Eating With Ziggy

Nish Nush – Ach Ya!

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Ziggy

A little Borat/Bruno humor there

So the other day something weird happened at night that never happened before. No, not what you think. And shame on you. What happened was I was awaken by Mrs Z’s stomach making all kinds of weird noises. I spent about 10 minutes lying there listening to this processing symphony with a certain amount of fear that she’ll wake up with some sort of ailment. The night before we had an incredible meal at a place where 2 Yelpers got sick recently and I couldn’t help but worry. (That place is not Nish Nush). Unlike snoring, there’s really nothing much you can do in this case. I mean, imagine this conversation..

Her: “What?”

Me: “Ahhm, your stomach is making noises”

Her: “And..what exactly can I do about that?”

Me: “Ahem, can you.. like.. go downstairs and have a turkey sandwich or something”

Her: Speechless

Me: “I love you”

Her: “Fuck You!”

See what I mean? But thankfully Mrs Z woke up fine the next day and everything turned out fine. False alarm. What does it have to do with Nish Nush? Good question Timmy. Nish Nush is sort of a symbol that we are eating out a little bit too much lately, and as I was listening to Amadeus Belly I was wondering if I’m going too far. The place is an hour drive from my house and I already visited it twice in one week.

Quite simply Nish Nush (“snack” in Hebrew) serves the best Falafel in NYC at the moment. Their classic “Green” Falafel is not really green but picture perfect blend of brown and green herbs, mostly brown which I prefer. Along with the perfectly crispy exterior its the closest I’ve had to Falafel in Israel. Although I used to live in Israel as a kid, my best Falafel came last year when I returned as an adult (stop laughing Mrs Z!). Falafel here is made to order which makes a big difference. Pitas are baked in house which is another big plus, and are served warm. There’s free Hummus inside the Falafel sandwich, which is sort of a sad plus. Hummus should always be free, like wifi. So many charge extra for Hummus these days.

But thats not all Nish Nush serves of course. They have a pretty large menu in fact for a place like this. All sorts of Hummus specialties, the Hummus Whisperer a ~~former?~~ contributor to this blog swears by their Masabacha, Hummus with warm chickpeas, boiled eggs, and spices. Hummus is made fresh daily and second only to Gazala’s Place for my taste. The Falafel Platter puts other Falafel platters to shame and I’ll let the pictures do the talking. They also got Sabich on the menu and get this, they even spell Schug correctly.

Move over Taim! Just a little bit

Nish Nush

88 Reade St, New York, NY 10013

Categories: New York City, TriBeCa | Tags: food, Nish Nush, Nish Nush NYC, NYC eats, NYC Falafel, NYC restaurants, restaurants | 5 Comments

24 Hours in Lucca

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Ziggy

We started our Lucca adventure with a missed turn and ended with something we feared will happen eventually but not in a foreign country. Lets start with the missed turn

Looking at the map roughly 8,754 times prior to the trip did not stop me from missing the most important turn leading to the Alla Dimora Lucense hotel. We circled for a little bit trying to get back to the hotel but to no avail, so I just had no choice but park on the street 200 meters away from our hotel.

Ester, our fantastic host: “Oh no you cant leave your car there. You will get fined since you are not a local”

Me: “Ok, so how do I get to your garage”

Ester: “Oh its very easy. I’ll show you”

Me thinking: Oh thank goodness. I thought the only way is something drastic like completely leave the old city

Easter: “You need to leave the old city” pointing on the map how easily it can be done

Oh well, out of the gates and back to the same gate we came from and this time I knew exactly where to turn. After showing Ester how an American backs into an Italian garage with minimum sweat, off we go ~~with some major eating, I’m talking about 5 meals~~ sight seeing.

I just took a moment to think about how to best describe Lucca and I’m having a hard time. Its either indescribable or the show I’m currently watching (chopped) is interfering with my writing. (Mrs Ziggy if you reading: I think its time for me to get an office now that my blogging career is taking off. I highly doubt Katie Parla is writing posts from a noisy living room. And we are out of Halva). But Lucca is unique, and being in Lucca just felt different to me in ways I cant quite explain.

First stop: Palazzo Pfanner and its lovely garden right by our hotel. We really enjoyed this place and spent a bit too much time here, mostly taking roughly 100 pictures of ourselves jumping from a bench. I would show you my shots but its NSFW.

Instead of having the customary 2 meals in Lucca I chose to snack around during the day. We wound up going to 2 particular places 4 times (2 each).

Da Felice is the oldest Pizza in town, and the the most popular with locals. We sampled some delicious pizza with salami, and another one with prosciutto that blended nicely with the rest of the ingredients. But to be honest, I wasnt there for the pizza. I came for the Cecina, thin pancake like or crepe if you will made of chickpea flour. But since they were down to the last few slices I opted to come back later for a fresh batch.

And around the corner is another local favorite, Forno Giusti. The smells alone in this bakery worth going in. People love candle scents, perfume, etc, while I feel at home inside a bakery like this. We sampled some focaccia (plain and with cheese) and Buccellato, a simple sweet sticky cake with raisins. But everything else including the fine looking focaccia sandwiches looked amazing. By the end of the trip “Forno” became my new favorite Italian word. Surpassing Tartufo and Finocchiona.

Turn the corner again and you are staring at one of the most stunning church exteriors in all of Tuscany, in my opinion at least, San Michele in Foro (top picture) or San Michele near “Forno” as I call it. Built on top of a Roman Forum (hence “Foro”), this Romanesque beauty and its ornate facade is not to be missed. Same goes for their Duomo, Cathedral of San Martino and to a lesser degree the peaceful Basilica of San Frediano. The good news is that you will not find a more walkable city, so seeing all three and all the sites in Lucca is fairly simple. Although we biked to the Duomo

Right near San Michele is a little square that is all about Lucca’s claim to fame, Puccini. The composer’s house which is now a small museum, and a statue dominate the square.

We then proceeded with a little bit of shopping. By shopping I mean the girls went inside a large store while I waited outside with other annoyed husbands. They were inside long enough for me to get invited to a Bat Mitsvah in Israel.

“My name is Lucca and I live on the second floor” couldnt get the song out of my head. Especially after numerous stops at our hotel where we stayed on the second floor. Italian 2nd floor, like American 3rd floor. In Lucca you have to stay inside the walls to maximize convenience and Alla Dimora Lucense really did the trick with its clean and spacious accommodation for the 4 of us. Breakfast by Ester not too shabby either. More on what we left behind soon

Internet connection issues limited my ability to explain to the family some of the sites. I was relying on some websites I had saved but couldn’t open them. So in order to make it interesting for the kids I had to invent things.

Me: “And here you have what looks like a statue of Lenin” (some statue that sort of reminded me of Lenin)”

kid 1: “John Lenin?”

Me: “Ahhm Yes, John Lenin. Liberator of Lucca”

Kid 2: “I’m hungry”

Me: “But we just…never mind” It suddenly hit me that all the numerous “but we just ate” arguments never really went anywhere

After a short rest it was time to take advantage of Lucca’s main attraction. The one of a kind Lucca walls, a 4 km park encircling around the old town. We picked up the bikes in Piazza Santa Maria but there are bike rentals all over town. Some of them I pointed on the map below. We simply had a blast biking all the way around. And to truly appreciate this scenic town biking around it is the way to go. Dont forget to look outside of the walls for more views, and to go down occasionally to visit other areas of the old town and some gelato of course.

Time for Cecina. Delicios! Add a little bit of seasoning, Delicious-er! And since we are already in the neighborhood, more yumminess from the Forno where we enjoyed mini flat pizzas. Basically I just went in to get another whiff and wound up buying more food

After another short break we went on to climb Guinigi Tower, one of numerous towers all over Tuscany built by wealthy families to either symbolize wealth or for protection (the towers of San Gimignano). Again, I have to use the word unique here as on the top of the tower you find shade in 2 oak trees, with plenty of breathtaking views to go around. No wonder John Lenin found refuge here as a small child.

At this point most of the tourists are gone and walking around is a little more pleasant, although you dont mind the tourists here so much. I couldnt help but notice the Lucca dogs dont stop to poop but do it while walking. Possibly foreign dogs walking around marveling at the architecture while their owners desperately trying to clean their mess. I almost felt like grabbing a few napkins to help this poor woman. Almost!

On the way to dinner we bumped into a lovely couple I met on Trip Advisor. They drive to Lucca every year from England and stay for a while. It was very cool meeting them.

One benefit of staying in Lucca overnight is visiting Piazza Anfiteatro during the day and night. The site of a former Amphitheater holding 10,000 spectators. And of course the site of John Lenin’s eventual execution for giving away Chianina secrets to the Florentines, as I explained to the family.

For dinner I chose a place called Baralla and was very pleased with the meal overall. A fantastic antipasti including a very different Sopressata, farro with sundried tomatoes, bread soaked with vinegar and onion and basil which tasted much better than it sounds. I got spoiled with all the Tuscan spoiled bread specialties.

Loved the pastas here. Seeing truffles on the menu finally was like seeing David. These were black truffles from San Miniato shaved on tagliolini and although summer black truffles arent the best quality every little piece counted big time especially now that the entire family is into them. And of course I had to try the Tortelli Luchese which reminded me of Russian Siberian pilmeni stuffed with mystery meat with a meat ragu on top. Really enjoyed this one.

The Bistecca Di Chianina was surprisingly a little overcooked (more like medium) which I didnt think was possible in Italy. The rabbit cacciatora was more like it. Tender and flavorful. Good tiramisu and a fantastic parfait with pistachios and dark chocolate capped a fine meal overall.

As we were saying our goodbyes to Lucca it was time to say our hellos to… Lucca. We expected this moment to happen as we’ve seen it happen to all our friends numerous times, sometimes even digging through the trash cans outside with gloves. But we never expected it to happen in a foreign country. My oldest forgot her retainer inside a napkin over breakfast and so we had come back. Basically just delaying my next anxious moment: Taking pictures of people trying to straighten the tower of Pisa.

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: Baralla Lucca, Italy, Lucca, Lucca Food, Lucca restaurants, Travel, tuscany, What to do in Lucca | 3 Comments

Da Roberto in Montisi – Slow Food Nation

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Ziggy

“We are far from Da Roberto” is a phrase I’ve used more than once already. The first time was in Rome’s Le Mani in Pasta where we got treated like second class citizens. The last time was in my house where Mrs Ziggy flat out refused to disclose where she got the couscous. I suspect now that it wasnt organic couscous.

Da Roberto, in the remote Tuscan village of Montisi, represents everything I love about eating in Italy. Fantastic setting, great food, local ingredients, and a man whose passion for food is contagious. I said “Man” instead of “Chef” for a reason. “I’m not a chef, I’m not a cook, I’m simply here to present the finest local ingredients in the simplest form”. And what ingredients they were. Every grain, every bean, every tomato, cow or pig that you will consume at Roberto’s house, its origin will be explained to you in full detail. Roberto’s freezer is turned off and his has no microwave. You get fresh or you get nothing. The only salt in the house is for the pasta water in the kitchen and out on your table. The fact that our American salt demanding palates only reached for the salt once throughout the meal apeaks volumes.

As you come in through Roberto’s herb garden and security guards (pictured above) you immediately get the sense that you are not in Kansas anymore. The 10 or so items you see on the board are carefully selected dishes that showcase what I was trying to describe above. Meaning, you don’t ask “what’s good here” or “what do you recommend”, or what’s the house specialty. The board is the specialty.

Some of the things we ate…

Insalata lagumi (top) – 5 different beans with pecorino, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, carrots, stem of garlic, olive oil. All work together like a beautiful symphony. A fantastic starter

Pici, the Tuscan specialty we couldn’t get enough of, was well represented here, in a healthier more organic way. Pici with Chianina ragu – most excellent. Pici with pork sausage, pecorino and sweet onions was even more satisfying. The fact that we had Pici for lunch that day and the previous day did not affect our enjoyment.

Our short streak of overcooked, dry secondis was stopped here with a lovely, tender roast of chianina. And “The last sausage of the season from a {vendor name} 15 kilometers away”. Sorry Roberto’s guests who came in the following days and months. You missed a darn good sausage.

You will be hard pressed finding a better Slow Food ambassador. “Slow Food”, the fight against fast food and globalization in Italy means fighting a bug that is in its infancy, or hasn’t fully developed yet. While in the USA, its like fighting a late stage cancer. In Lucca, they recently banned any non-Italian restaurants from opening within the ancient walls, leaving 4 kebab houses as the only ethnic options in the historic center. While I, ethnic food lover Ziggy, cant even begin to imagine life without ethnic food, I understand what Lucca, and other Tuscan towns like Siena (who banned fast food in its beautiful historic center) are trying to do. They are trying to prevent the floodgates from opening. Can you really blame them? Its a sensitive subject in Italy that deserves its own post. But as much as I like living in ethnic food capital of the world, New York City, I’m not sure I would mind trading all that for a few Robertos and its farms in my area. Well, at least for a short while. Gotta have that non-organic couscous eventually.

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: Da Roberto, Da Roberto in Montisi, Da Roberto Tuscany, food, Italy, restaurants, Travel, tuscany, Tuscany restaurants | 5 Comments

George Costanza Rome

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Ziggy

This post is dedicated to my Ozzie friend Tanya who is a big Seinfeld fan.

Rome surprised me in many ways. The Carbonara, the matzoh pizza, the in your face vendors turning into Orange Yogi man. But the biggest surprise was the abundance of statues and religious figures posing in what I can only describe as George Costanza poses. While the poses are indeed different than that infamous Costanza pose, that was the first thing that popped into my ~~sick~~ mind. Can anyone explain this to me. We are fortunate enough to be able to travel all over the world but I don’t recall ever seeing this. And on daily basis

“show me angry. now show me sleepy.. ye that’s it…”

“show me sexy… not a full smile.. just a smirk..that’s it”

“Miror mirror in my hand. Whos the prettiest king on land”

On the last day we even spotted this sign of a restaurant. I think it confirms it

More statue and fountain images. The last one is for momcat, the hardest working woman on Trip Advisor.

“I cant feel my right arm”. “You cant feel it because its fake”

Categories: Italy, Rome | Tags: george costanza pose, Italy, Rome, Travel | 7 Comments

Sakagura – Tale From a Crypt

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Ziggy

Taking a short break from Italy blogging.

You think you know someone. I’ve known my friends Igor and Natasha since the high school days. At least I thought I did. Staring somewhat confused at an office building looking for an entrance to Sakagura, Igor turns to an Asian couple standing near us and asks them where is the entrance.. in Japanese. “They said its 2 blocks down” “how can it be 2 blocks away if Google Maps tells me we are standing right in front of the building.” I answer. “And is it my imagination or did you just ask for directions in Japanese in New York City.”

Turns out I needed this to be spelled out to me. Go inside the unassuming office building, go down to the basement and Voila!.. Sakagura, one of the cities most popular Izakayas, aka Sake bar, aka Japanese tapas bar, aka an oasis for Russian middle aged men who somehow picked up some Japanese from coworkers and waited many years to showcase their new found skills to their friends. A quick sprint to the desk by Igor to inform the confused girl that we are here and we get comfortably settled in a nice booth. Décor takes me back to the Tokyo underground dining days. Meaning, the images Ive seen on the Internet

We agreed that I’ll take care of the food ordering while Igor handles the Sake menu. Both quite challenging but I came prepared. But when Igor started talking Japanese to the Sake Sommelier, the shocked fellow had the kind of expression as if he was just asked if his daughter is 18, twice. But we somehow managed and before you knew it the food started flowing. More on Igor later but lets do a quick run down on dishes I (we) liked and disliked. Other than a few clunkers this was a great meal

Liked:

Gomaae – Spinach with sesame sauce. Nice and pleasant to start things off. Aromatic and heavy seasame presence in a good way

Onsen Tamago: Fantastic soup with soft boiled egg, uni and salmon roe. I’m not a huge fan of uni but this was quite good, along with the rest of the soup.

Maguro Tartar – Tuna tartar with all sorts of fish roe and caviar. Best and most expensive ($16) dish of the night

Hirame Ponzu – Buttery, very tasty Fluke Sashimi with this acidy grated radish salad I couldnt get enough of.

Buta Kakuni – Melt in your mouth yummy stewed pork belly. Perfect fat/meat ratio

Tori Tsukune – fairly nice but basic Chicken meatballs with terriyaki sauce. Not all of us enjoyed this one

Chawanmushi – Egg Custard Ponzu soup with chicken and shrimp and something resembling a mini Easter egg

Gindara Yuan Yaki – Not Yaki at all. very nice and sweet black cod

Sremeika Yaki – Grilled Japanese squid with garlic sauce. Was growing on me more and more as I was eating it

Saikoro Steak – diced steak with great sauce. One of the best dishes of the night

Desserts – we sampled 3. Very nice coffee jelly, a savory seasonal Mango pudding, but the big winner was the crème Brule with black sesame. holy smokes that was good

Disliked

Sanma Onigiri – rice balls with shiitake, radished and veggies wrapped in whole baked Mackarel. This had a strong fishy odor and taste. I’ve had mackerel many times but not quite like this

Snow Crab with steamed rice. Quite dry and surprisingly fishy as well. Kept trying it to no avail

Overall a fantastic but pricey meal. Sakagura (“Saki Storage”) is far from your typical Japanese sushi joint. Fine service, cool décor, and “cool” clientele that will satisfy the Anthony Weiners and Carlos Dangers of the world. And as we were leaving…

Mrs Z: I should probably go to the bathroom before the long drive

Igor: Its right there on your right. If you cant find it just ask someone “Toire wa dokoda”. With a slight and sudden head nod after the last word like in those samurai movies

Me: But Igor, we are in NYC and they all speak English here. Why would a white girl… ok never mind. “Tolet wa dokota” got it.

Categories: Midtown East, New York City | Tags: food, NYC, NYC dining, NYC Japanese, NYC restaurants, NYC Sake bar, restaurants, Sakagura, Sakagura NYC | 2 Comments

Da Ruggero {Florence} – “A Good Place to Eat”

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Ziggy

The title of this blog post has a much deeper meaning than it suggests. A meaning I will discuss soon. But first..

When we first decided on a Tuscany/Rome trip in the summer instead of the planned Banff, Canada, I didn’t waste much time and started researching food before I even knew where exactly we are going. Da Ruggero was the first restaurant I read about (on the excellent Elizabeth Minchilli blog) and the first restaurant I added to the itinerary. 3 months later however I found myself struggling to keep it in the itinerary due to its location, but I managed to squeeze in a lunch after Pitti Palace (nice 20 minute walk). A lunch which unquestionably turned out to be the top meal in Florence for us.

When we walked inside one of the first things I noticed gave me a feeling of relief; tattoos. “Why Ziggy did tattoos give you a feeling of relief”. Well I’m glad you asked Timmy! That’s because when I read about this place I saw a few mentions of perfect English coming from the tattooed waiter. You see Timmy, the only Italian I speak is “Menu Italian”. I’m ok with Italian menus and on occasion when we do get English menus I ask for one in Italian just to make sure nothing good is lost in translation. But I cant Incorporate “Menu Italian” into conversation. Except when I learned elementary Italian cursing (while waiting for my International Driver’s Permit imagining being stopped by a cop in Italy). I figured I can utilize “Menu Italian” in phrases like “Tuo padre è un pollo” (Your father is a Chicken). So getting an English speaking waiter means I dont need to struggle and I can enjoy and relax. Of course the opposite is normally true for the waiter(s), but that’s there problem.

I think I digressed long enough this time. Our tattooed friend was pleasantly surprised and reassured us that we ordered all the goof stuff. His great English comes from marrying a Russian, which also means (from experience) that he doesn’t need to make a decision for the rest of his life.

The dishes at Ragurro ranged from Very Good to Andrew Zimmern like facial expressions “This is it” good. Started with another nice crostini with liver, a popular starter in Tuscany. A very pleasant farro salad with asparagus, fresh tomatoes and shrimp was especially liked by Mrs Ziggy. My first Pappa al Pomodoro of the trip might as well have been my last. Delicious! The waiter reassure me that this is one of best Pappas in town. Who knew tomatoes and stale bread can taste so good.

We shared a couple of pastas between the 4 of us and they were both outstanding. An almost see through thin tagliatelle with zucchini flowers and a little bit of heat. And more heat via the Spaghetti Carrettiera, essentially spicy spaghetti. So simple and SO addictive.

For secondi we just shared a pork chop (2 hefty pieces) which turned out more than enough for us. Up until that point our secondis in Florence were less than stellar. This was stellar. I don’t believe I ever tasted a pork chop as moist, juicy and flavorful as this.

On the wall near us we spotted an article by the Seattle Times of all things titled “A good place to eat” touting Mr Ruggero’s restaurant and his cooking. That was 1969. Now in another location, son and daughter are continuing the legacy and judging by the food and the packed house on a Sunday afternoon I would say they are doing a fine job. We were the only tourists there. I can only say it about one other restaurant we visited this trip. Diners included a family with a 4 year who was talking non stop to his uncle about Star Wars. A mother and daughter, an older gentleman wearing a suit. All of which set the scene to one of those memorable meals that remind you why you go to Italy.

Categories: Florence, Italy | Tags: Da Ruggero, Da Ruggero Florence, florence, FLorence dining, Florence restaurants, food, Italy, restaurants, Travel | 6 Comments

Villa Grazianella – Foodie Heaven in Val d’Orcia

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Ziggy

For the past 12 months or so since I started this blog, I deviated from the main subject from time to time. On occasion I would write about a particular play that we saw, or cereal, among other silly things. And although we are very fortunate to be able to feed my other obsession, travel, I have never written about any hotel, B&B or any type of accommodation. In Europe I don’t really care that much for accommodations as I just want a quiet spot and a comfortable bed, even if it means staying outside the city center as we normally do, or getting a room with a view of a brick wall as I opted one time. In Tuscany however I cared a little more and somehow by pure luck scored a villa that left an impression like no other place we visited.

The idea was simple. 5 night stay (later changed to 4) in a place where we can relax a little in the middle of a tiring trip, situated in that classic Tuscan setting we only imagined. Good food and wine was a major plus. We are normally the last people on earth that would spend dinner in a hotel but this is an entirely different ball of wax. Villa Grazianella delivered all that and more in a big way, to the point where we briefly considered extending our stay by another day and cutting our time in Rome short.

When you are situated in a place surrounded by rolling hills, vineyards and complete silence, its impossible to capture that in pictures. Even on the 4th and last morning we found it breathtaking. The villa, a restored former Montepulciano bishop country home, is situated a good (welcome to Tuscany via vineyards) 15 minutes from Montepulciano. However, while most tourists focus on the Val d’Orcia part of the region, the villa is also near the stunning Val di Chiana, or Valdichiana, or the much less sexier name I came up with, “the other side of A1”. Our meal of the trip perhaps just happened to be in that region, 15 minutes from the villa. Much of the vienyards surrounding the villa are their own, Fattoria del Cerro. In fact if you are using a GPS you may be able to find the villa by this name only, although Google can pinpoint “Villa Grazianella” for you

I read about Patrizia’s legendary cooking before we arrived and the plan was to have dinner at the villa on the first night. The dinner turned out to be one the most memorable of the entire trip. Deliciously savory Pappa al Pomodorro, Garganelli with sausage and zucchini ragu one of the yummiest pasta dishes of the trip. Garganneli in NYC restaurants comes in all shapes and sizes due to improper machinery, but this was the Garganelli I know and love. Chicken Cacciatore with green beans just like mamma used to make. Well, not my mamma really. Its just an expression. After that dinner, coming back every night from a different place to a full dining room of guests felt awkward. I had to apologize to Patrizia on a nightly basis and keep reminding her how we enjoyed her cooking. She cooks different items every day of the week by the way. At the pool, fellow New Yorkers were marvelling about her Ravioli form the night before, “best thing we ate this trip”. 2 days later another American couple was describing the singing they heard from the kitchen while the ladies were making fresh Pici, a common Tuscan pasta.

Well I would start singing too if I lived there. Alba, Patrizia, grazie mille! I miss you and hope to see you real soon.

Categories: Italy, Tuscany | Tags: food, Italy, Travel, tuscany, Villa Grazianella | 4 Comments

Roscioli {Rome} – I Dream of Deli

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Ziggy

“United We Stand”, our go to deli by my office in Manhattan which changed its name from “United” after 9/11 cant quite pull this stunt. Nor any of the other delis in NYC numbered in the thousands. It requires special talent, special expertise and a special name which Roscioli got. Not exactly a hidden gem unless your Rome research includes studying Trip Advsior rankings. Roscioli, a deli/Salumeria by day, one of Rome’s top restaurants by night is #742 on Trip Advisor at the moment

Mrs Ziggy thought my trip researching just reached another level when I told her that we can use the bathrooms next door to the Roscioli bakery during lunch since we are having dinner there that night. So I can go in and simply confirm our reservations while everybody uses the bathroom. Brilliant plan! What I didn’t tell her was that it was just a coincidence, or a bizarre 6th ~~bowel movement~~ sense that we don’t know about. The next day my emergency plan was to just enter any random dining establishment and try to confirm our non-existent reservations while the girls use the bathrooms. Of course with the amount of time they normally need, I would be found sitting with a bib around my neck munching on another Cacio e Pepe by the time they came out.

But I digress, again. Roscioli represents everything about why I love going to Italy. Raw material! Roberto from Da Roberto in Mantisi had perhaps the most memorable line of the trip; “I’m not a chef, I’m not a cook. I just present to you the ingredients.” And Roscioli is all about the ingredients.

The first 2 dishes cannot be made at “United We Stand” Deli. A plate of paper thin Mortadella from bologna with 3 year old Parmesan was like eating Mortadella for the very first time. Silky, smooth, salty perfection. Creamy Burrata with semi-dried tomatoes was a dish of the trip nominee, and a reminder that not all black pepper is created equal. I don’t recall sun dried tomatoes as addictive.

What followed was a service misunderstanding. Since we ordered 2 primis and 2 secondis for the 4 of us, the staff assumed that its all one course. Understandable, I suppose. Surprisingly the pastas were the weakest course, although its more of a testament to the quality of the rest of the dishes. A Carbonara was supposedly one of the best in town, but we actually found it a bit too al dente for us, on the 11th day of a pasta filled trip. I’ve had Carbonara and various variations of Carbonara in the US but never quite as al dente as this. Gnocchi Amatriciana was more like it.

Highly doubt our deli even heard about an Austrian Simmental Entrecôte (rib eye if you scoring at home, or even if you are alone) which was perhaps the steak of the trip. Perfectly bloody medium-rare with more flavor than all the Bisteccas we had in Florence and Lucca. Of course all of this meant I get 4 bites, while my 11 year old gets half of it. Meatballs with smoky ricotta was another big winner. Somehow I came out of Italy with an unintended meatball fix instead of the intended Carbonara fix. Meatballs you can get at many delis here in NYC, most likely covered with enough red sauce to compensate for the staleness and fishiness it gets from its neighbor inside the counter. Nice tiramisu and chocolate fondue with fruits to cap a great but most expensive dinner of the trip (160 euros).

Sitting inside felt like sitting in a trendy Soho spot. If you are looking for that Trattoria with locals feel you are not going to get it here. Chances are you’ll be sitting next to other tourists. Either way, you will most likely have an unforgettable meal. Ask if possible to sit in the back or downstairs, as opposed to the front by the counter. I leave you with pictures from both the restaurant and the Rascioli bakery nearby where we sampled some nice pizzas, and a delicious apple strudel.

Categories: Italy, Rome | Tags: food, Italy, restaurants, Rome, Rome restaurants, Roscioli, Roscioli Rome, Travel | 3 Comments

Florence – Scenes from Nerbone and Mercato Centrale

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Ziggy

During dinner an hour ago while we enjoyed ~~overcooked 10% fat flavorless~~ fantastic burgers with fresh mozzarella, I asked the clan what do you remember most from Nerbone and Mercato Centrale. Here are the results:

Child #1: It smelled of fish

Child #2: I need to go to the bathroom

Wife #1: The lines and confusion at Nerbone but fantastic pastas, market with great assortment and display of things like a cows head.

Agree on all counts. For all the food lovers out there, and if you are reading this blog, unless you have a bizarre misspelled words fetish, you probably are a food lover – This is the place to visit in Florence.

Lets start with Nerbone, serving the Cucina Povera since 1874, and I got the picture to prove it. Meaning, the picture of the sign that says since 1874, not a picture from 1874. Don’t believe anyone can dispute that fact. This is a very popular place and you cant really miss it inside the market. You do need to come early (before noon if you can) to beat the crowds and not much later than that as by around 1 to 1:30 they may start running out of things.

You stand on the line leading to the cashier, order the pastas and the sandwiches and pay. At this point you get the pastas on the spot and get a ticket that shows how many sandwiches you ordered. You then need to go on another line leading to the counter on the right, present the ticket, and tell them again the sandwich(es) you want. The ticket will just show the number of sandwiches you paid for. I suggest doing what we did; dispatch the kids to find seats while you wait on line, pay, eat the pastas, then dispatch the wife to get the sandwich (what, I did all the work doing all this amazing research)

Available pastas differ every day. On this day we enjoyed a very good funghi risotto (much better than a risotto we had at a former Michelin star in orvieto later in the trip), a terrific Tagliatelle with rabbit sauce, and an ok Farfale with pesto. On our first full day in Italy we got a little excited with the pastas so only one sandwich to share. A very good Bolitto (boiled beef) with salsa verde (green sauce). Good bread and although I was wishing for more meat, it was an enjoyable Panini. Highly recommend Nerbone Italy - 2013 216

When people ask me, “Ziggy, what in your opinion is the top museum in Italy” simple answer for me really; The Rialto market in Venice. The most colorful, unusual, jaw dropping pieces of art I’ve ever seen. Ok, no one really asked me that question yet. But if anyone ever asks me, that would be my answer (can someone please ask me that question in the comment section, so I can finally use that line in cocktail parties in NYC). Also, can someone please invite me to a cocktail party.

Anyway, really enjoyed walking around this market/museum. I wouldn’t mind coming here on an empty stomach tasting everything in sight. So much better than a Sunday in Costco!

Categories: Florence, Italy, Tuscany | Tags: florence, Florence restaurants, food, Italy, Mercato Centrale Florence, Nerbone florence, restaurants, Travel, tuscany | 3 Comments

Gattavecchi – Flavor Carnival in Montepulciano

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Ziggy

So where to start? Great drives, great scenery, great architecture, great George Costanza like statues, GREAT EATS. What should my first post about this trip be? I find my answer in my wallet. A card from Lilian Oliveira, the passionate Brazilian cook at Gattavecchi. The card momentarily takes me back to Lilian’s kitchen and the moment she gives me the card. You could see it in her eyes, as if she’s saying “You start with me, little man”.

But lets go back for a second, 2 hours earlier for the “Favor” that led us to Lilian. We get one ravioli, a small sample of Pici, Tagliatelle, and Pappardelle that we just made from scratch at our fun cooking class in Le Logge del Vignola. Not enough for a full meal. As good as it was, the idea that we almost ate our own cooking on that gorgeous day in Montepulciano instead of the once in a lifetime La Cucina di Lilian, makes me shiver slightly

The Gattavecchi Cantina, lies just outside the city center, an oasis far away from the tourists, at least it seems. The serene garden setting makes you feel like you’ve just driven 15 kilometers (far away in Tuscan country side standards) to eat here. Step inside and you are transported to a 12th century convent where you’ll find a large convent dining room and the wine cellars. Daniela Gattavecchi, who gave us a little tour, along with her 2 brothers, are 4th generation proud wine makers.

But we are here for the food. 4 outstanding dishes including a best of the trip nominee. The salumi platter was one of the best of a very salumi filled trip. The addictive truffled salami alone elevates this one to another level. Then, best dish of the trip nominee, an assorted Bruschetta plate we’ve never seen – died and gone to Bruschetta heaven. Salsa verde with melted cheese, savory liver pâté (best of the trip – Lilian makes it with wine and fruit), all kinds of great concoctions in a cup including a potatoes-onion-bell pepper thingy (blogger technical term), and my favorite white beans spread with bread and veggies (ribolita?). A plate as spectacular as the views around it

A second course of excellent gnocchi with mozzarella and light tomato sauce, and Taglietelle with Cinghiale (wild boar) ragu, a carnival in my mouth, capped this memorable meal. All washed down of course with a great tasting of Gattavecchi’s Rosso di Montepulciano, Nobile di Montepulciano, and Nobile Riserva.

One unforgettable moment was a visit to Lilia’s kitchen. It didnt take long to see that passion and realize that “We are not in Kansas anymore”, or NYC where I’m from. You just dont see this in an ordinary looking place like this in America where you may see perhaps 2 people chatting about the new record they just set in Doodle Jump on the last smoking break. In comparison, you have an army, a team led by a passionate cook that will not let anything less than perfect leave that kitchen. A kitchen filled only with the freshest, and finest raw ingredients. An eye opener.

Cant recommend this gem in Montepulciano highly enough. And special thanks to the local who recommended it. You know who you are