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The Umbria Awards

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Ziggy

Instead of boring you with the usual Best of Umbria this or that, or random tips on Umbria, I will bore you with an award ceremony.

The Charlize Theron Award. Given to the most picturesque Town – Spello

We visited a number of towns and villages throughout Italy. Spello is not only the most picturesque town in Umbria, but one of the prettiest in the country. It helps if you visit during the Infiorate flower festival. But even at other times you got flowers, bunnies, chachkies of all kinds decorate every balcony. Some even proudly display the awards their balconies won.

The Tom Branson Award. Given to the most charming village – Scheggino

I’ve already written about this little fairy tale village near Spello that so many overlook. But it helps to see it like I did, without any preconceived notions. Have dinner at the excellent Osteria Baciafemmine, and visit the Urabni Truffle store. Pair it with Spello, and give it an hour or two of daylight prior to dinner.

Tom

The Leonard Hofstadter Award. Most atmospheric square – Montefalco

You get the sense that the squares of Umbria stick out more than other regions. Many towns feature interesting streets and alleys full of anticipation to what squares they lead to. Some, as the great Morrissey once said, are bigger than others. But few came close to the atmosphere of Montefalco in the evening.

Courtesy of Villa in Umbria

The William H Macey Award. Given to the sleepiest village – Bevagna

Or did we catch her at the wrong time. June, midday, hot hot hot. This is not a full endorsement as we found it a little too sleepy perhaps, but there’s something to learn here. Avoid middle of the day. Come with an open mind. Dont compare them. And no matter what, have dinner at Antiche Sere.

The Rick Steves award. Given to the most important, but couldn’t wait to get out of there town – Assisi

Every time there’s a discussion about wearing shorts in churches, I think of Assisi and the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi. I havent seen so many bare legs since the last ZZ Top video. Some places are touristy for a reason, and Assisi is certainly no exception. Best advice is this: Take a guided tour to help with the focus and appreciate it better. We didnt, and that was a mistake

The Boar’s Head Award. Given to the best picnic spot – Piani Di Castelluccio

With the aid of Norcia Salami, made by some of the most respected butchers in the world. Even after the devastation of Norcia and Castelluccio after the 2016 earthquake, there’s just something surreal about being there. A trip to the stunning Piani compliments any Umbria itinerary well. But if this is a bit far from you, a picnic overlooking the spectacular Assisi from the vineyards off SAIO may do.

The Milton Snavely Hershey Award. Given to the best Chocolate – Urbani truffled truffles in the Urbani museum

Umbria is sort of a Chocolate lover paradise. You got Perugia and its famous tenant, Perugina, the maker of Baci kisses. In Norcia you can visit Cioccolateria Vetusta Nursia. We purchased so much chocolate, we are still eating them months later. But it was the marketing nightmare of the truffled truffles in Urbani that triggered a reaction like no other. A good reaction.

The rest of the awards given in a ceremony earlier…

Best Porchetta – Antica Salumeria Granieri Amato, Perugia

Best I can’t believe it’s not Porchetta – Rabbit Porchetta, Antiche Sere, Bevagna

Antiche Sere Porchetta rabbiit

Best Dish – Pigeon at Enoteca L’Alchimista, Montefalco

Best Meal – Enoteca L’Alchimist, Montefalco

Best Chef – Patrizia Moretti, Enoteca L’Alchimist, Montefalco

Best Chef South East – Patrizia Moretti, Enoteca L’Alchimist, Montefalco

Miss Congeniality – Giulia Rossi. Enoteca… Just kidding. Its Patrizia Moretti

Congratulations to the winners!

Categories: Italy, Umbria | Tags: Enoteca L'Alchimist, Montefalco, Scheggino, Spello, Travel, travel+photography, Umbria | 2 Comments

This is Scheggino (and Osteria Baciafemmine)

Posted on July 31, 2019 by Ziggy

This was supposed to be a post about Osteria Baciafemmine, one of Umbria’s most hidden (quite literally here) gems. But something happened during this visit. A twist. The kind I only see in South Korean movies. As good as this meal was, the little village of Scheggino, with a population of 463 (we counted) upstaged the meal. To the point that we changed plans on the last day to visit the village again.

Scheggino is a village nestled vertically at the foot of a mountain. From the outside it may look like something you may have seen before. But once you start climbing those narrow pedestrian streets, its like a fairy tale village. One without tourists which is a rarity nowadays. But that’s Umbria for you. The unappreciated belly of Italy. No wonder there was a wedding during our second visit. When you visit a place this small, and there’s a wedding going on, you essentially become part of it. We wished them a big Mazal-Tov, and sent them off with a fondue set. I always carry one in the car in case of emergencies.

Scheggino, simply put is the most charming little village I’ve ever seen. But there are more reasons to visit. Scheggino is also home to Urbani, the truffle tsar, whose products can be found all over NYC. You can visit its headquarters just outside the entrance to the village. But even more accessible is “Truffleland” inside the village where you can participate in several rides like the “Its a Fungus after all” train ride through the mountain. Ok, not really. Its just a small museum and store, where you can sample the best “truffle truffles” (a marketing nightmare I imagine) you’ll ever have.

Cutting through at the foot of Scheggino is the Nera River producing one of the only seafood items found in Umbria, trout. You can have it at Osteria Baciafemmine as is, or crusted with crunchy breadcrumbs and parsley. Osteria Baciafemmine is a local legend, Slow Food fixture, and the reason we came to this village in the first place. Rustic, all in the family Osteria, dishing out local specialties and meat raised in their own farm. Mother, father, daughter, cat, all hard at work at a space decorated head to toe with food and drink stuff, almost museum like. Toto, we are not in Staten Island anymore.

Not much English spoken at the Osteria, but the international language of food is sometimes more powerful than words. Out of the soup offerings, the pureed chickpea soup was a standout, but the local lentils were not too shabby. A fragrant and delicious gnocchetti with sheep meat ragu and tomato sauce worked better than the Strangozzi with truffles. Excellent pork cooked with beer, apple and honey. Two perfectly cooked and well crafted sausages comes with polenta topped with, what else, truffle spread. A most memorable meal at a photographer’s dream setting.