By Manos Angelakis
 

Notes, Latina Province (Lazio), Italy

According to local residents, since the advent of the euro, the prices of restaurant food and drink in most of Europe has tripled and, in some cities quadrupled. And I’m not talking about temples of gastronomy; they were always priced according to the ego of the chef owner. We are talking about local restaurants, patisseries and wine bars, where – for example – the price of coffee has gone from under $1 to $4.50 to $5.50 and a glass of local wine from $1.20 to $4 to $8. Of course, the recent drop in the value of the dollar has exacerbated the situation for American tourists. In many cities, the only bargain has been public transportation, but that could become quite expensive, as pickpocketing is now endemic in Rome, Athens, Paris, and many other Mediterranean capitals. I’m talking here from personal experience!

On the other hand during our recent trip to Lazio (see Lazio, the Ulysses Coast, in the Destinations section), we found restaurants that have excellent food made from prime local ingredients, at prices that varied from logical to just a bit pricey.

In Formia, we had excellent dinners at both Veneziano (Da Veneziano, Via Abate Tosti 120, Tel 0771-7771818), and the next evening at Chinappi (Via Anfiteatro n. 8, Tel 0771-790002).

The name Italo Veneziano has been for years synonymous with terrific food. We were at the restaurant for dinner on a Sunday evening, and the downstairs room was full to capacity with locals enjoying fare made from local vegetables and day-fresh seafood. Though Italo is no longer personally cooking in the kitchen, his creative recipes and cooking methods are still followed to the letter. Amongst the Antipasti (Appetizers) we tried, we found both familiar dishes, like Mozzarella in Carozza con Acciughe (a Mozzarella di Bufala sandwich dipped in egg, then fried with anchovies) and variations on particular dishes, like Calamaretti Fritti con Acqua e Farina (fried baby squid in a very light batter). The Primo Piatto was Paccheri con Cozze di Gaeta e Fiammiferi di Melanzane Dorate (large tubular pasta cooked with Gaeta mussels and sticks of golden eggplant in a wine and mussel-liquid sauce).

The wine we had was 100% Falanghina, an indigenous grape cultivated in Campania and Lazio that makes wines with real personality. Falanghina has emerged in the last 10 years from complete obscurity, to an almost sudden stardom. It is now being produced by some of the most prominent wineries of southern Italy, especially ones located north of Naples. Sannio (Roman, Samnium) is a hilly region of Campania, with a wine-growing history so ancient that it was mentioned in the works of Pliny, and Cato. Some say that the Falanghina of Samnium may have been the grape used in Falernum, one of the most highly regarded wines of the Roman Empire.

The next evening we dined at Chinappi, the Formia outpost of a classic Roman eatery, located near Da Veneziano.

We started with “nodino di bufala con panzarella”, buffalo mozzarella on what we would think as sliced bruschetta; the locals call it a bread salad and it is made with saltless, week-old Tuscan bread, cubed tomatoes, red onion, basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Very similar – though made with old bread, not barley rusk – to a Cretan “dakos”.

The primo piatto was described as “Fancy of Variety of Mrs. Anna”, a seafood platter made with marinated white anchovies, pickled octopus, small shrimp, gravlax with acacia honey, and fritters of algae. Talk about gilding the lily!

The main course was fresh-from-the-sea fried squid with tempura of zucchini flowers on a crispy romaine salad.

The piece de resistance was the desserts. Pineapple raviolis stuffed with lemon sorbet with a very aromatic mint sauce, and sour cherry of mountain Aurunci tart.

The wines were a Moscato di Terracina from the Sant’ Andrea winery, a lovely, aromatic white that paired beautifully with the seafood; and Cervinara Rosso, a wine from the province of Avellino. I did not care much for the red, perhaps because it was too young; also, it had a rather acidic backend that would make it more appropriate for fatty meat courses.

On another day we had a tasty buffet lunch at Il Carpaccio, the restaurant of the 4*  Hotel Torre del Sole (Via Pontina, 106.50, Terracina, Tel: 0773-764076).

Again, a plethora of seafood and cheeses. Very interesting were the saltimbocca of fish and artichokes, large prawns wrapped in bacon, marinated white anchovies, Neapolitan octopus salad, anchovy balls and fried Bianchetti (whitebait). The primi piatti were Lasagna Bolognese, and seafood rice, the last a cold-rice dish studded with fish, seafood and radicchio. The main course was a stuffed pork fillet with grilled and roasted vegetables. There was a red Chianti Pontormo, a rather earthy light Chianti and a white that I thought was exceptional, the 2007 Circeo DOC, a blend of Malvasia and Trebbiano, from the Sant’ Andrea winery.

At another lunch at the 4* Grand Hotel Virgilio (Via Prima Romita 04029, Sperlonga), a resort hotel and conference center, the dishes consisted of: Tielle alla Gaetana, with small octopi, endive, and sausage and broccoli and an assortment of pizzas that included Margherita, Potato and Onion, and Marinara. The chickpea soup was very flavorful. There were cold cuts and local cheeses with Gaeta olives, and lots of grilled vegetables and roasted potatoes (frankly, I prefer Greek lemon roasted potatoes).

There were a number of other lunches and dinners, but with the exception of the dinner at Il Seminario (0773-354611), the restaurant of the Hotel Villa del Cardinale in the Norma Community, which stood above the rest - both figuratively and literally as it is sited at the top of a mountain - many meals were not as good as I expected. At the Seminario, which is also part of a culinary school, they served amongst numerous other mouthwatering dishes a delectable soup of porcini mushrooms, crushed roasted chestnuts, and beans and an incredibly crunchy, roasted, whole baby piglet. Pure delight; though getting there can be a bit hairy with the road going up the mountain in hairpin turns, in many places without side guards.

Good, honestly made food and good wine. You can’t beat that combination… and the price was right!

 

 

 

© January 2010 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.

 

Issue:
January
2012