Enoteca Ristorante Vino e Camino, Bracciano, Lazio, Italy

On a cloudy Friday at the end of May 2008, I visited the "Vino e Camino" Ristorante, taking the lead from Slow Food's :Osterie d' Italia.

The restaurant is located in the small town of Bracciano http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracciano approximately 45 km northwest of Rome. It is in Via Mazzini, in the central Piazza of the town, where the Castello Orsini is. There are a few parking places in the Piazza, so you can your luck there.

The place is also known as "enoteca", due to the nice selection of wines they have.

I started with a selection of Italain Salumi, served with a cold sald of farro, filetti di sgombro e pomodorini. Farro is a type of cracked wheat that is produced in Lazzio. It was boiled and then seasoned in the salad mix. It was juicy and tasty, while the combination of the fish oils with the pomodorini created enough tension in the dish. This was countered by the endless sweetness and smoothness of the lardo in the center of the plate, with the salumi providing intersting diversions.

I continued with a "Passatta di scorfano e maltagliati al nero di seppia". In addition to tomato, I think they used quite a bit of "farro" for thickening the consistency. The dish had a sidekick of pimiento, that went quite well with the taste of the scorpion fish and was soothed by the pasta.

The main dish was "Involtini di lattuga con filetti di cernia e lardo di colonnata". Cernia is stone bass and was already lightly cooked before being used in the involtini.

The combination of lettuce and the lardo is always a winner, but I would have preferred that the lardo is added only after the involtini reach room temperature.

I had chardonnay from Sicily with the meal, and it went surprisingly well with everything. Even the lardo!

The service is nice, friendly, and the place is full of Italians enjoying a good meal with very high value for money. Next to me there was a table of 8 who had the passata and the involtini. We all left together, and their cars' license plates where all Roman.

Given that it takes about half an hour to reach Bracciano from Rome, it is no wonder that the Romans enjoy Vino e Camino's food offerings.

Ristorante La Bastiglia, Spello, Umbria, Italia

Introduction: After visiting Assisi, I wanted to go to a place nearby and have a good lunch, away from tourists and the hot sun of Umbria. I found "La Bastiglia" from the Michelin Red Guide and after 20 minutes relaxed ride in the Umbrian countryside, I arrived in Spello.




The resturant is in the hotel with the same name, a renovated building with many levels and nice views. The lunch clients were primarily people staying at the hotel. Although this a one Michelin star restaurant, I was impressed by the "natural" way the staff accomodated some big tables of tourist families with children.

I ordered the menu of the house "Consistenze e contrasti in equilibrio" and did not regret it!



Plenty of breads and sticks in various shapes!



Amuse bouche




Scallop



Foie gras



Frascarelli are a type of Umbrian pasta. Here they were served with Tuna Roe, Sage, Clams and White Beans.



Cannelloni



Pigeon



Souffle



Dolci