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Friday, June 9, 2017

Eatly- Try you must

                                                         TriScalini Gelato-Rome
Traveling to a foreign destination is always thrilling and when it comes to food what better destination than Italy. Food is synonymous to the culture, art, history and splendid man made and god's creations in Italy, to the extent that people fondly refer it to as- Eatly!

My tryst with food in Italy goes back to many years ago. In childhood it was the friendly Nirula's in the foyer of the now extinct Chanakya theatre in the heart of  New Delhi! The pizzas dished out were yummy and could not find many places that made pizzas better! Little did I know that I would have a good fortune of traveling to the birth place a couple of times.

 In early 1980s I passed through Rome and had a bite of Pizza at the airport and it tasted good. A little later in late 1990s the first trip to Milan gave me an opportunity to taste Ravioli , Polenta and Minsterone soup and a few more dishes in the company of office friends! The food was as great as the Duomo in the vicinity adding to the charm!

On subsequent trips to Genoa, Padova and Venice the best food was the one available at roadside eateries dishing out pasta, spaghetti, pesto(Genoa is the birthplace of Pesto)  and different desserts.The wood fired ovens prepare the best pizzas,breads and focaccias.

Imagine , I traveled all the way to Naples on the last trip just to eat the pizzas prepared at the famous Pizzeria Del Presidente at via Tribunali, which has hosted many a dignitaries including President  Reagan.

My current trip to explore the little towns an villages in the Ligurian region has perhaps been the most rewarding one. Staying in Moneglia, a small village, I got to taste the freshest breads, buns, focaccias, torts, cakes, tarts and so on. A morning walk would invariably end up at the Panificio Marco Castellucchio, located just a 100m away from my place of stay. The fragrance of the fresh baked products would drift to trigger the taste buds in a manner that I would head to the place as if a magnet attracts the opposite pole. The taste of fresh olive oil in focaccias, amazing spinach and potato torts would linger all day .The cakes, tarts, biscotti and the works prepared would make it difficult to not let the eyes feast , as eating so many was a tough proposition!

In smaller towns like La Spezia, Levanto in Cinque Terre region the Bruschetta, Farnitas,different breads and pastas are mind blowing. The smaller the pizzeria the more crowded it is , the better is the taste!This, I learnt by hunting in alleys and by lanes and not being carried away by fancy advertisements.

At the final stop in Rome, I just discovered two more gems, TreScalini a small restaurant in Piazza Novino that serves a signature gelato prepared by 13 varieties of chocolate which is sinful indulgence. The master craftsman has been serving this since 1946 and is unbeaten.

A cup of coffee is what one desires after all this lovely food and a perfect answer lies at Casa Del Cafe which blends the best coffee from the water from aqueducts of Rome and  coffee seeds roasted to perfection.The shop is in existence since 1946 near Pantheon.

My only worry after all the lovely food is how to check the waistline! Even the yoga gurus that visit Italy, let it go once in Italy, so lesser mortals like me who melt at the sight of good food find it difficult to resist the gluttony


4 comments:

  1. Ah yes - the food in Italy is sublime!

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  2. Eatly ...haha

    Twisted my tongue on some of the names :)
    Your love for Italian food expressed very well in the post

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for reading Sujatha ! It was well worth trying these dishes:)

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