Category Archives: Italian Food

Italian Food, Italian Politics, Venice

We Don’t Eat Here

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One of the many reasons to travel to Venice with us is finding the “real Venice” away from the tourist traps where the authentic Venetian cuisine is found.  A side perk:  none of our customers has ever been put in the hospital by a waiter.

For the record, violence of ALL kinds in Venice is exceedingly rare and this event probably qualifies as a lightning strike type incident, but needless to say knowing where to not eat is as important as anything you’ll decide on your trip to Italy.  Don’t waste time on bad food and tourist traps!   And not to victim blame, but you don’t go to Venice for the steak any more than you go to Lubbock, TX for the sushi.

Italian Food, Italian Wine, Piemonte, Veneto

On The Wine Trails Of Italy: Monte Tondo

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Sassi Italy Tours is really versed in guiding folks through “must see” Italy–the cultural heritage and art history treasures of Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa, Pompeii, etc, thanks to Doug Sassi’s encyclopedic knowledge of the Renaissance and Italy itself–but now we’re expanding our repertoire.  We’ve made contacts (friends we haven’t met, really) in Italy in places we think best represent its aesthetic and culinary palates and its unbeatable viticultural pursuits (a fancy way of saying where great wine is made!).    This fall we’re going to explore a few of these places in depth and “interview” them to make sure our take on them as places you the traveler *need* to see is accurate; watch this space as we add the food and wine trails of Italy (well off the usual tourist track, no doubt!) to our list of places we know in depth and can recommend whole-heartedly to the discerning traveler who wants an artisanal Italy experience close to the land, the people, the things that make its countryside like no other in the world.

One of the places we’re going:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVZayEVTO1g

Italian Food, Veneto, Venice

Linguine al’Astice

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almascarone

At one of our favorite places in Venice.  Craving this right now.  Bet your dinner doesn’t look this good :).  Is that rubbing it in?  Come get a plate with us!  We have never had a client come here who failed to record this as one of their best meals ever, bar none.

Italian Food, Italian Wine, Private Italy Tours, Venice

Craving Some Cicchetti

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And if you knew how good the smoked swordfish wrapped robiaola, pickled herring, and olive oil and herb soaked artichoke hearts were here, you would be too!  Nothing beats a cicchetti bar off the beaten path a bit in a quiet Venetian neighborhood for a pre-dinner snack and bicchiere di vino!

Come find this place with us.

Italian Food

Pappardelle Fatti A Casa

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Homemade semolina noodles cut wide do a great job of sopping up a porcini mushroom wine gravy.

Served in a Sassi Pottery pasta bowl.

Italian Food, Italian Wine

Gelato Arancione

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Via my good friend Valter at Osteria di Valter in Salt Lake City.  I got into SLC late this evening for a business trip, and even though the kitchen was closing down, Valter still invited me in and had me wash down some breaded zucchini and garlic tomatoes (so fresh!) with some Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and a semi-freddo gelato with orange zest that was to die for.

It’s so wonderful to be able to get fresh ingredients and Italian hospitality when you’re traveling on business–makes the whole trip so much more enjoyable!

Italian Food, Italian Wine, Piemonte

Wine Tasting

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We had a great time last week with our friends at Sovereignty Wines and their distributor Volio Vino!  They were kind enough to help the Colorado Springs Italian Culture Meetup group host a tasting of Italian wines (followed by a movie night), and a great time was had by all.

First up, some snacks to get the palette ready:

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And then it was on to Montecucco, where this lovely Vermentino from Azienda Peteglia was offered.  Crisp but rounded, it immediately reminded of Lugana style Trebbiano, but didn’t let you forget its Tuscan origin; grown in the southern part of Tuscany, it would be a perfect mate for white sauces and fresh seafood dishes.  If you see it, buy it!

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Up next was a trip north to taste a Dolcetto and a Barbera from Cantine Povero (from the description from the wine rep at Volio Vino, “povero” is a bit of a misnomer for what is apparently a fabulous estate in Piemonte, one to add to our list to go visit):

Tasting_4

A ridiculous bargain for a Piemonte red at around $10 a bottle, this one didn’t disappoint.  Dolcetto gets overlooked by stuffy wine connoisseurs because it isn’t ostentatious; it doesn’t boast lofty or obscure floral notes and syrupy fruity complexity that requires a thesaurus to describe–it’s straightforward, savory, and wholesome, a fulfilling wine that doesn’t require effort to enjoy, and this iteration would be perfect with some porcini mushroom gravy or any savory dish.

Not generally a fan of Barbera’s occasionally bracing acidity, but Cantine Povero’s won me over; I had some with some spicy, fatty foods and it shone through nicely.  Not something you’d cork to drink on its own, but that’s okay–most of the Italian wine spectrum is meant to be had with grub and this is no different.

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 The last wine of the night was in many respects the most compelling; from the small but remarkable DOC Bolgheri appellation, Tenuta Argentiera’s Villa Donoratico was a revelation.  Here on the Livornian coast, the microclimate suits growing non-native varietals like Cabs, Merlot, Petit Verdot, etc, and this wine’s blend hit a lot of the right notes.  It took about 30mins in the glass to really open up, but the wait was worth it.  Not an everyday drinker at $25 a bottle, but it was a special treat to get to try this cousin to the super Tuscans.

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