L'Osteria Del Buonconvento
Where? L'Osteria Del Buonconvento (Sorrento, Italy) Map
When? Saturday April 15, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Italian
I'm here at the recommendation of some Australians I met yesterday on the Amalfi Coast tour, who are incidentally also here tonight, so I hope this is good. As tempting as their secondi menu looks, I'm going with an antipasto of the house and a primo - a seafood linguine. I've been given an apertivo as a welcome drink, and welcomed I definitely feel. The only Italian song I know, Grande Amore by Il Volo, third place at Eurovision 2015, is currently playing.
Amuse Bouche
A plate with food arrives. I think it is my antipasto. I don't actually know but I eat it anyway. It's fried dough with herbs on rocket and Parmesan and it's quite good.
Antipasto
Antipasto del Buonconvento - mixed starter from Buonconvento
Oh my god. A huge platter arrives. This is the antipasto. It's filled with grilled vegetables, cured meats and cheese. I can't believe it. This looks amazing. It has some wonderful Mediterranean flavours, the tomato, eggplant and spicy sausage being the outstanding items on the plate. I'm so happy taking bits of everything, trying every combination with the herbed bread in the basket. It feels as close as I can get to a true Italian experience without being adopted by a Nonna and having a 6 hour meal.
Primo Piatto
Linguine ai Fruitti di Mare - linguine pasta with seafood, cherry tomatoes
The seafood linguine is here and the smell is so heartwarming. The pasta is probably a bit undercooked but the freshness of the seafood is evident, it's sweet and tasty. The portion size is excellent and thanks to the double antipasto, I am totally stuffed. There is no room for dessert.
Dessert
Easter Cake
I lied. I stuck around the restaurant talking to all the people I met at the Amalfi Coast tour and two hours later, I'm ready to have dessert. I got the Easter special, a lovely moist cake with lemon and strawberries. I am absolutely stuffed now. For real. There is a tiny bit of room for the complimentary limoncello, for which I am extremely excited. It's almost 11pm and it's time for a food coma.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:15am on Saturday April 29, 2017 :: 0 comments :: 
Inn Bufalito
Where? Inn Bufalito (Sorrento, Italy) Map Menu
When? Friday April 14, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Italian
It's quite late after my tour of the Amalfi Coast, so I'm at the closest decent place to my accommodation recommended by Yelp. I can't help but choose the buffalo steak, especially given the name of the restaurant.
Secondo Piatto
Bistecca di Bufalo - grilled buffalo steak
Yuss. The steak smells great and cuts smoothly. It's missing seasoning but it has that wonderful smokey aroma to it. A bit of salt and pepper and we are all good to go. The potatoes are nice and fluffy but the salad is plain; again adding my own olive oil and balsamic fixes it up and gives it a great Mediterranean feel. Not bad! Much better than last night. It hits the spot and I feel like my appetite is back to normal, so I'm going to celebrate with dessert, even though I have been having sweet things all day. The region is famous for its lemons, so I'm going to go with the almond and lemon tart.
Dessert
Torta Caprese al Limone - almond and lemon tart
It takes a while to arrive, but it's warm and homely, very much like a Nonna has baked this. I love the candied lemon peel and the lemon sauce, the lemon is clearly the most prominent ingredient, and so it should be. For €6, I was expecting a larger slice, but at least it was enjoyable.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:07am on Saturday April 29, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
ReFood al Vicoletto
Where? ReFood al Vicoletto (Sorrento, Italy) Map Menu
When? Thursday April 13, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Italian
I've left the chaos of Rome and I'm in the delightfully peaceful resort town of Sorrento. I expect most places to be quite touristy as a result, so I'm no longer looking for authenticity per se, but quality. This little restaurant caught my eye as I was walking from the port to my accommodation; they had a large display of seafood outside and I was immediately interested. So, I've ordered a trilogy of seafood to start with, and lamb shanks for mains. I wanted the boar cheek but unfortunately it was out of stock.
Amuse Bouche
A free glass of prosecco has appeared in front of me, as well as some bread with balsamic reduction. Goodie!
Antipasto
Trilogy Refood - octopus carpaccio, smoked swordfish and cuttlefish salad
A massive plate of seafood arrives. I try a bit of everything and come to a quick conclusion; the smoked swordfish is the best, really tasty and full of flavour, then the cuttlefish with walnuts, which is good but I think it needed some acidity or other flavour to compliment it, especially as I'm in Sorrento, which is famous for their lemons. Finally there is the octopus carpaccio, which is still very good but nothing special. I will say that texturally the octopus is quite exquisite, it's not rubbery at all and it's sliced extremely thinly. It almost doesn't taste like octopus. I wish there was a way of asking without sounding like a dick. The salad needed some dressing, at least some olive oil. It's an okay dish, it could have been much better with a little bit more attention to the finer details.
Secondo Piatto
Stinco di Agnello - lamb shank glazed with walnuts and thyme
My eyes widen as the lamb shank is placed in front of me. I find it odd that there are chopped peanuts - definitely not walnuts - placed everywhere, but they add texture. I'm not completely sold on them. The meat is not quite falling off the bone, maybe even slightly dry, but it is tender and well seasoned. I like the potatoes. Again, like the previous night, I wish there was more sauce! I am struggling to finish though, there is a lot of meat on the plate and I guess my appetite still isn't at 100% normality.
There's no way I can fit dessert in so I'll leave it at that. All in all, slightly subpar for my first meal in Sorrento.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:02am on Saturday April 29, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
La Maisonnette Ristrot
Where? La Maisonette Ristrot (Quartiere X Ostiense, Rome, Italy) Map Menu
When? Wednesday April 12, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Italian with French Influence
For my last night in Rome, I've chosen a restaurant that is one metro stop away from my BnB. They've portmanteau'd the words restaurant and bistro in Italian to make "Ristrot". The menu, all in Italian but an English one is available online, sounds appetising, and has a fair bit of French flair in it. I can't wait to dig in. I'm going three courses.
Antipasto
Terrina d'Anatra - duck terrine with zibibbo, mango, tender salad, tangerine
The duck terrine arrives. I'm impressed by the colours on the plate, it's got a spring/summery vibe to it. First bite - wow. The sweetness of the fruit, especially the mango, works so well with the terrine. I'm hit with all sorts of amazing flavours and textures, it's such a well thought out dish: the crunch of the pistachio, the meatiness of the duck, the various gels and chutneys, even the little leaves of salad have a role to play. Very good start.
Secondo Piatto
Filetto di Maialino - pork tenderloin, creamed potatoes, red cabbage and porter
The pork fillet is here. It smells lovely. It is perhaps a smidgen dry but it tastes great. I think it is just the right amount of sweetness, I wouldn't want anything more sweet than that. The cabbage and potato are spot on, but I do have one criticism. To borrow the famous phrase of one of my favourite reality TV chefs, Manu Feidel, "where is the sauce?!" I would have loved more of that delicious sauce with the pork, and then have some leftover to soak up with the bread.
A waitress asks what I would like for dessert and I've chosen the cassata. I don't really know what that is but Wikipedia tells me it is a traditional cake from Sicily. The waitress tries to tell me something but my face goes blank and she goes to call someone who can speak English. He explains to me that their cassata has different ingredients to what they would normally put; orange reduction, pistachio, hazelnut, ricotta, some others I didn't quite catch in his thick accent. I'm not too fussed though, I like hearing the spiel and I would have happily ordered it with whatever ingredients they wanted to experiment with. I'm here for an adventure!
Dessert
Cassata Mon Amour
I had a feeling this would happen, but it is deconstructed. I don't mind though. I've never had constructed cassata so I don't have anything to compare it with. My favourite elements are the hazelnut creme and sesame spice wafer. I would have liked a bit more texture on the plate, but flavourwise is this very good. The balance between each ingredient is well done and again, it shows that a lot of thought has gone into making this dish. That was a memorable meal to make up for all the bad experiences in Rome, and I'm feeling a bit happier about my past week here.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:56am on Saturday April 29, 2017 :: 0 comments ::
Antico Arco
Where? Antico Arco (Trastevere, Rome, Italy) Map Menu
When? Tuesday April 11, 2017
Who? Me
Food Style? Italian Fine Dining
After exploring the Vatican, I'm a short bus ride to the south at a restaurant called Antico Arco. One look at the menu and my first thought is "oh geez I'm in a super fancy restaurant". This may be okay, given how small my appetite is. The wait staff speak impeccable English. I've ordered a single main meal for a whopping €30, but as one of the ingredients is black truffle, €30 doesn't seem too bad.
Amuse Bouche
To start, I'm served with a delicious warm amuse bouche of chickpea cream and tomato breadcrumbs. Yum!
I go to top up my cup of sparkling water and the bag of homemade bread falls over, sending a roll...literally rolling to the side of the table. My mouth involuntarily opens. Thankfully it comes to a stop on the table and I place it back into the bag nonchalantly. Nothing has happened. No one saw anything.
Mains
Lamb fillet in a crust of nuts and breadcrumbs with cauliflower and black truffle
The plate arrives and the portions are even more disappointing than what I had imagined. But it smells amazing, the truffles are so intense and appetising - the only mushroom that I will say that about! It's the first time I've actually eaten truffle - other times it's usually been essence or oil. The meat is thick and chunky, and texturally satisfying to sink my teeth into. I was expecting it to be more crunchy because of the nuts but it's fine the way it is. The complimentary bread is doing wonders with soaking up the dollops of cauliflower purée artistically placed on the plate, and more importantly, the bread is what is going to fill me up. Very good, and my plate is almost spotless at the end.
I'm ready for dessert. I'm going for the molten chocolate soufflé with almond waffle, because it sounds damn good and I don't care that I've had food poisoning. From my knowledge of Latin and French, I know that the name of the dessert, Tortino dal Cuore Morbido, has something to do with heart (cuore is similar to French coeur, as in Sacre Coeur) and death (morbido similar to morbid in English), so it's going to be incredibly rich. It's €13 but I'm on holiday and I saved tons of money while not eating for two days. I'm expecting dessert to be the diameter of a golf ball.
Palate Cleanser
A palate cleanser arrives and for a second I think it's the dessert. Phew. It's a chocolate gelato with strawberry sauce and it totally is the size of a half golf ball.
Dessert
Tortino dal Cuore Morbido - molten chocolate souffle cake with almond waffle
Dessert arrives for real. A wonderful nut and cocoa aroma fills the air. It's the diameter of a tennis ball and I know it's going to be super rich. I tap the soufflé with the spoon and the entire thing jiggles. The cake exterior is so thin that it actually deforms when I push it. I cut through and this wonderful chocolate liquid spills out. It's so heartwarming and ludicrously rich, I wouldn't have wanted this to be any bigger.
I am so full. Oh boy. Definitely the fanciest meal I've had in Italy, and portions fortunately perfect for the size of my current appetite.
Posted by Jeremy at 10:24pm on Friday April 28, 2017 :: 0 comments ::