. If you're interested, Ed from Yuma has done posts on both Pane Bianco and Tratto. Anyway, we ordered the Biancoverde with Prosciutto de Parma ($18).

The crisp, slightly bitter arugula, savory-salty prosciutto, and garlic was such a nice match for the yeasty-bready crust. Chili flake kept your attention and the ricotta some creaminess and milky flavors along with the mozzarella. This was a nice pizza and one we'll have again.

For us, it seems that the star of the show at Tribute is the dough…..that focaccia and pizza crust is quite nice. We've really liked the friendly and helpful service as well. Interesting thing about ordering; when you walk in, you head up to the counter and can place your drink and/or food order there, before heading off to a table.

So, I guess the Missus is finally totally over Her "no-bread" phase in life….it makes for much better eating for us! And thanks as always for the recommendation Candice!

Tribute Pizza
3077 N Park Way
San Diego, CA 92104
Hours:
Tues – Thurs 5pm – 10pm
Fri 4pm – 11pm
Sat 11am – 11pm
Sun 11pm – 9pm

Revisits to Places I’ve Never Done Posts On – The Godfather

March 16, 2017 mmm-yoso Italian Restaurants

We've been doing this little blog for almost 12 years now. And while we've done almost 3500 posts over the years, we've been living in San Diego for almost seventeen. There are many places that we've tried out that we hadn't had reason to return to for various reasons. Last year, after looking back at my Karihan post, I decided to do the rounds on places that had been struck from our eating lists "BB" (before blogging) or even places where I need to drop by for convenience….yes, I do have a regular job with long hours. So I'm going to start a series on "Revisits to Places I've Never Done Posts On".

Starting with, well, the place where the Missus made me an "offer I couldn't refuse". Jokes aside, for some reason the Missus wanted some rather old school Italian food one evening. So I suggested two places in the neighborhood, super old school Old Trieste or Baci. The Missus said, "why don't we go back to The Godfather", we haven't been there in a while. Well, that part was true….like in over thirteen or fourteen years….I'd say that would qualify as "a while".

So cue up the music…..

The décor is quite old school and many of the staff look like they've been here for years. Our Server was the nicest, most gracious guy, and his demeanor really matched the formal, but not stuffy atmosphere.

The Missus had a glass of red; a Pinot Noir….. I heard a voice screaming "you need a martini"…..so I had one. A pretty stiff one too……

From what I recalled about my previous dealing with The Godfather; portions were large, I remember not enjoying the proteins too much….and the large plate of fried zucchini you get to start dinner.

Simply seasoned….the good pieces, well after the initial "crunch" would almost melt away….other pieces were a bit dry.

The Missus ordered the Meatballs to start.

A bit too much filler for me and I prefer my sauce a bit more tangy. This in itself was fairly heavy and filling. The Missus really enjoyed this.

Soup or salad (of course) with your dinner here. We both got the minestrone, which was very tasty.

Hearty and rather thick, this hit the spot on a rather cold evening. Again, a straight forward dish, but quite comforting.

By this time the Missus and I were pretty full……and then the main courses arrived!

The Missus got the Ravioli Portabello ($19.95).

I thought the sauce was a bit on the sweet side and was too thick, like a béchamel. The pasta was fine and that mushroom filling quite delicious. We both noticed that up to this point, some of the items needed a bit more salt. In fact, I noticed more than one customer salting their food. Perhaps that's the way it's supposed to be here?

I thoroughly enjoyed my Penne Puttanesca ($17.95).

The pasta was al dente, just enough anchovies and basil to keep me interested, it could used more tomato in my opinion, but even with capers and olives, this wasn't too salty. It was way too much food and I barely put a dent into it. On the good side; the pasta held up well and I had dinner the following night.

In the end, I think we found our secret to the Godfather and no, it's not "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli", nor is it going to get me a gift of a bulletproof vest wrapped fish. It's keep it simple, minimize the proteins. It ain't cheap, but he portion sizes are pretty large. Not a place we can go to often…..but perhaps more than once every 13-14 years from now on.

Nice service, large portions, very old school.

The Godfather Restaurant
7878 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Bistro Kaz Revisited

March 1, 2017 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants

I was having one of those long days….and it was only 1130am! I wanted a bit of solitude during lunch and wondered where to go. I just got in the car and drove….thinking of maybe Sakura or Okan. But those places were just going to be too hectic for me. I pulled into the parking lot and walked past Bistro Kaz and turned around and headed right on in. It had been a couple of years since I last visited. And it looked like there was now some overlap on the menus between Kaz and Sakura; but the place was quiet. I started noticing over the last couple of visits that this seems to be the kind of place that the "Japanese ladies who do lunch" visit. No different on this day.

The menu here seems to have evolved from the Japano-Italian pasta heavy initial incarnation; into more of a diverse offering. Though pasta is still at its core. The pre-fixe lunch menu is still in place as well. On this day; I decided on the Beef Tongue Stew, which sounded nice and comforting.

The bread was warm and crusty and when the young lady asked me if I wanted more I should have said yes…..

This was a bit more than I bargained for. The tomato sauce was heavy and quite thick….and while definitely not bland, was really missing seasonings to balance things out. The texture of the three large and fork tender pieces of beef tongue was excellent. Though I was expecting a more assertive, pure beefiness that I love from beef tongue. This could have been a regular cut of beef. This dish actually could have used some penne or something similar to help with what was more of a gravy than a stew.

Not bad, but I'm going back to the pasta dishes here next time.

Bistro Kaz
3904 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Phoenix 3 – MIM; Tratto

November 6, 2016 ed fromyuma Italian Restaurants, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk and Cathy are too busy resting or working, so today Ed (from Yuma) is busy writing.

MIM

The Musical Instrument Museum is a marvelous new Museum sitting out in the desert just off the 101 outerbelt northwest of Scottsdale:

In the Main Lobby, a large display features the motto of the Museum, pictures of people making music, and screens showing music making in action:

When you enter the museum, you are given headphones. Whenever you come up to a screen, the headphones let you listen to whatever music, whichever instruments are being played on the screen.

While there are areas devoted to Arizona music, famous musicians (like Elvis, Pablo Casals, “King” Sonny Adé), mechanical music, and special exhibits, most of the Museum is organized geographically. On our previous visit to MIM, Tina and I explored African and European music and were amazed by the range and depth of the presentations.

On this visit, we began with the Asian area – which like Asia itself – is huge. To give you a specific example of how the museum works, look at this picture of traditional Korean bells and gongs:

These amazingly large devices are modern versions of traditional temple instruments. The screen between them shows similar bells and pyeongyeong being played.

Just to the right of those, is an area that shows instruments from Korean Court music and folk music:

While many of the instruments in the museum are modern versions, you can see that some of them are historical. The museum explains and dates all items, so you don't confuse something made in 2009 with something made in 1009. On the screens, you can see several different short clips of the instruments being used in performance.

I was especially taken with these old Tibetan horns, which were so large that I couldn't get all of them in one photo:

After a morning wondering through Asia, we were hungry, and fortunately the MIM has a nice eatery, Café Allegro, which tries to use fresh, local, organic ingredients whenever possible.

I had the marinated chicken salad:

The chicken had a pleasant lime/cilantro marinade, the lettuces were very fresh, the chunks of tomato extremely flavorful, and the cauliflower, pepper, and zucchini added nice contrast. Sad to say, I don't remember the tomato vinaigrette (?) but I do remember really enjoying the salad.

Tina ordered the chicken breast sandwich:

She liked the pesto sauce and the freshness of the veggies. And the lightly battered sweet potato fries were excellent, flavorful and crunchy.

All in all we had a very good time at the Musical Instrument Museum.

MIM, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd, Phoenix AZ 85050, (480) 478-6000.

Tratto

For dinner that evening, we had reservations at Tratto, also known as Tratto Bianco because it is owned and operated by pizza superstar Chris Bianco. After we returned from the long weekend, we found a story in the New York Times about him, the health struggles that forced him away from flour and ovens, and the opening of his latest restaurants. Worth reading.

On a previous visit to Phoenix, Tina and I had lunch at Pane Bianco, his sandwich shop in central Phoenix, so we were eager to try his latest venture. He opened a new Pizza Bianco in the Town & Country Center in Phoenix, and right next to it a trattoria, connected by two food preparation areas. This one on the pizza side:

this one on the Tratto side:

Tina and I began our meal with a delightful vermouth cocktail:

which gave us time to look over the simple one-page menu:

and to enjoy the complimentary pecans, walnuts, green olives, and cheese:

Let me apologize for some of the photos in this post. I forgot to do an exterior shot, and the restaurant was packed (we arrived before 5:30) so this is the only interior shot I can use:

If you are interested in looking at the interior/exterior, I recommend the Tratto website.

Also, as evening wore on, the ambient light decreased, so some pics are substandard – even by my standards.

Anyway, back to the food. We started with a salad – lemon cucumber, celery root, parsley, and red onion with a pleasant mild creamy vinaigrette:

Interesting and subtle. It's amazing how much taste parsley can have when it is not overwhelmed by other ingredients.

The bread, I love good bread and this was superb. A crunchy crust with a slight charred flavor reflecting a super hot oven; the crumb was excellent as well:

To accompany the dinner, we selected a Renato Ratti Nebbiolo (2014). While made from the same grape and from the same general area as a Barolo, this wine was fruity and not overpowering, going well with all our courses:

The next dish tasted a whole lot better than it looks in this picture:

The pasta, four long and thick candeles, had a nice firm chew, but the real hero of the dish was the pork Genovese sauce. The slow cooked onion based sauce was full of rich and tender braised pork. A real treat, something I've never had before, but something down-home and comforting nonetheless.

The lamb was one of the two mains that we ordered:

Again, much better than the picture. Braised leg of lamb had been placed in an extremely hot oven to sear the exterior, adding another dimension to the overall flavor. The large chunks of meat were fork tender and tasty. The fennel and radicchio added some texture and contrasts, and I'm sure the anchovy/lemon sauce contributed also.

The other main was a small chicken with a honey/chimayo chili glaze seared in one of those hot ovens:

It was extremely moist and wonderfully flavored. Since we had ordered so much food we went into a triage mode and saved most of this great chicken for our next night's dinner in Yuma. Day-old and cold, it was still great chicken.

As a side dish we had large slices of zucchini – again showing the effects of the oven – served with squash blossoms and mint:

It was okay.

The dinner concluded with a pear poached in port with a small scoop of Gorgonzola on the side:

It was a simple classic conclusion to our Tratto meal. While not everything was amazing, I was impressed by the quality of ingredients, the excellent service, and the food that felt 100% "authentic" and very innovative at the same time. Tina and I left full and smiling.

Tratto Bianco, 4743 N. 20th St. at Town & Country, Phoenix AZ 85016, (602) 296-7761

Phoenix 2 – Buck & Rider; Crudo

October 27, 2016 ed fromyuma Italian Restaurants, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Seafood, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk is on a special adventure, Cathy is really busy, so Ed (from Yuma) talks about two restaurants in Phoenix today.

Buck & Rider

Just as they were opening at 11 AM, Tina and I drove up, parked the car, and came in through the side entrance:

The restaurant is a large, festively decorated space with high open ceilings:

but the weather was so nice we sat outside in the patio area:

As we were looking over the menu, we ordered a glass of white wine to share and were very pleased that our helpful young server brought it out in two glasses: In fact, we were thoroughly happy with the service at Buck & Rider even though our waitress confessed it was her first day on the job. She smiled a lot, worked hard to do well, and kept our water glasses filled.

The fried calamari with Thai dipping sauce showed up first:

This was good. The tender rings of baby squid were nicely crunchy and went well with the sauce. A pleasant amount of chili heat. At first I thought that came from the dipping sauce, but as we worked our way down to the bottom, we discovered a bunch of deep-fried jalapeno slices:

The gumbo followed the calamari, and the server split it into two bowls, so this is a half portion:

There is a lot to like here. Look at the thick dark roux, which was redolent with the flavor of filé. The sausage was excellent. In fact there was really only one shortcoming – a couple of my shrimp tasted off. They weren't terrible, and Tina said hers were okay, but still . . .

The meal ended on a better note with the smoked trout salad (again, this is a half portion):

Good stuff. The trout was nice and smoky, the lettuce fresh and crisp, and the avocado sweet and creamy. Pieces of olives and fennel added some complexity to the excellent preserved lemon vinaigrette. Tart enough, but not acidic. A good lunch overall.

After lunch, we were reminded that we were in the big city. We had parked adjacent to an area that said "FREE CHARGE." It took me a few seconds of puzzlement (if you're charged, how can it be free?) before I figured out what that meant. Anyway, when we came out, we found our RAV4 parked next to 2 Teslas on one side and a Bentley on the other. "Toto I don't think we're in Yuma anymore."

Buck & Rider, 4225 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85018, (602) 346-0110.

Crudo

For dinner that evening, we went to Crudo, a place with a contemporary approach to Italian food. It fronts on the backside of a shopping area and presents a green and rustic exterior:

Inside, it is spacious, clean, modern, and well lit:

The seating along the sides of the room, where we sat, combined booth and chairs in a way that allowed for large groups or couples like us:

Upbeat 60s, 70s, and 80s soul tunes played in the background adding to the ambience. Tina and I chuckled because Buck & Rider had virtually identical music. Pleasant and friendly.

Our server, likewise, was pleasant and friendly as well as extremely competent and helpful. She brought us glasses of ice water, which were kept filled throughout the dinner, and Tina and I split a glass of vermentino while we looked over the menu:

The entrée items are divided into four categories, crudo (raw), mozzo (cheese), cotto (cooked), and griglia (grilled). While you could just order one or two entrées by themselves, any three choices per person were available for $35, four for $45, and five for $55. And it made no difference which categories.

As we were trying to sort things out, our server told us that the restaurant was offering a charcuterie plate as an appetizer, so of course, that's where we started:

And what a good start it was. Closest to the camera was a mild chicken liver mousse topped with the dice of pickled vegetables. Smooth and crunchy with a nice balance. On the right side of the plate, pork rillettes lay on apple marmalade. Again a pleasant combination. On the left, rustic pork pâté was covered with mustard sauce. A garlic aïoli and pickled peppercini slices sat on either side. Very tasty and enjoyable. The sauces complexified but did not overwhelm. Of course, the crunchy toasted slices of Italian bread went well with everything.

Speaking of going well with everything, we selected an unusual white wine to accompany dinner:

Luisa from the Friuli region of northeastern Italy is made with the rare ribolla gialla varietal native to the region. It tasted smooth and fresh, its fruit flavors and minerality going with the entire dinner.

Our two raw plates showed up at the table next. This is the albacore:

The tomato, cucumber, citrus and olive oil topping highlighted the freshness of the fish.

But the rich slices yellowtail were even better – controne, a flavorful Italian dried chile, gave some spice, bits of bottarga added a fishy saltiness, and chopped chives provided color:

After eating sushi and sashimi for over 30 years, these presentations were delightful.

The squid ink risotto tasted much better than it looked:

The dish had a good spicy seafood flavor, chunks of tuna adding taste and texture to the slightly al dente rice.

The house-made gargati pasta and mussels were served in a sauce made from uni and tomatoes and topped with basil and mint leaves:

Another unusual preparation that worked.

The semolina gnocchi was next:

The dumplings themselves were like little soft pillows, and the main flavors came from the topping of braised lamb neck and nectarine. Again an unusual flavor combination that enchanted my palate.

The dinner concluded with pork belly with smoked tomato agrodolce along with creamy polenta:

Another amazing plate. The richness of the polenta and pork contrasted with the sour/sweet spicy agrodolce that reminded both Tina and I – with our German backgrounds – of well prepared blaukraut.

We were stuffed and we were delighted. Overall a great meal. At a fair price:

Crudo, 3603 E. Indian School Rd., Suite B, Phoenix AZ 85018, (602) 358-8666.

Petaluma: The Saturday Farmer’s Market and Dinner at Risibisi

December 10, 2015 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Fine Dining, Italian Restaurants, Marin, Napa, and Sonoma Counties, Travel

So what do you do after a fun day doing the Cheese Trail? Well, you go to dinner!

We did make one more stop in the late afternoon; Petaluma Creamery.

The focus of this shop is more geared toward ice cream and the café.

After our afternoon nap, we strolled back to downtown Petaluma, passing all those lovely Victorian houses.

Where D street meets 4th street is Walnut Park. We were visiting in October and from May thru November, Walnut Park hosts a Farmer's Market.

We had made the mile-and-a-half walk in record time….thanks to the ahem, the Missus's encouragement. So we took a nice break.

Would you believe that the Missus bought 2 pounds of apples? Which we brought back with us to San Diego?

We also saw what might be the cutest and most chubby, little pony…..

Petaluma Saturday Afternoon Farmer's Market
Saturday from 2:00 pm-5:30 pm
May though November
Walnut Park
Petaluma Blvd and D Street
Petaluma, CA

We were still early for dinner, so we walked around Petaluma for a while.

Our dinner destination? A restaurant named Risibisi. I liked the menu, Italian with regional NoCal touches, which uses local ingredients.

We were seated in a cozy corner. The place filled up really quickly!

The service was polished and very professional, no complaints from us.

I sent Candice a text after ordering my Aperitif, joking that I must have been channeling her when I ordered a Negroni. The Missus had a Pinot Noir.

We started with the Tomato and Burrata.

The tomatoes were very good; nice acid, the flavor textbook perfect. The Burrata was creamy, slightly milky, walking arm in arm with the tomato and the flavor of the Olive Oil. The Missus actually preferred this version to what we had at Central Market the night before. She believed that the flavors were more on target and true to the ingredients. I was on the fence. The tomatoes in this dish had much more flavor, but I enjoyed the umph the anchovy and the peppery olive oil added to the dish at CM. Still, there's no denying, this was quite good.

The Watermelon Salad ($12) was a wonderful combination of flavors and textures.

The Hazelnut Vinaigrette was mild, but added just blended in nicely into the symphony of flavors. Watermelon and arugula playing well together! If anything, I'd have enjoyed a bit more pecorino to add a bit more savory-milky-salty tones to the salad. But this was very enjoyable.

Sweet Corn Risotto ($18).

I'm still looking for "that" risotto…..the usual restaurant style par cooked version, that excels. This one really didn't have the texture I enjoy. The corn added a nice sweetness, the pancetta and pecorino adding the salty tones to balance things out.

The Gnocchi Wild Boar ($18) was delicious. While the risotto fell short in texture, this was so good. The gnocchi was just firm enough, waiting to be eaten to start melting into the ether.

The wild boar was tasty, adding a nice richness to the ragu, which seemed simple, but full of flavor. An excellent dish!

The Missus had Her new favorite dessert; an Affogato. She asked if they would replace the vanilla ice cream with hazelnut ice cream which they gladly did. I had a Tawny Port, which proved to be a nice digestif. Man, we got get back to Porto one of these days.

We had a very nice meal at Risibisi. In fact, the Missus said that while the best dish of the trip was the Pork Confit from Central Market, She thought that our meal at Risibisi was better overall. It's a nice dilemma to have and one I'd gladly like to repeat again….have a dinner at Central Market, then at Risibisi….

Risibisi Restaurant
154 Petaluma Blvd N
Petaluma, CA 94952

We really enjoyed our time in Petaluma and I'm sure we'll return someday…especially when the Missus is itching for some cheese! I do have one more post from this trip coming up….I'll try to get it done soon.