Prego Prego - Italia

Against the rules of this blog - but our culinary experience in the region of Toscone had to be shared.

Our short visit to Italy started off at Milano, following which we drove to Venezia and from there to the most beautiful place we’ve been to - San Gimignano, (pronounced as Sangi minano – put a little Italian accent and some hand gestures and you’ve nailed it) a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany. It's located in north-central Italy in the midst of splendid hamlets & the beautiful windy hills of Chianti. This place was absolutely divine. In addition, considering my new found love for red wine it seemed almost like fate.

We ate lunch at Bel Soggiorno; which is located on Via San Giovanni within the city. The restaurant had a spectacular view of the Chianti hills. Of course, we sipped on Chianti wine - Chianti Colli Senesi Pescil; a local Chianti wine; inexpensive none the less delightfully tasteful (little dry for my palette though). It complemented our food rather well. For our entrée we ordered the Ravioli Di Ricotta E Spinach(Spinach ravioli) & Risotto Zafferano E Asparagus ( Risotto with Asparagus & Saffron sauce), which was so well presented that we almost didn’t want to eat the food. We ended the meal with some delicious Panna Cotta Su Coulis (Creme pudding with Raspberry sauce). We highly recommend this place to eat and this town to kickback and just relax.

After falling in love with this town, we had to return to the walled city for dinner. We had a fantastic meal at Dulcis In Fundo, a restaurant run by a very friendly couple. After all the pasta, ravioli & pizza, we were craving some good old chicken. We ordered (chicken). It was baked to perfection. Of course, we drank some more local red Chianti wine. We ended our dinner with some coffee cake and a shot of coffee with chocolate spoon (apparently the spoon is made by the guy who won the Grand Prix for chocolate at Rome & Paris). The idea is to dip the spoon in the shot glass so it dissolves instantly. It almost felt like we were drinking a shot of heavenly chocolat. Thats all for now.

Ciao – Bon appetite.

www.hotelbelsoggiorno.it

Price: $$$
Ambiance: 5/5
Recommendation: HIGH

www.ducisinfundo.net
Price: $$$
Ambiance: 4/5
Recommendation: HIGH

CUISINE: ITALIAN

Crunchy Roasted "Almonds "

To our surprise the torch within us to rediscover our lost passion for dining is yet flaming bright and strong. Next stop was Almond, a quaint Parisian/American/Mediterranean bistro covered in warm golden walls, pressed in tin ceilings and overly hospitable service right in the midst of the flatiron - gramercy district.

With conversations flying from “Marriage is not in fashion in Europe" – Proven statistically by Mr. Ankur Shah to "Vacation trips to southern Italy, Austria, Swiss and Costo Rico" to the hideously dressed “mermaid women” (ask Ms. Kothari for the definition), the night started off by sipping on wine - my new found love (Red if I may).We sipped on some delicious '07 Gaudau Cohors Malbec while munching on some tasty homemade salted honey almonds (must have), followed by some delicious appetizers and entrees. The vegetarians ate off the cheese board, which came with some toasted bread, dried fruits, and candied walnuts. Everything on the board was tasty and gorgeously presented. The non-veggies went for the steamed black mussels minus the steam (bummer - would have preferred the Oysters) followed by some mouth watering House smoked bluefish drowned in Greek yogurt, dill & crispy latke (highly recommended).
As we waited for the main course, our conversation turned into a steaming argument over wives adopting their husband's last names. If only the steam from the conversation could be used for the mussels, they would have been far more tastier. The heated conversation was instantly forgotten when the highly recommended dish of the night was presented to us “RACK OF LAMB” – A must have for all meat lovers. While the vegetarians saw us masticating on the lamb, they hungrily awaited their so called Vegetarian dish; I was too involved with the "Rack" :) to notice or ask them about their dish. The night ended beautifully with us devouring the COLD yet tasty crème brulee and Chocolate Pot de Creme. Overall I would recommended this place for meat lovers. Sorry my Veggie friends. Bon Appetit till next time. Stay tuned.

Bloggers recommendation: 3/5
Price: $$$
Ambiance: 4/5
Website: http://www.almondnyc.com/

CUISINE: FRENCH-BISTRO

First stop: Tía Pol

We began our quest with Tia-Pol in Chelsea. A neighborhood favorite for some, yet it was my first time there and I loved it! Too bad our self-imposed rules prevent us from re-visiting a restaurant all year. The food was fabulous, and so was the wine, not to mention the company. It was no wonder we spent over three hours there and the hostess graciously hinted around midnight that it was probably time for us to leave! We sipped wine, discussed the perils of social networking and spent hours at this intimate and relaxed Spanish tapas spot sampling everything from the plato de queso variados (the featured Spanish cheese) to the wonderful tapas style desserts. We definitely recommend the Spanish cheese platter, the flounder (though it was a special for the day), the patatas bravas, the Serrano ham, the chorizo al jerez and to snack on, the native Spanish almonds. For dessert, the Orange Flan and the leche frita – fried custard with drunken cherries. The restaurant doesn’t accept reservations and there maybe some trouble seating large parties, so expect a wait, and in the mean while, douse yourself with lots of Spanish wine or Sangria. Happy chomping!

www.tiapol.com/

Price: $$$
Ambiance: 3/5
Recommendation: HIGH

CUISINE: TAPAS- SPANISH