Bigio L'Oster

Buffet-style appetizers

January 21st, Thursday. It's foggy and cold in the Bergamo area.
By car we drive along the main road of Seriana valley, and at Albino we start the ascent up the mountain. The feeling is that we took the wrong way. Also the GPS system looks like lost - could it ever be possible that in the wild valley full of vicious beasts there is a Jazz cafe? Look! There's a restaurant! Can it be this one? Uhm... on the sign the name is different. Wait, i'll go inside to ask.
The restaurant is empty. A man with buck teeth and a black cape stands behind the bar, revealing a scary smile that tells me we took the wrong way: Bigio's pub is 25 kilometers from here. He stares at me with a mean look and a drop of fresh blood falls from his mouth.
I shake myself and understand that my imagination is playing a bad joke. The guy, actually a cordial man with very normal front teeth and a jolly face, smiles to me and tells me he was joking about the 25 kilometers. He shows me the curve nearby, not more than 100 meters ahead. "There. Bigio L'Oster is right behind that bend". In fact hidden behind it there is a huge parking lot

Stockfish on polenta with tomato sauce

full of cars (i suppose that during the day it fills up for the visitors of Altino Sanctuary). Nearby a building that looks like a dismal factory, but inside it appears more welcoming.
A little "kitsch" with a lot of stuff all over the place. Old agricultural tools hung on the roof and walls, last century radio sets, statues caved in wood. Even brass musical instruments smashed and hung like laundry drying under the sun.
When we enter it's about 8pm, the pub is already quite full. We ask the waiters for our reserved table, then we seat ourselves and soon after go back to the counter to get our buffet-style appetizer, all of which are very good local products.
According to the schedule the show would have been on just after the appetizer, and the dinner at the end. Mmmh.. unusual!
Instead, as it was more logical, after the appetizer they brought a plate of casoncelli (local stuffed pasta), followed by gnocchi, and after that stockfish on polenta with tomato sauce. As a dessert there was apple pie, then afterwards coffee and a digestive. Water, red and white wine from Valle del Fico were available on the tables. Everything was good and genuine, and almost everything was "zero-kilometers".

The really exceptional thing was the show after the dinner. Bobby Watson and

Bobby Watson and the JW Orchestra

the JW Orchestra played an unpublished jazz repertory through african atmospheres for which the leader Marco Gotti is fascinated (the title of the show was "Africa Jazz Traveling"). The formation of the band is also extraordinary. Above the alto sax of Bobby Watson, guest star, another thirteen brasses (two alto, two tenor and one baritone saxes, four trumpets, three trombones and one bass trumpet). A wonderful rythmical section (contrabbass and drums) completes the set, along with a piano that combined all the sounds. The show was more than one hour, and at the end we went away after the first encore, already late in the night, considering it was weekday. Unforgettable experience.

The environment of Bigio L'Oster is very informal, where one ends up chatting with the other guests seated nearby in the long communal tables.
I was already expecting to enlarge the list of tax evaders here on this side, but instead i was pleasantly surprised when they gave me the fiscal receipt without even asking. Good of you, Bigio!
The price was 35 euros each. Inexpensive, considering both the dinner and the show.

Maddie and Mr. Bentley, although offended for not being allowed to come along, had been enough cooperative, succeeding in not destroying the house.

Bigio L'Oster
Via Santuario di Altino
Albino (BG)

Trattoria Lamarta

Map of the drive made (click here to enlarge)

I have a deep enough knowledge of Lake Como, especially, since i live there, on the side of Lecco (the setting of the famous novel by Alessandro Manzoni).
In my childhood i spent a lot of summers at Lake Maggiore, and so, somehow, i know that too.
Lake Garda, instead, was still partially unknown. Yes, i had been near to there, i visited some villages in the southern coast like Sirmione, Desenzano, Peschiera. But, although partially in my region, i have never done a thorough visit.
And so, during the weekend 24th to 26th july, R, myself, Maddie and Mr. Bentley begun to remedy this serious gap with a short holiday at Gargnano.
Of course, two days is not enough to explore the subject, but enough to have an idea about how to plan a longer holiday, not only at the lake, but also in the surrounding mountains.
During those days that area was really hot, so, in order to escape from the heat, and also for the curiosity of exploring the surrounding mountains and finding destinations for any interesting hiking paths for future excursions, on saturday evening we decided to drive into an internal road we found on the map.
We were pleasantly surprised by the truly spectacular scenery on a deserted road (looks so far from the busy tourist destinations of lake Garda!). We drove on hairpin bends rolled around canyons and gorges, coasting also the beautiful little artificial lake Valvestino and crossing it on breathtaking bridges.

The road reaches Lake Idro. To avoid also the touristic crowd of this last one, we went a little over, at Treviso Bresciano. That day we decided not to have dinner because a few hours earlier we had a very big lunch. But at that late hour in the night we were beginning to feel the need of a snack. Then the talented fingers of R began to thumb through the pages of the SlowFood guide, finding a good restaurant just right there, in the hamlet Vico. Trattoria Lamarta.
Here we were warmly welcomed, even though they were almost closing (after nine in the evening, there was no longer anybody). We ordered half a liter of red wine and a plate of cured meat of their production, really delicious. Particularly good were their lardo and prosciutto. The latter, then, I was informed that that was not prosciutto, but cured pork rib.
We chatted for a long time with the nice lady. In particular I was amazed how such a nice restaurant could survive in a place so isolated that it was empty already at nine on Saturday night.
The lady told us how, after three generations, the restaurant is still run. Nothing much has changed. Meals are all prepared from their own produced ingredients (and if they are all like those cured meats, it's worth another visit!). In particular they grow pigs and vegetables, but they also have other animals. The menu can differ from day to day but goes according to season, with no choice allowed. One can eat what is cooked that day, which in fact depends upon the butchered animals and the harvested seasonal vegetables. The lady suggests to call before if one wants to know what will be served for dinner or lunch.

We paid 15 euros. Obviously without any receipt. Given the familiar welcome we received from the lady and her kindness keeping open only for us, i didn't feel like demanding it, so it's disappointing to include also this business in my list of tax evaders.

Trattoria Lamarta
via Tito Speri, 56
Localita' Vico
25070, Treviso Bresciano (BS)
Small pets welcome only in the porch outside.

Osteria Burligo

Among the restaurant we choose from the SlowFood guide, rarely it happens to visit one a second time.
On one side we like infact to try new restaurants, in order to taste different cookings, on the other side often it happens to choose restaurants situated very far from home, or because we are so attracted by the description to decide to drive alos several kilometers, or because it happens more often to go to the restaurant when we are on holiday.

An exception is Osteria Burligo. It is enough close to home, but that's not for sure the main reason we visited it for the third time.
Burligo, a village of Palazzago, is enough close to Bergamo, but somehow far from the main roads: impossible to go there by chance. If one arrives till here, it's because he really wants to come.
The environment is very simple. There is an entrance hall where there is the bar, and the main dining room, where there are about ten tables. More than that, in the good season one can also take a seat outside on the terrace. It's in front of the road, but it is pleasant because the road is never busy, and there is a nice view on the front mountain side.
This time we sit in the dining room.
Norma usually is in the kitchen, while the guests are welcome by Felice, excellent host, apart from being a great wine expert.

Synthesi
Aglianico del Vulture
by Paternoster

The cooking is extremely simple, and the elegance of the flavors is given mostly by the quality of the ingredients and the masterly matches. Speaking about simplicity, in a previous visit of ours i was impressed by a salad of caulifleurs and broccoletti, steamed and arranged on the plate like a crown, on which there was a sauce of olive oil and anchoves. Minimalist, but terrific.
This time we had only one hors-d'oeuvre made of a steamed bell-pepper divided in four and pealed, with a sauce of capers and tuna, very tasty.
As first plates we had tagliolini d'ortica (with nettle in the dough), with pancetta (pork underbelly) and sheep ricotta, excellent, very delicate, and lasagnette with salami paste (unfortunately they were out of lasagnette, so they substituted them with more tagliolini d'ortica), a more definite flavor given by the ragu of salami meat.
Then we shared a second plate: boiled tongue with sweet-and-sour vegetables, very good that too.
The wine selection is well furnished. We chose an Aglianico del Vulture "Synthesi" by Paternoster, which well matched to the courses.
One dessert (strawberries and gelato) and one coffee completed our dinner.
58 euros.

Osteria Burligo
Via Burligo 12,
Burligo, Palazzago (BG)

Where to go?

View of Costa Smeralda, Sardinia

Everybody i meet in the blog universe, that is not from Italy or doesn't know very well this country, asks me for suggestions about where to travel, if one comes here for tourism.
That, to me, is a difficult question, first of all because i am not a tourist, so i see this country with different eyes. I have all the time to spend over here so i don't have necessarily to choose the very best all of the sudden as it happens to tourists (unless they're so rich to be able to spend ages over here). Moreover, being that i am an Italian in Italy, i have more chance to appreciate the very deep inside it, because i don't have the barreer of language and cultural difference.

Autumn in Monferrato, Piedmont
by Mario Spalla

An american tourist in Italy would probably end up to eat at the touristic expensive restaurant in the center town, with the menu translated in English (where "Prosciutto di Parma D.O.P." is "ham"), which, undoubtedly, may serve good food. But Italy is also made of the little winebar in that hole of a wall, in an unknown village where they serve a good wine with a plate of salumi e formaggi locali (local cured meat and cheeses), where the owner will spend some time chatting with you (a good example of it is Il Covo).

Secondly the answer of such a question strictly depends upon what one is interested to. To make some exapmples, if somebody is interested in art i would suggest Florence and Rome. Who wants to have fun till early morning spending time (and money) in the discos, they should go to Riviera Romagnola. If you are interested in nice tans, sandy beaches next to a beautiful sea, Sardinia is your final destination.

Greve in Chianti centre village, Tuscany

But you may also be interested in skiing and in mountain landscapes. In these cases i would suggest the Alps...
About food... uhm... I think wherever you can find excellent McDonald's.
Ahaha... ehm... just joking!

So, not being able to be objective enough, i'll try an answer according to my tastes.

As a first suggestion i would say that, for who can choose, it's not a wonderful idea to travel in August. One problem is that it can be really very hot. Especially in the south, the termometer can easily reach 40 Celsius (104 F). I have been in Palermo with 50 C (122 F) and it was terrible. That problem is, obviously, less felt in the north and up in the mountains, where temperatures are more human-bearable.

Serra San Quirico, Marche
from www.comune.serrasanquirico.an.it

Besides the warmth, the main problem of August, anyway, is that Italians have the bad habit to take off for holidays in this month all together. This means that the typical holiday destinations are packed of people, while the non-typical ones are empty. Personally i don't like crowd, so i prefer, atleast in that month, the unusual destinations (there are nice ones too). Plus, if you go to some crowded place, it is also expensive (for an easy supply-demand rule), while if you go to an unusual one, being that there's not a big lot of people, also the shops tend to close for holiday. Last, in August, being that big herds of people moving, if you travel by car you can find a really busy traffic, especially on the main highways from north to south.

If there's no other choice than August, i would suggest the north, which is cooler and better served. But the best period to visit Italy, in my opinion, is the spring, untill the half of july. Infact winter is cold, and daylights are shorter, autumn can really give wonderfully colored days, but sometimes it can be very rainy.

I don't like strict programs that don't allow me to really enjoy one place because there's no time. Instead, i think that the best Italy one can appreciate is the one that is not visible on the surface. To meet people, having dinners in a little informal trattorias, shopping at the local artisan's, learn the local customs... no way you can do it, if you just pass by for a couple of days.
Which means that if you really want to have a wide experience of Italian culture you have to spend ages in this country, because the local cultures are so various that they are really different region by region, or also town by town. So, better to choose one or two areas and deeply explore only them. Just to make a gastronomical example, the typical dish of Piedmont is called bagna caoda.

Assisi, Umbria

It's a kind of big pot with a sauce made out of olive oil, garlic and anchovees, to be eaten hot wih raw vegetables.
In the next region of Lumbardy common people almost do not even know what bagna caoda is. Vice versa, the typical dish of this last region is casseula, stewed pork meat with cabbage. Nobody knows it in Piedmont. Moreover you'll never find casseula or bagna caoda nor in Piedmont nor in Lumbardy if you go to a common tourist restaurant.

Orvieto, Umbria

Those dishes can be found only in the old fashioned country trattorias, and only during winter.

So, planning to stay... let's say... one month in Italy i would choose no more than two places to stay, and rent a car to drive around those two places and visit the typical old little villages.

My favorite area in Italy is the center. In the center I would avoid Tuscany, because it's packed of foreign people, tourists or immigrants, especially from UK and USA. I have nothing racist against British or American people, but for sure, if you want to experience the real Italy, their invadent presence is a big limit. I remember, for example, walking in the center of Greve in Chianti (a little village in the famous wine area), where one can think there's the most authentic and uncontaminated italian culture, the most widely spoken language that i could hear was English.
My favorite regions are infact Umbria, Marche and Abruzzo, considered much less as a target by those "colonizers". That's why those regions are much less expensive although the territory is very similar to the Tuscan one (i hope this won't be considered a suggestion to rich American and British people to colonize also those lands!).

Dolomiti view, Trentino Alto Adige
from www.dolomitinetwork.com

Saint Rhemy en Bosses, Valle d'Aosta
from www.regione.vda.it

Those regions are my favorite for the food, the landscapes made of sweet hills, the wines (although Tuscany is still the best to that respect), the little medioeval villages, the courtesy and hospitality of people, and in general the culture strictly linked to the roots in their territory. The Parco Enogastronomico della Marca Centrale (Oenological and Gastronomical Park of Central Marche) is a good example of research of our root in the territory, through food, and preservation of our culture.

One of my favorite activities is also hiking in the mountains. With that purpose i suggest the spring on the Alps. Hiking paths are well kept and pretty much each one of them has atleast one refuge on the top, which makes the walk even more interesting for the food and the rest that can be enjoyed after the hard ascent.

View from Monte Tesoro, Lumbardy
from Rubber Slippers in Italy

The dolomites in the Alto Adige area are one of the most beautiful scenic view i have ever seen in my entire life, and the variety of mountain landscapes in Valle d'Aosta worth some days spent on hiking. Also the area (Como lake) where I live is enjoyable for hiking, and it offers also dramatic views of the lake.

Coliseum, Rome

Besides my tastes, i think that the ultimate thing that is missing wherever in the westerner world and we have in Italy, is the History, mother of our culture and customs. That's a fact that most of European (and, by extension, also South and North American) cultures were somehow originated in this country, so any foreign tourist coming to Italy can find atleast a little stone of his own History.

If i was a tourist, then, i wouldn't miss to visit Rome for its monuments, buildings and ruins that designed all the westerner cultures of the last three millennia, although nowadays it's a so busy and messy town that can be really tiring.

A good guide for Italian restaurants is Slow Food's Osterie d'Italia.
A good help to choose hiking paths in Lumbardy is Diska's Photos and PassoLento

(click on the photos to enlarge)

Trattoria Da Giusy

Climbing from Ponte di Legno towards Tonale Pass, there is soon the turn into the road to Gavia Pass, and after few kilometers the turn to Localita' Pezzo, and here, after some hairpin bends uphill, you arrive to the center of the village, where the restaurant Da Giusy is well signaled.
The environment is very familiar, a young man and a girl wait at the table, children of Mrs. Giusy, who works in the kitchen. The place looks more like an alpine refuge than a restaurant, infact they serve really simple traditional courses, with full and sincere tastes. The typical cooking exalts the flavors of this area, the portions are very generous.
My wife and I were satisfied by a plate of gnocchetti "Buongustaio" (kind of pasta) with vegetables and pancetta, an orzotto (risotto made out of barleycorn instead of rice) with porcini mashrooms: not bad indeed, a wonderful horse steak, huge and very tasty, with spinach, and a simple fresh salad. Water and half a liter of Valtellina Superiore loose red wine washed down the meal, ending up with a good expresso coffee. All this for 40.75 euros. It was not possible to go out without honoring the offer to taste the digestive, choosen among a large set of bottles of homemade liqueurs (excellent the Genepy), "And if the police stops you..." says the waiter at my concern about the alcoholic rate in my breath, "...tell them that you had dinner at Giusy's, and they won't give you any ticket!"

Trattoria Da Giusy
Via Ercavallo, 39
Localita' Pezzo
25056, Ponte di Legno (Bs).
Dogs not allowed.
Suggested by SlowFood.