At Piglio the Moon is Green and Tasty

 This time Carlo Macchi takes the stand:

"Nothing planned for tonight. I'll take you to the Agriturismo and come get you at 9 tomorrow. Oh yeah, I forgot. Tonight is the cook's night off, and the agriturismo's restaurant is closed. But the owner will make certain you eat something."

As I thought this speech over my morale sank the floor, as I saw myself spending a sad night with the fireflies and (I hoped) a few slices of salami. And as I pondered my fate, we arrived at Casale Verde Luna.

I peer about. We're in the vineyards of the Cesanese, a few kilometers from Piglio. The place is a large farmhouse, nicely renovated and perfectly set into the landscape. As I enter I think to myself that at the very least the place isn't bad.

And the interior is nice too! Country furniture, but of quality, welcoming atmosphere, and even more welcoming is the owner, Lino Nardone, who was a merchant in Rome before deciding to move to the country and run an agriturismo and winery... and this gives me pause, because when a winery is introduced as an Agriturismo I usually wonder about the quality of the wines. At the entrance, however, there's a nice picture of a Wine Guru listing five wines one must try, including one of Lino's. This is both good and bad, because what the Wine Guru likes I often don't. Well, then, one might say, "there's no pleasing you!" But that's one of my strong points.

In the meantime I have taken possession of my room and, camera in hand, have taken a walk in the vineyards. When I get back Lino takes me to the cellars and tells me about the winery, which, despite making 15,000 bottles per year, invests heavily in the Agriturismo and especially the restaurant.

The story is one we've heard before. In 2000 Lino discovers the place, which is dominated by a ruin. He falls in love with it, restructures it, and plants a vineyard, and by 2004 Casale Verde Luna is an agriturismo, restaurant and winery, in whichever order you please.

I usually don't speak of individual wines, but before coming to the main entry, the restaurant, I cannot help but say that I agree with the Wine Guru's opinion of Lino's wine. His Amor 2007 is perhaps the best Cesanese I have ever tasted. Lino opens it before dinner and I manage to taste it seriously (i.e. without food) only with difficulty. Indeed, all sorts of things were appearing on the table: pepperoni, porchetta, fresh ricotta, 20-month old pecrino di fossa, fruit compotes and so on. Between one morsel and the next the story continues, with two women: Donata Grazini, who has been in the kitchen from the beginning, and Diana Spaziani, who arrived in 2005. Diana is sitting with me and tells me her story; despite her very young age she already had 5 years of experience in the trenches, from dish washing to grilling to the stove in a restaurant in which her aunt cooked. Then she spent time managing the kitchen, concentrating especially on banquets. In short, a path (from the standpoint of wanting to improve) that would have felled an ox. Diana instead came through unscathed, and in 2005 took up residence at Lino's  small court. With Donata she runs the kitchen, which, in moments of quiet, also produces marmalades, pickles, and more, which are sold together with the wine not just in the Agriturismo, but also at a specialty market in Rome.

While Diana and Lino talk I eat and drink, because what's on the table is really good. Diana tells me to go easy because she's heating the vegetarian lasagna left over from lunch. I'm not wild about lasagna (I know, I'm impossible to please) and therefore greet the square yard of lasagna with resignation. Resignation that comes to an end with the first nibble! The lasagna is home made, using the same hand-cranked machine home cooks use, loaded with fresh vegetables and tomato-free meat sauce: Incredible!I finished it off in record time, while Diana said what she did. I'll reveal just one secret: despite their being light and very easy to digest, the vegetables are lightly fried, and this makes the flavors meld beautifully. After, a series of homemade desserts, including fantastic anise-laced sweet taralli.

I stopped there in the evening, but enjoyed a full meal the next day. The agriturismo specializes in antipasti and first course dishes, with grilled or roasted meats as well.

You'll want to concentrate on the antipasti, with seasonal dishes: fried vegetables, vegetable tarts, cold cuts and select cheeses. The first courses are better, however: strozzapreti with baccalà ragù, potato gnocchi with smoked provola cheese, spaghettini with wild garlic, hot pepper, and fresh pecorino cheese, tonnarelli with crayfish, frascatelli with chickpea cream, porcini mushrooms and rosemary. Lino goes from table to table, dispensing food, advice and wine, his, which are all good and nicely priced.

When all is done you'll have spent about 35 Euros, from antipasto to dessert, and rise from the table quite satisfied. One thing! Don't think that all this bounty is available daily: the agriturismo is open only on weekends and holidays. If you want to enjoy it on another day, make sure your party numbers about 40.

Casale Verde Luna
Strada Vicinale della Civitella, 03010, Piglio (FR)
Tel/fax 0775503051
Mail: info (AT) casaleverdeluna (DOT) it
Web. http://www.casaleverdeluna.it
Open weekends and holidays. Closed January.

Published Simultaneously by IGP, I Giovani Promettenti.

We Are:
Carlo Macchi
Kyle Phillips
Luciano Pignataro
Roberto Giuliani
Stefano Tesi

RisotrArte: Creativity and tradition in the Agro Pontino

This time Roberto Giuliani takes the stand:

Fortunately, despite years spent seeking out restaurants that enrich my gastronomic knowledge and feed my emotions, I can still be surprised, all the more if the restaurant that stimulates my enthusiasm is located in my region, and in a town not usually mentioned in the more influential Italian restaurant guides: Cisterna di latina, home of the Butteri, the cowboys of central Italy. Yes, because butteri are not just to be found in the Maremma, but also in the Roman countryside,a nd more particularly in the Agro Pontino.

I just discovered RistorArte a few days ago, during the lunch break of Wine Expo, an event that took place in the chloisters of Palazzo Caetani. At 1:30 hunger pangs forced me, my wife Laura, Maria Luisa (yes, the one who is Queen of La Rocca del Gusto, another gastronomic jewel at Monterodondo), and Alessandro to seek out a place to eat. One of the participants at Wine Expo, who wasn't from the area, suggested RistorArte: "Don't be fooled by the entrance, which isn't particularly inviting -- once you're in, and more importantly, seated, you'll be quite happy. I've gone two nights running."

We left Palazzo Caetani, and following his frighteningly precise directions (200 meters up this road, 50 meters after the light....) turned left onto Corso della Repubblica, right onto Via Quattro Goirnate di napoli, and found the place at # 35.

Upon entering we were welcomed by Andrea Iacoangeli, who seated us in a simple, nicely laid out room. He then told me how the idea for RistorArte developed:

"We're four almost thirty-somethings who have been in the restaurant trade fro a while, involved in all sorts of things, from small agriturismi to luxury hotels, to clubs to banquet services for top-tier events. And it all began with banqueting; in 2008 we founded E-Mangio Catering & Banqueting (E-Mangio is an acronym cobbled from Emiliano, Andrea, and Giorgio -- Gerry, who developed the graphics of the logo, is missing).




It was a quick step from banquets in private houses to larger events in prestigious locales, and what began as a passion became jobs before they even realized it. The dream of having their own restaurant developed day by day; it took time but finally came true on March 3 2011, and the adventure began!

The goal of RostorArte was to bring together the conjunction between "Art" and "Table," bringing the table into art, with a small gallery whose artworks change periodically. The menu, in addition to listing the dishes, provides information on the artists exhibiting to make the sensory experience complete.

An experience patrons can enjoy as they please; early in the morning with a muffin and a drink... during the day, with a drink and some finger food... at lunch, with a quick, quality meal... at dinnertime, with an antipasto (e.g. "The Land Hugs the Sea"), with a first course featuring home-made pasta... or late, with cheesecake  served with wild berry fruit sauce and a Visciola cherry liqueur, or a cheese plate and one of the more than 80 wines they have in their cellars...

The four of them run the hall of RistorArte, taking turns depending upon their catering jobs, while the kitchen is in the hands of the young chef Marco Berrettoni, with the assistance of the equally young Patrizia Bellisari. The menu is evenly divided between fish and meat, with a not do locally produced ingredients. They make their own desserts and most of their pasta (gnocchi, fettuccine, tagliolini). The goal is a creative cuisine firmly rooted in tradition, using quality ingredients and pricing to be accessible to all.

As is our habit, Laura and I ordered different dishes to double our experience, and the four of us ordered: A Sformatino of Baccalà alla Siciliana, Eggplant Parmesan, Eggplant with Tonnarelli alla Norma dusted with salted ricotta, Gnocchetti with squash, porcini mushrooms and rosemary, Raviolacci stuffed with sea bass and orange aromas, Mackerel Millefoglie with citrus and Carasau bread, and Pork fillet in a mustard and herb sauce.

I may have left something out; since we were all stuffed for dessert we divvied up a single portion of an excellent chocolate tart. All the dishes nicely presented, balanced, and much better than one often finds. 5 coffees (someone had two), two bottles of water and one of wine, Cà Dei Frati's Lugana Brolettino (2010), which never fails to please. The cost? 95 Euros, 18 of which for the wine, which means that the food cost 77 Euros, or less than 20 per person. What more could one want?

 I forgot -- the restaurant isn't just open for lunch and dinner: There's a nightly Apricena (Predinner) at a "antidepression price" of 12 euros that includes a drink, a substantial antipasto, and a half-portion of pasta.

Beginning May 2 there will be live acoustic music Wednesday nights, beginning at 9:30. And Sundays starting at 6:30 there's a Happy Hour, with a great selection of cocktails and a rich buffet for 5 Euros, with lounge music in the background.

RistorArte
Via Quattro Giornate di Napoli, 35 - Cisterna di Latina (LT)
Tel. 06-96881468
E-mail: ristorarte AT emangio DOT com

Published Simultaneously by IGP, I Giovani Promettenti.

We Are:
Carlo Macchi
Kyle Phillips
Luciano Pignataro
Roberto Giuliani
Stefano Tesi

Garantito IGP: Ristorante Kuppelrain, Castelbello (BZ)

This time Stefano Tesi takes the floor:

If it weren't for the traffic-laden asphalt snake that the Statale della Val Venosta (and thank heavens for the new tunnels, which reduce the drive from Merano to less than a half hour) has become, the place would be the perfect setting for certain dire tales of Austria Felix, the Hapsburg Empire, and Joseph Roth.

The town, with the castle dominating the ancient thoroughfare, which belonged to a Tyrolean family long since died out, the tiny station and its trains, the orchards and vegetable patches, the snowy peaks, the hushed atmosphere of the provinces, the crisp mountain air, the delightful art deco dome that has been there for more than a century, and is the source of the name of the inn, to which -- in our imaginary world -- Anselm Eibenschütz, the calibration master in Roth's "the wrong weight" might go every day.

But reality differs. And is better. Because under that dome there really is an inn, with just three rooms. And more importantly there is the Kuppelrain, fief of Chef Jorg Trafojer, his wife Sonja and their children Kevin, Natalie e Giulya. I mention them all because they are the restaurant. Everyone, some every night and others more sporadically. Providing a sense of family that, without detracting at all from the place's elegance, defines it.

A starred restaurant, I want to emphasize. One of those that fully deserves its star, and that, if it were less out of the way, might have gotten is sooner, and even have more than one. But to dwell on this is irrelevant. Because the Kuppelrain is a symbol. The Symbol of the Val Venosta, of the inkeeper's talent, and of his wife's dynamic drive. And of a family's vocation, which began long ago and continues with the new generation. Deep rooted, in short. A vocation not just never refuted, but that continually reemerges in their actions, their habits, and their ideas. I have watched the elder Trafojer work in the garden and among the fruit trees, and Jorj and Sonja quarry the stones destined to line the cellar by hand and carry them home on their shoulders. I have watched them measure the space destined to become the new hall. I have seen the place change, becoming more attractive, never loosing sight of good taste or exaggerating, because the tables are the same: a few dozen. Otherwise, goodbye intimacy.

And I have also noted, in the almost 20 years I have been going, how Jorg's cooking has grown and evolved. Without betraying his pragmatic foundations: menus that follow the seasons, considerable reliance on their own vegetables and ingredients they make themselves (Kuppelrain's speck is more than mythical, it's mystical), respect for the ingredients, and unfailing balance between tradition and creativity. Alto Adige and Val Venosta mingled with other flavors. Everyone says they do it, but few really succeed.

The cellar is instead ruled by Sonja, a careful observer of the world of wine and an even more careful sommelier. And here again there's the balance between local and elsewhere, indigenous and international, many bottles but no excess, courtesy, smiles and friendliness.

At the table (my table, the one on the right by the window looking towards the castle) the best tack is to leave things to the masters of the house. But to enjoy reading the menu. March, in the Val Venosta, is asparagus season. An irresistible temptation for the chef, and for us too.

And since the Kuppelrain is always there, a hundred yards from the train station and half way between Resia or Glorenza in one direction, and Bolzano in the other, stopping becomes habitual. Once I arrived with the flu. They took such good care of me I hoped I wouldn't get well.

Ristorante Kuppelrain
Via Stazione 16, Castelbello (BZ)
Telefono: 0473 624103
E-Mail: info (at) kuppelrain.com
www.kuppelrain.com

Published Simultaneously by IGP, I Giovani Promettenti.





We Are:
Carlo Macchi
Kyle Phillips
Luciano Pignataro
Roberto Giuliani
Stefano Tesi