642813 Fri Aug 07 10:43:39 -0700 2009 1 58 Italy 0 4926227 I've been back from Piedmont for a couple of months now and although I did post a report about eating in and around Alba, I just realized that I forgot to mention our two days (and two dinners) in Turin. Here is a report about our dinner at the well-known osteria, Antiche Sere. Several days before, I had booked a table by phone at Osteria Antiche Sere, a casual Slow Food eatery located to the southwest of the city center in the workaday residential district of Borgo San Paolo. . Shortly before our 8pm dinner time, we set off in a taxi from our hotel in the center of the city (on Via Carlo Alberto). The ride to the restaurant took about 15 minutes and cost 13 euro; the return trip (we asked the restaurant to phone a taxi for us) cost 11 euro. (The custom in Turin is to call a radio taxi, not to hail a taxi on the street. There are taxi stands but they are few and far between.) At the risk of using a well-worn phrase, I will say that Antiche Sere is a quintessentially Torinese osteria. We received the warmest welcome of a week of very warm welcomes by Antonella Rota, the vivacious young woman who served as hostess and server, (her brother presides in the kitchen) and were ushered to a table in the front dining room. With is well-worn checkered tile floors, brown painted wainscoting, and sturdy wooden tables and chairs, Antiche Sere, founded about 16 years ago on a the site of an old bocci court, is a film director’s ideal of a homey Italian trattoria. The menu is all Piemontese and reads like an edited version of the region’s “best hits.” We had seen these dishes on so many manus in the past week that I could probably recite them in my sleep. Prices are very reasonable. My only quibble is that this was the only time during our week in the region (see report on eating in and around Alba) that we were served commercial grissini (breadsticks) in their wrappers. But the rest of the meal made up for this lapse. Simple, unadorned Piemontese food in a simple and unadorned setting. After ordering (no English is spoken here),we were presented with complimentary tastes of the local favorite insalata russa (Russian salad, made with mayonnaise). For my first course, I ordered the tajarin with asparagus, made with a variety of asparagus from nearby Santena whose season lasts only 10 days. Excellent! (For more on Italian asparagus, and photos, see this Italian-language link; the comments are funny as everyone is touting the variety of his or own region) http://cucina.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2007/04/23/asparagi/ My partner, who would have turned into an agnolotti if he stayed one more week, surprised no one with his first course. The veal agnolotti was served with a light tomato sauce and pronounced “terrific.” To continue the theme, I took the asparagus as a secondi; hefty (unpeeled) spears were topped with poached orange-yolked farm eggs. Simple and absolutely impeccable. (Although I would have peeled the asparagus, and in fact I did when I coped the dish a couple of times after our return home.) I followed this dish with a salad—mache, arugula and a few other varieties of spring greens. On inquiring about dessert, our delightful server informed us that Antiche Sere is renowned for its panna cotta. With an endorsement like that, we found it impossible to resist. This was one of the best desserts of the trip. Exquisite. With a half carafe of house wine, coffee, cover and water, the bill for two totalled 57 euro. No credit cards are accepted and the restaurant is closed Sunday. Reservations are essential. We watched with sympathy as finer after diner was turned away, including one forlorn Japanese couple who had arrived by public transportation and looked absolutely devastated upon being told there was no room. The phone did not stop ringing the entire time we were there, and each time the response was something along the lines of “ questa sera completo.” ANTICHE SERE, via Cenischia, 9; open for dinner only; closed Sundays; cash only Fri Aug 07 10:43:39 -0700 2009 12618 erica 1 4928284 SOTTO LE MOLE, SlowFood pick in Turin I booked by e-mail about a week in advance of our visit. In deference to its location across the street from the excellent and mosot entertaining cinema museum, film posters and memorabilia, as well as vintage liquor ads, adorn the walls of the handsome dining room, crowned by soaring brick arches. The menu hews closely to Piemontese tradition, with a few modern twists. http://www.sottolamole.eu/Italiano/me... One clue to the quality of the meal was the basket of mini-grissini (Torinese bread sticks, a fixture at local tables and one we found to be often, but not always, a reliable indicator of the quality of the meal to come) and the stupendous bread dusted with finely chopped Taggiasca olives from Liguria. I began (the menu has changed slightly since our visit) with a terrine of broccoli and “pumpkin” sauced with Raschera, a raw cow’s milk mountain cheese. Excellent! My partner opted for the soup of peas and favas, reflective of the season, which was equally lovely. (Why do my own soups pale by comparison to those we enjoy in Italy? ) We skipped the secondi in favor of main courses of the quintessential local pasta—agnolotti del Plin, or tiny ravioli (“Plin” is dialect for “pinched”) stuffed here with rabbit and herbs. For dessert, another quintessential Piemontese dish—the rich and delicious Giandujot, which vaguely resembles a chocolate pudding and is better in the mouth than described on the page! I should note, for those hankering for fish, that our dining neighbors ordered the steamed merluzzo, or cod, which they proclaimed to be stellar. We drank a 2006 Barbera from Fontanafredda (I became a Barbera fan on this trip!). With water and service, the total for two of us was 70 Euro. Recommended. I cannot mention food in Torino without giving a hearty recommendation to Eataly; although we shopped, rather than ate, during our two-hour visit, this unique emporium also contains casual eating spots and the celebrated Guido restaurant: http://www.eatalytorino.it/eatalytorino/welcome_eng.lasso Sat Aug 08 07:14:22 -0700 2009 4926227 12618 erica