Osteria di San Cesario, San Cesareo, Lazio, Italy

I visited the Osteria in late May 2008, almost straight from Fiumicino. It was early for lunch, and I had the pleasure of meeting "Sora Anna" in the dining room. Anna Dente Ferracci continues the tradition of her family and cooks the way she learned from her mother and grandmother.

The trip to San Cesareo takes about 45 minutes from Fiumicino. Once you are in the center of the small town, it is very easy to find the Osteria, just across from the Carabinieri.

Mrs. Ferracci stated that she comes from a family that for five generations has been in the meat business.

I asked her to serve a lunch menu that would be representative of her cuisine and allow me to continue after lunch with my work in Rome.

Pork was prominent in the Amuse Bouche. In the middle you can see salumi di guanciale with gorgonzola. The bread squares with the green top on the right have the distinct taste of mint, peper and the aroma of top quality lard.

What came as a first dish (and I was so absorbed that I forgot to take a photo) was a typical Roman dish "Pasta e brocolli in brodo d' arzilla".

Arzilla belongs to the family of skate fish and its taste is oily and strong, but it was balanced by the brocolli.

What came next is "trippa in salsa verde", which was like a dream, topped with pecorino.

Fettuccine with with marinated pork was served next, with a prominent balance between the acidity of the wine and the fat of the meat. Top quality pecorino topped the serving.

Another pasta dish followed, with local funghi whose parfume I can still smell. The sauce was very light, with just a touch of olive oil, parseley and garlic. All pasta in the OSteria is hand made and, of course, fresh.

The champion of the pasta dishes was - quite deservedly - All' Amatriciana. It was done with lard and quanciale and had the personality of a winner.

Finally, and before I was ready to surrender, a divine dish "Animelle co i funghi porcini der Monte Algido" arrived. The sweetbreads came from veal and they tasted sweet like honey. The earthy tone of the funghi porcini cprovided the necessary counterbalance.