Risotto Steel 3/1/22 Risotto Steel 3/1/22

Brera: What to Do in Milan’s Versatile Neighborhood - ITALY SEGRETA

“Once a fishing village […], today it is considered the most bourgeois neighborhood in Milan.”

Enter the charming neighborhood of Brera and you’ll soon forget all thoughts of the drab, industrialist Milan. Bohemian grit began to fill the cracks between the uneven cobblestone streets here after WWII, and by the 1960s, the local cafes and galleries brimmed with neorealist filmmakers and designers vying for the Compasso d’Oro award. Due north from Milan’s tourist-filled Duomo and past the storied La Scala, austere, modern palazzos make way for colorful residential buildings, their balconies overflowing with succulents, wisteria and honeysuckle. The name Brera comes from the Lombard word ‘Braida’ which means ‘green space.’ Once a fishing village where boats arrived on canals into Milan from the Northern lakes, today it is considered the most bourgeois neighbourhood in Milan.

To experience a hint of old-world Brera is to shop at the weekly outdoor mercato on Via San Marco, notable for its colorful, overflowing bouquets, ample fresh fish selection, multiple produce stands and Italian fashion staples such as leather gloves and cashmere sweaters. On the winding pedestrian streets, worthwhile boutiques and vintage shops are mixed with tourist-hungry restaurants (to be avoided – I recommend the old-school trattoria tucked away nearby). Brera freshly exhibits a new generation of designers and concept boutiques, and admiration of the supermodel-esque locals.

Although more recently famous as a creative’s haven in the 1960s, Brera has for centuries attracted artists and designers who came to study at the art academy within the internationally celebrated museum Pinacoteca di Brera. Soon after it opened, Napoleon, the newly crowned King of Italy, is said to have intended the Pinacoteca to become the Louvre of Italy (Antonio Canova’s colossal marble statue of the monarch sits at the center of the palazzo courtyard today). To follow in the brushstrokes of the prestigious academy’s centuries of attendees is to shop at the historic art supply and print shop Ditta Crespi or flip through the engraved leather journal selection at Pettinaroli.

Milanese in their rural tweeds and riding their vintage Rossignoli (or Brera-branded bikes) still proudly bask in the neighborhood’s charming churches and hidden gardens all while remembering its nonconformist roots. They will steer you towards cafes frequented by the literary and artistic greats that came up in the quartiere as well as where they bought their pens and paints, wrote their poems and partied into the night. While mass brands like Supreme, Starbucks and Nike are nose to nose with subtle (and not so subtle) Italian elegance, Brera continues to grow as a landmark destination for visitors and locals alike.

GUIDE TO BRERA

TRATTORIE

Trattoria Torre di Pisa

Al Matarel

Ristorante La Libera

Rigolo

Rovello18

DRINK

Bar Jamaica

N’Ombra de Vin

Associazione Salumi e Vini Naturali

ART

Pinacoteca

Massimo De Carlo

Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea

DESIGN

Moscova District Market

Boffi

Dimore Studio

By Elizabeth Jones first published on Italy Segreta

Risotto Steel 12/16/21 Risotto Steel 12/16/21

Our Favorite Old and New Pasticcerie in Milan - PRIOR

MILAN HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN FOR ITS DECORATED PASTRIES AND THE EQUALLY HAUTE PASTICCERIE THAT SELL THEM. NOW PHENOMENAL BREAD HAS ARRIVED AS WELL. FROM A GRAND 19TH CENTURY CLASSIC PASTRY HOUSE TO THE HIP NEW MICROPANIFICO WHICH FITS ONE CUSTOMER AT A TIME, HERE ARE 10 BAKERIES CURRENTLY DEFINING THE NORTHERN ITALIAN CITY...

If ever there was a place to see the softer side of Milan, it’s in its timeless pasticcerie. Ubiquitous across the city, pasticcerie are often not only morning espresso and pastry bars but shops—like the local butcher, vineria, or fruit stand—where cakes, jammy tarts, tiny pasticcini, and chocolates are bought and sold for family gatherings and holidays. They punctuate neighborhoods around the city, often near churches, as post-service Sunday lunch always ends with ample sweets.

Here, the proximity to France and an eye for the finer things inspired traditions like flaky puff pastry and brioche as well as rich fillings of crème pâtissière and frangipane. (While each bakery has their signature favorites which are always on offer, classic bigné, cannoncini, and cygne filled with chantilly vanilla whipped cream or chocolate are among the more famous pastries in Milan.)

In addition to the preservation of the old in its bakeries—from the facades to the treats—Milan’s embrace of the new has never been more evident. Pride in tolerance for diversity, international expression, and creativity is having a moment—in society as well as food. New bakeries (many women-owned) and bakers (many young) have arrived, and thanks to a global sourdough fanaticism, what’s on the Milanese menu is even being redefined at the new-school places. Together, the spectrum of new offerings in addition to the classic have put Milan into an official bakery boom. Here’s where not to miss when in the city.

MARCHESI 1824

Milan's storied caffè culture begins here, at Marchesi’s original location where an ornate 18th century facade still frames a window display of refined cakes and wrapped confections. Almost 200 years after opening, in 2014, the brand was acquired by Prada, and yet early morning regulars continued to gather without pause around the deco bar (here and at two other locations) for un caffè e brioche “al volo” (on the fly). By mid-morning, a second crowd trickles in for cappuccino and the assortment of pasticcini, crostate, Aurora cakes, and elegant Sacher tortes. A Marchesi’s signature, the earthy marron glacé cream, which takes four days to make, is the perfect pick-me-up while window shopping on the way to nearby Castello Sforza, and the Gianduiotto or a 2000 gram Panettone make perfect statement gifts during the holiday. Via Santa Maria alla Porta.

CUCCHI

While bitter rumors circled that Starbucks would open across the street, third-generation owned Cucchi thrives, maintaining institutional status for coffee and aperitivo any time of day or day of week. In the spirit of its address, which was previously a caffè concerto or cafè chantant in the 1930s, Cucchi today enlists rising stars in Milan's design and fashion communities (notably Cristina Celestino and JJ Martin to help with window displays and furniture collaborations. It’s impossible to go wrong with their classic pastries, but the Lombardo sbrisolona and budino di riso—filled with creamy sweet rice and a touch of rum—is a particularly not-to-be-missed tribute to Milan’s old nickname “Milk City” and its famous location surrounded by rice fields.
Corso Genova, 1

LE POLVERI

On Saturday morning, a swarm of regulars concentrates in and around Le Polveri’s wooden outdoor seating space decorated with hanging dried flowers and mismatched stools. The wait to get inside Aurora Zancanaro's 50 square meter micropanifico (which can only accommodate one person at a time) is truly worth it. While her approach to bread initially made the shop a destination for locals, the leavened breakfast offerings soon rose to fame and are now also offered daily. The shop’s social media may hint to what's on offer, but you can almost always find a seasonal-fruit-topped pan brioche, cardamom and cinnamon buns, and a signature selection of bagged cookies. The cookies: savory kale and bitter chocolate with Maldon and rosemary will not likely survive long enough to make it to the inside of your cabinet. (It’s best to get your espresso elsewhere, as this is first and foremost a bakery.)
Via Ausonio, 7, 20123 Milano MI

SISSI

Pulling espresso shots faster than the eye can see, the baristas are quick and hospitable in this narrow pink shop, a local favorite that since the 1990s has operated under the watchful and stylish eye of exuberant owner Zig Faye. Faye and his wife, Sissi, make room for regulars for their morning constitutional “al banco” (coffee taken at the bar). Veneziane and bomboloni alla crema are made on site, while Italian brioche and cornetti are filled by hand with vanilla and chocolate pastry cream or jam to order. Seats in the garden are the ideal setting in which to enjoy little pastries dotted with precious, mini wild strawberries, or in winter, their creative and colorful almond marzipan.
Piazza Risorgimento, 6, Zona Risorgimento

Pastries and interiors courtesy of Loste Cafe

LOSTE CAFÉ

The young, creative Italian owners at this modern, recently opened Scandinavian-inspired bakery and wine bar met while working at NOMA in Copenhagen—one was the head pastry chef there for five years, and the other the sommelier and coffee shop manager. One of the few genuine third-wave coffee destinations in the city, it’s known for its filtered coffee and is one of the few places in the city you can get a flat white. Their treats are all expert variations on European classics, including the double-baked almond pain au chocolate and sugar biscuit with custard cream and jam filling, which often run out by midday. After morning, the pair serve lunch, wine, focaccia and aperitivi.
Via Francesco Guicciardini, 3

PANIFICIO DAVIDE LONGONI

A local institution known for having the best organic bread in the city, second-generation baker Davide Longoni recently opened his newest outpost (his first location in the city is eight years old) in the highly anticipated Mercato Centrale within the brutalist-design central train station. The eponymous maestro Longoni ignited sourdough's overdue revival in Milan, and his signature wall of loaves compliment any creamy Lombardian cheese like Taleggio or Gorgonzola. With a rotation of leavened breakfast cakes accompanied with some of the best coffee in Milan, Longoni has a loyal following, who you’ll often see lining up for panettone, cinnamon rolls, or their house babka. On top of that, the Mercato Centrale stall offers the best pizza al taglio in the city: A warm rectangle of anchovy, cucumber, burrata and fresh sage is an irresistible train lunch.
Mercato Centrale, Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini, 2, 20125.
Flagship - Via Gerolamo Tiraboschi, 19, 20135

TONE

In 2021, ethnobotanist Giovanni Marabese and experienced baker Marco Bianchi opened their all-day "bread lab" with an international twist: a Georgian oven (literally a "t'one"), wood-fired, deep and circular, for baking puri and lavash. By mid-morning every day, the counter is topped with khachapuri filled with three luscious, soft Lombardo cow's milk cheeses baked into the center of the leavened dough, a just-runny-enough egg in the middle. Simple café vibes and the kitchen experiments arriving in the case as the day passes, from Icelandic breads to fruit-filled focaccia and sourdough wholemeal boules, are temptation enough to inspire a return at aperitivo time for a second round (this time with a glass of wine from their extensive list).
Via Donatello, 22

PAVÉ

A once pioneering destination in Milan for the all-day cafe concept—serving breakfast, lunch and aperitivo (no reservations accepted)—this hip shop developed a lasting following. Their exquisite case is consistently filled to the edges with “monoporzione” colorful patisserie-inspired tarts, millefoglie, and meringue, among others. A layered yeast-leavened brioche is the closest one you'll find to a croissant without actually being one, excellent filled with prosciutto cotto and arugula, housemade jam, or Pavé’s own chocolate hazelnut spalmabile (spread). The three owners, Diego Bamberghi, Giovanni Giberti, and Luca Scanni, who've expanded into making beer and gelato at their birreria and duo of gelateria locations around the city, will celebrate 10 years in 2022.

Via Felice Casati, 27

TIPOGRAFIA ALIMENTARE

What began in 2018 as a mother-daughter-owned bistro a short walk from the Turro metro stop in the emerging NOLO neighborhood, Tipografia Alimentare serves vegetable-forward, locally sourced food that changes every day. In 2020, a British baker and fellow alum from the University of Gastronomic Sciences Nathan Cal Danby, joined the team, overseeing the buildout of their bakery kitchen including sourdough for the restaurant (and soon for purchase), whole-grain pastries such as carrot, date and labneh cakes, and olive oil cakes. Their coffees and natural-focused wine list are examples of their eye for finding the best small artisans.
Via Dolomiti, 1

TERROIR

Tucked down a quiet side street off the busy main stretches of the Porta Monforte neighborhood, Terroir is an elevated alimentari that gets an honorable mention for its subsequently spectacular baked goods. Opened by Gabriele Ornati in 2012, it has since become a destination for anyone who puts food shopping and local sourcing on a pedestal—including the selection of bakery selections sourced from top restaurants, bakers, and shops nearby. Offerings might include rosetta alla crema cardamom and hazelnut frangipane from 1 Forno del Mastro in Monza just outside the city, carrot cake or banana bread from Milan’s specialty coffee roasters (and hip café) Nowhere, or melonpan —a sweet Japanese-style bun—from Michelin recognized restaurant Bentoteca.
Via Macedonio Melloni, 33

By Elizabeth Jones first published on Prior

Risotto Steel 5/1/21 Risotto Steel 5/1/21

THE ART OF APERITIVO - ITALY SEGRETA

WHEN I SING EDOARDO VIANELLO’S SONG:

GUARDA COME DONDOLO

GUARDA COME DONDOLO CON LO SPRITZ!

CON LE GAMBE AD ANGOLO

BALLO IL TWIST!

One of the more memorable Italian language gafs made by yours truly – Guarda come dondolo con lo SPRITZ!

It always gets a laugh out of Italians. The song is also widely known by people who loved Master of None as it is on the soundtrack. If you haven’t seen it the 2nd season is mostly filmed in Italy.

Aperitivo hour, the Italian’s happiest hour, is an experience simply described as the time for a refreshing pre-dinner drink. But this ritual exemplifies a culture that knows how and when to let it all go with elegance or find reason to celebrate with aperitivo at another time of day. While what and when you drink is up to you, aperitivo hour is said to have started before dinner with Vermouth. King Vittorio Emanuele II in the 18th century is said to have enjoyed a glass of this Piemontese bitter spiced white wine nightly at dusk.

When we aperitivi-amo, we open (as the Latin “aperire” suggests) our stomachs with a traditionally bitter, low alcohol cocktail that prepares us for dinner. We also open mouths and seats at our table to chiacchierare – to chat and spend time with friends.

A few times a year, my Italian family’s aperitivo tradition takes a twist, beginning early on Sunday morning, aggressively avoiding messa domenicale, Sunday mass traffic. My husband Felipe and I slide into the back of his parents’ car. “Where to first”, I ask? “Prima, aperitivo.” says Alfonzo, Felipe’s father at the wheel. He abruptly brakes at the sight of the autovelox, the big metal boxes on the roadside that electronically dole out speeding tickets, dreaded by all Italians. We exit the autostrada onto a narrow two lane road, passing crumbling cascina farmhouses and signs advertising cantinas, casificios, cars, and sexy shops. Rolling green hills appear covered in hazelnut trees and grape vines. We crossed over from Lombardia into the Piemontese countryside.

We celebrate our prime parking spot in Piazza Alfieri in Asti as the 10 o’clock church bells seem to officiate our adventure. A large silver Cocchi sign hangs over the popular piazza bar. While vermouth production is centuries old, Cocchi, from Asti, is credited by drink historians of today as producing the first commercial variety. We have arrived in the birthplace of aperitivo, and I like to think not by accident.

Alfonzo led us around the corner to Bar Lo Stregatto. Before I could look down to admire the parquet floors, the bartender opens five Campari sodas and pours each into a glass with a few ice cubes. Little small bowls of briny green olives, potato chips and a plate of some tiny crustless sandwiches filled with soft cheese and prosciutto crudo appear before us. Sunday’s Campari soda defines Sunday for my husband when he’s with his father. The Campari soda Sunday before lunch is the ultimate cin-cin before a long lunch in the countryside.

Taking a more traditional path, whether it is a negroni in it’s birthplace of Florence or a spritz in Trieste, there is no DOP domain protected aperitivo experience. Thankfully, the mix of family traditions and trends keep the Italian aperitivo ubiquitous, iconic and often up for interpretation. However, a key defining characteristic that solidifies the aperitivo is food. By law Italians must serve food free of charge with alcoholic drinks — even if just a bowl of mediocre chips on the bancone bar. Olives, peanuts, salumi, flaky Parmigiano Reggiano drizzled in balsamic vinegar arrive at your table. In upper scale establishments that anticipate that you’ll continue to enjoy, and imbibe, while drinks may cost 10 euros, little gifts are sent from the chef’s kitchen. My personal favorite (and it’s also fun to say!) are salatini. These bites of savory layers of pasta sfoglia puff pastry, often circular are just a bit larger than a Euro coin. Memorialized for me at Pasticceria Marchesi 1824 in Milan, pasta sfoglia is filled and baked with tomato passata and mozzarella, prosciutto and stracchino or simply sprinkled with poppy seeds and grated pecorino. Rich in butter and salt as the name implies (little salty things!) salatini pair well with just about anything.

While the mini bottle of Campari soda is the best aperitivo drink standing up al banco, Campari enthusiasts come to Milan, its birthplace, for the Negroni Sbagliato. When a bartender at Milan’s Bar Basso mistakenly added a dry spumante brut to a negroni instead of gin in the 1970s, the happy accident became a signature of the city. In Venice, aperitivo is frequently enjoyed with cicchetti, crostini smeared with seasonal morsels or piled with anchovies. In Puglia, taralli is a favorite – a hand rolled circular cracker made with olive oil and white wine. Grab the iconic Aperol spritz while in Veneto, or join in on the millennial tradition of apericena, a blend of aperitivo and dinner, in Northern Italian university towns – where a few euros gets you a drink and towering plate of snacks.

The true beauty of aperitivo lies in the feeling that you are in Italy and celebrating a time old tradition. No matter what you are drinking or who you are with, it’s the anticipation that you are at the beginning of an adventure – whether it be a meal or, if you are with my father-in-law Alfonzo, a trip to the antique market in Casale Monferrato followed by an unforgettable pranzo della domenica in the hills of Piemonte.

by Elizabeth T. Jones first published on Italy Segreta

Risotto Steel 4/1/21 Risotto Steel 4/1/21

UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN IN CORTONA - ITALY SEGRETA

I MOVED TO ITALY FOR LOVE BUT WORK IS WHAT BROUGHT ME HERE.

Departing early from Milano Centrale for Cortona, I declined to use the nose plugs distributed by Frecciarossa staff under my mask. The train air offered breaths of disinfected hope. I had been to Cortona before but this was my post-vaccine maiden voyage. A reminder that covid travel restrictions had only just been lifted, it was mostly empty. A cluster of teenage girls in brightly colored masks celebrated the end of the school year, dozing in and out of TikTok sessions under their chunky headphones. I agreed to trade seats with one and we smiled with our eyes.

On the empty platform at Camucia, the dry Tuscan heat mixed with aglione, Val di Chiana’s spicy, giant and delicate cousin of garlic. A key ingredient in locally made tomato sauce which is then slathered over pici. Tuscany’s thick, hand-made pasta was just one of many reasons for my visit.

I once dreamt the word cliche was written on my forehead while waiting under a cypress tree for my Italian husband to pick me up on a seagreen Vespa. I moved to Italy for love but work is what brought me here. The amount of books and movies that have swept an international audience with Italophilia is vast and Tuscany has often played a starring role. Not one can compete, however, with the Cortona-set 2003 success of romantic comedy Under the Tuscan Sun. This novel and subsequent film played on our global wanderlust’s heart strings. Fittingly, I was meeting my Canadian friend who also had stayed in Italy for love; her partner who grew up in and around Cortona and the province of Arezzo has a vintage Vespa.

Jennifer’s dog Vizz jumped to sit on my lap when I sat down in her car. A short ride to the top, the ancient walled city looked down on us. Surrounded by an expansive agricultural valley, stunning churches and their opulent gardens, she shared the story of meeting her partner Saverio at a long shuttered discotheque called Vintage near the train station. An artist who’d kept a low profile in town she hid her romance with Saverio for months as he was a staple in Cortona’s “salotto” and knew everyone. Saverio and their son Ivo met us at the top of Via Nazionale, Cortona’s Decumano, an east-west street. Many ciaos later to what seemed like almost half of Cortona’s population of 2000 people, we arrived at Casa Ermenegilda. This extraordinary palazzo emanates with historical beauty, restored as a holiday home for visitors who value space, design and simplicity.

Named for Saverios great grandmother Gilda (also the name of their adopted street cat), the seven stories once included bedrooms for all of Gilda’s grandchildren and a photography darkroom next to the cantina for her husband Carlo who was a passionate hobbyist. I relaxed in my room on the handmade LinnSui futon bed (designed by Saverio and his brother and featured in Sorrentino’s La Grande Bellezza) and switched on the 1970s Guzzini Lucciola table lamp as night fell. Before closing the shutters to dim the noise from the recently reopened enoteca, I greeted a woman named Jeanette with Diane Lane vibes, a Californian who owned the B&B across the street. She “met” Jennifer in their tall windows for a daily tea during Cortona’s lockdown. After a bowl of pici and grilled steak on Gilda’s marble and cast iron clad kitchen, Franco Battiato and Sangiovese soaked voices lulled me to sleep.

Highly intertwined is Cortona’s community, much like the winding alleys and climbing stairways where the Etruscans once trekked. Maze-like streets and cars limited by parking and ZTL limited traffic areas, the temptation of surprising views into the valley beckons you to walk longer than you’d planned.

Jennifer jogs by Bramasole every morning and I joined her. Bramasole is the villa of Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun, where she lives for a few months every year. Mayes cleverly named it for the protagonist villa in Under the Tuscan Sun although it is not where they actually filmed the movie. It is said that thousands of tourists walk by it every year for a photo. I like to imagine they dress in a white shirt and khaki pants just like Diane Lane in the movie. We jog along the ancient walls, by an impressive wall overflowing with wildflowers and butterflies breakfasting, and rockstar Jovanotti’s estate; past the striking Gino Severini mosaic on Chiesa di San Marco; ending in a park that houses Cortona’s only fountain. Tourists still come to Cortona looking for the fountain where Diane Lane’s character jumps in like in Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. A foam & fiberglass composite fountain was constructed in Piazza Signorelli for the scene; in the memory of locals Neptune’s body parts were highly disproportionate, says Jennifer.

Saverio and Jennifer take me to Castellani 1919 down the street from Casa Ermenegilda. Elina, who runs the business, maintains rows of cabinets full of objects and posters – vintage and rare – in her family for over 100 years. During lockdown, the three partnered up to create an ecommerce site with selected vintage objects from Castellani 1919, custom and handmade ceramics by Cortenese artist Guilio Lucarini, and playful vintage inspired signs whose designs Saverio unearthed from an abandoned farmhouse in a field outside Anghiari. In his 20s, Saverio was the friend who would call you for a ride at midnight on a Saturday, but not for a ride to the discotheque. Cruising the streets of Florence on his Vespa, his life as collector began when he learned that the abandoned bar chairs he’d salvaged (thanks to his friend that arrived with his 1980s Volkswagan van) by the side road were tossed by one of the most popular cafes in Firenze called Guibbe Rosse. The chairs were renewed and sold. This was just the beginning. He owns Emporium 1919, a props and vintage set rental company in Arezzo which services Italy with unique objects for film and commercial sets. Jennifer is an artist who worked in retail fashion to pay the rent, opening stores for Prada in Spain, Portugal and China.

On my final day in Cortona, we piled into their car–with Vizz in my lap, Saverio at the wheel and Jennifer and little Ivo in the back seat–on a quest for aglione. The ginormous bulbs sprouted in elegant rows as the sun began to set in the valley. A chef friend whose American family harvests olives every season at their farmhouse in the hills nearby told stories of this bulbous marvel. We filled the trunk and plotted our aglione dinner menu including a salty raw garlic and potato dip we spread over traditional saltless Tuscan bread. The next morning, my travel sack provided the ideal scent.

Jennifer & Saverio’s Guide to Cortona

STAY
Villa Tommasi (Pergo)
Villa Boninsegni (San Angelo) On Booking
Relais Villa Di Piazzano (Villa near Orto Fortunato)
La Terra del Cavaliere

EAT
Osteria del teatro
Dardano (typical trattoria)
La Loggetta
La Grotta

APERITIVO/BAR
Tuscher
Sotto voce

by Elizabeth T. Jones first published on Italy Segreta

Risotto Steel 3/15/21 Risotto Steel 3/15/21

Plant- Based Burgers Sprout in Italy - TUORLO MAGAZINE

ITALY, THE CAPITAL OF PASTA, PIZZA AND DOZENS OF OTHER ICONIC REGIONAL DISHES, HAS HIT PEAK HAMBURGER.

It’s been a long time coming. It began in the 80s, with the young urban paninaro culture. The paninari, wearing Moncler jackets and Timberland boots, were proud to be nicknamed ‘panino lovers’. They hung out with friends at the growing number of fast food joints in Milan, showing off their Zündapp motorcycles and Ciao Piaggios. At Burghy, which grew to 90 locations around Italy, there were seven burgers on the menu. Their menu of American-style patatine (French fries!), chicken nuggets, salads and milkshakes paved the way for McDonalds, which eventually bought Burghy in the early 2000s.

Today, the Italian hamburger concept has ascended even more. And with beet-dyed soft buns, avocado schmears and vegan mayonnaise, above all the plant-based burger has arrived in Italy.

“Italians have frequently challenged the questionable sourcing practices, environmental impact and animal welfare of McDonalds, which now has 6000 outlets in Italy. But Italy’s up-and-coming young chefs are challenging the destruction of consumer choice brought on by industrial fast food chains. Not only are they introducing creative flavors, unique side dishes and healthy options – they’re truly embracing plant-based burgers.”

Their names would make any American wince: Mama Burger, 212 Hamburger & Delicious, Burgez, Ham Holy Burger, Hamerica's and Flower Burger. But it’s easy food designed for the evolving palates of the Milanese who love burgers and, at last, vegan fare.
After reading the hippy-yet-eye-opening Diet for a Healthy Planet in college (yes, it predates Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma), I adopted a ‘mostly plants’ diet philosophy in my 30s while living in Brooklyn, NY – until I moved to Italy. That’s when it all changed. There I pressed my face up against the Italian shop windows. I loved the perfectly arranged salumi, the myriad cuts of meat. I shopped at the macelleria like a kid in a candy shop. Washing down Culatello di Zibello with red wine was a nightly ritual for a month straight. When I discovered that Northern Italians were expected to eat more meat, I was even happier. I embraced my newly adopted food culture in my own kitchen too. I tried my hand at risotto Milanese with Ossobuco, drowning my arteries in bone marrow fat. I devoured carne cruda with white truffles in Piemonte. As my blood pressure slowly increased, so also eventually did my hankering for a healthier diet. I began to miss the myriad of veggie options the New York life accorded me. As new restaurants opened in Milan, I wondered if the plant-based burger could satiate my nostalgia for American health food.

The plant-based burger hit Milan when American tech startup Beyond Meat launched in a handful of restaurants throughout Italy.

At Avo Brothers in Milan you can order the ‘Pink Burger’ a noticeably thin Beyond burger on an Instagram-worthy beet red bun with avocado, lettuce, a slice of beet, vegan paprika mayo and (for an extra Euro) Violife vegan cheddar cheese. At €15.50, it’s now the most expensive item on the menu. Although momentarily blinded by the fuchsia-colored bread, I bit into the extremely flavorful layers that melded together in my mouth. As a bonus, I could eat in my car with no muss: the Beyond Burger does not drip like meat burgers, but it’s still moist and satisfying. My Italian husband agreed, the Beyond burger passed the test.

My continued exploration of Beyond Meat took me to a shop called Cuore Vegano. The owner, former wellness journalist Daniele Magni, was smoking a cigarette outside the storefront. His business has been selling mostly online since the pandemic hit, but he’s open for intrepid shoppers and eager Americans like me. Coolers are filled with vegan cheese; shelves packed with fair-trade chocolates and hazelnut spreads and vegan panettone; and a single freezer has one pack of Beyond Mince – which I was eager to try at home. Magni, apologetic that he had sold out of the popular Beyond burgers, offered an alternative that had just hit the shelves that week: Via Emilia, an Italian plant-based burger almost identical to Beyond, but made in Austria. A 300-gram package of Via Emilia’s burgers costs half of what I paid for Beyond’s product and with 19% pea protein, is practically identical in ingredients and nutritional makeup.

Writer of the forthcoming book Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley’s Mission to Change What We Eat Larissa Zimberoff is not surprised that an Italian food company was able to create a plant-based burger as good as the Beyond Meat burger. With the help of a food scientist in Denver, she told me, she made her own version at home in less than a day.

But what will Nonna think?

What kind of meat is this?” asked my husband’s Italian mother, complimenting my kitchen skills as she tucked into the ‘meatballs’ I had served her. Well, they certainly passed the Nonna test: mixed with breadcrumbs, egg and lots of garlic, my pack of Beyond Mince had her wondering whether I had been cooking with turkey or chicken.”

And yet… as I revealed their their plant-based origins, she asked me to read aloud the ingredients and nutrition facts at the table. She was not delighted to hear that the second and third ingredients are rapeseed and coconut oil. She scoffed at the methylcellulose stabilizer and maltodextrin further down the list. And then the conversation was pretty killed after I shared that 100 grams of Beyond meat has 5.7 grams of saturated fat. I cowered in my seat a bit as Nonna was not thrilled to learn that she had inadvertently consumed coconut oil, which gives her a stomach ache.

While I had anticipated that this experiment wouldn’t exactly be embraced in my home, my husband too was in shock and so we tried more. Scrolling through the dozens of burger restaurants in Milan on online delivery platforms I found that several feature a Beyond burger. With fries it will set you back €16-20 per delivery without a drink – that’s at least 3-4 Euros more than regular meat. Another knockoff, the Unconventional Burger, a plant-based burger made by big Italian industrial food company Granarolo at Esselunga, costs €4.59 for two patties. The only significant difference with the Unconventional burger is that its primary ingredient is soy protein. It tastes the same – and it’s especially good with melted fontina, ketchup and iceberg lettuce. When you remove the hockey-puck-like patty out of the plastic, it is obvious that something is different – but as you take it off the pan with grill marks and you bite into it, the plant-based taboo melts away.

By Elizabeth Jones first published on Tuorlo Magazine

Risotto Steel 3/1/21 Risotto Steel 3/1/21

FAI: Protecting the Beauty of Our Country since 1975 - ITALY SEGRETA

A few times a year, top news outlets have me clicking on articles on how to buy 1 euro homes in Southern Italy. The joy of scrolling through apartments with cascading balconies overlooking sundrenched piazzas even if the insides are ceiling high with crumbled concrete and discarded furniture is my ideal clickbait.

Following Olimpia Zagnoli’s Instagram feed has rekindled my love for searching for well-priced villa’s outside of Milan. In her personal search to buy a home, she posts Milanese properties with suntanned cementina tile, home entertainment grottos and entryways with mailboxes which are directly from the b-roll of Karl Kolbitz highly curated Taschen book Entryways of Milan – Ingressi Di Milano, featuring photographs of over 140 Milanese entrance halls from 1920 to 1970.

Bigger dreams of Under the Tuscan Sun-ifying your life may have you wondering how to get a good deal on an abandoned monastery near Como or a castle in the Dolomites or lakeside palazzo like Villa Feltrinelli, once home to Mussolini and now considered a luxurious yet understated hotel. Although the likely question on most of our minds is what happens to the properties that are unsellable – or simply too grand for upkeep and restoration?

Pride in Italy’s natural cultural assets is not only in their blood. Article 9 of the Italian Constitution reads “The Italian Republic promotes the development of culture and of scientific and technical research. It protects the landscape and the historical and artistic heritage of the Nation.”

Protection by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is the greatest and most historical body for preservation in existence. Italy counts fifty-five UNESCO World Heritage Sites within its borders, the most of any country: five are nature sites and fifty are cultural sites including the entire cities of Verona, Ferrara and the historic center of Rome. For the most part, the “protection, prosperity, and preservation” of UNESCO is a highly selected inventory — forty one additional sites are on a tentative list under consideration in Italy alone.

Enter FAI. In 1975, Italy’s Fondo Ambiente Italiano began to transform castles, stately homes, libraries, gardens, lighthouses and even barber shops throughout Italy into hotspots for local and regional history. While the FAI properties in Milan and Venice are the most frequented by international visitors there are sixty-six in total throughout Italy. Established by the late Giulia Maria Mozzoni Crespi, descendant of the Lombardian cotton family and former owner of Italy’s Corriere della Sera, her big vision was modeled as a National Trust for Italy, a non-profit following the example of the British National Trust — established over 120 years ago, the British National Trust has grown to become one of the country’s largest landowners. Crespi’s FAI was on rocky terrain as a new organization until the Monastery of Torba, the Abbey of San Fruttuoso and the Castello della Manta, then and today properties of enormous cultural and artistic value, were donated.

The first FAI property was bought and then donated by Giulia Maria Crespi herself. Less than an hour’s drive from Milan, Monastero di Torba is today part of an archaeological park declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, not by coincidence. The complex dates back to the 5th century A.D., when a barbarian invasion threatened the Romans. In the 8th century Benedictine nuns commissioned the construction of the monastery which they inhabited for seven centuries. After 8 years of archaeological excavation and fresco restoration with field experts, the property was opened to the public.

When a property is donated to FAI, the assets within are often part of the package, adding value and layers of history to the visitor experience. More often than not the public opening is only after extensive restoration. Chiara de Rege, New York City-based interior designer spent her summers as a young child in and around the transformative of her real-life fairytale home. Her nonna, Countess Elisabetta de Rege, who lived in an imposing medieval fortress since birth, put Castello della Manta in the hands of Crespi and her team in 1985, making it the fifth FAI property. de Rege’s memories span from exploring the acres of roof to watching the swift, delicate and methodical movements of the fresco restoration team to riding her bicycle through the FAI gift shop when she was six years old. It opened to the public through time in sections as rooms were recovered and in some cases, uncovered. Since then, 830,000 people, including thousands of school children, have crossed the door overlooking the expansive garden. The de Rege family still lives in a section of Manta. This past summer was the first ever that Chiara, regretfully, did not make the pilgrimage. FAI properties, including Manta, also host private events, meetings and conferences. I first learned about this and Manta through de Rege’s cousin Victoria James, author of Wine Girl and outspoken sommelier, on Instagram. While women in her family have been married there for centuries, James was first in the family to amalgamate since it was donated to FAI and she describes the experience as truly magical.

The most visited FAI property is Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan. Io Sono L’Amore, Luca Guadagnino’s achingly beautiful film, is set there and likely brings in many visitors the moment they step foot in Milan (including me in 2015 when I moved there). Milan bears the cultural fruit of hosting the largest design fair in the world and Villa Necchi is renowned architect Piero Portaluppi personified. His mark on Milan in the early 1930s is filled with period ambiance and neo-classical detail that keeps even the Milanese coming back for more. The six million euro restoration in the late 2000s led to creating a stylish lunch eatery that will serve you even just a cafe by the pool while you wait for your FAI docent-led tour to begin.

While we continue to click through websites to find our Italian homes, become a member of the FAI for 39 euros a year here. While no FAI property is to be missed, here are a few more of my favorites of the 31 that are open to the public:

Villa e Collezione Panza
An 18th century mansion filled with an expansive American art collection on a hill overlooking Varese

Negozio Olivetti
Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa’s homage to the modern and innovative cultural values of Olivetti in 1957.

Abbazia di San Fruttuoso
A 10th century Benedictine monastery sandwiched between a fishing village and beach front and the woodlands of Mount Portofino.

Antica Barberia Giacalone
An Art Deco barber shop hidden in the Carrugi of Genova

by Elizabeth T. Jones first published on Italy Segreta

Risotto Steel 2/1/21 Risotto Steel 2/1/21

Rantan Farmhouse - ITALY SEGRETA

HE SPACE AND PEOPLE ARE SPECIAL AND SO IS THEIR RESILIENT PASSION FOR ALL THAT IS SIMPLE

One Friday afternoon in June, I stopped for gas at an overcrowded Autogrill on the road to Piemonte – just one of several Milanese out to beat the weekend rush. Traffic lightened once I passed through the Langhe valley as most cars were headed due south to the Ligurian coast. Two hours from Milan it’s not hard to find an unforgettable trattoria in the hills; where I was headed, I soon discovered, was so much more. Rantan farmhouse offers dinner on Friday and Saturday nights and lunch on Sunday, but do not call it a restaurant. The founder-owners, Carol Choi and Francesco Scarrone, have never published their menu and all bookings are made directly through them via their website – a boutique agriturismo where after dinner, a few lucky guests have the opportunity to stay the night. Choi and Scarrone’s work-life romance was born out of their passion for food yet also for community building and cultural preservation. Eating at Rantan feels like being cooked for by a family that cares to know what you like.

My friend and I locked in our trip months in advance to ensure our dinner would be long and our glasses filled high with Barolo, reserving their two cosy sleeping options for a night: a luminous bedroom above the Rantan kitchen and a stylish cabin with crisp hemp sheets and their own farm fresh flowers. No detail was spared including eco-friendly toothpaste packaged in a carnation pink vessel, like chewing gum but made of baking soda and essential oils.

Choi and Scarrone, both under 35, opened Rantan after meticulous renovation of their stone house; their plans to enhance their farm’s activities works symbiotically with their seasonal menu, chic lighting, colorful posters and custom carpentry. Rantan’s interior relishes in play between stone and wood — the couple openly celebrates local artisan Davide Arlaud, who owns a falegnameria in nearby Salbertrand in collaboration with Bottega Pitti. Impeccably warm, the presence of Ben, their house cat nestled in a chair next to my room, gave away the fact that Choi and Scarrone live upstairs too. Four years ago they settled into their hectare of land near where Scarrone had skied as a child growing up in Torino. They named it Rantan, meaning pantano, or “mud puddle,” in Piemontese dialect, a reference to the condition of the place when they bought it.

A carefully considered project, Rantan is the realization of their collective desire to spend more time in collaboration together and build their own community, something they craved after spending close to ten years in the culinary limelight. Carol previously worked at Per Se in New York and then at Noma in Copenhagen. She later went on to work at Relæ, which is where she met Francesco; both spent subsequent years as major supporting players for chef Christian Puglisi. The couple now have the space and freedom to fully pursue their culinary passions: a small shed contains a walk-in refrigerator full of resting loaves that Choi, a master baker, prepares for both dinner and breakfast at Rantan. Not far from the shed, their Korean onggi area is in progress for fermentation projects. And for their next phase, they plan to build a wood-fired oven and gathering space for workshops in an effort to preserve their valley’s long held culinary traditions. They have chosen to keep all pasta off the menu.

A dinner at the long, custom-built wooden table in the Rantan kitchen, which also serves as Choi and Scarrone’s personal kitchen, is a communal affair featuring ten strangers and multiple courses. The menu, crafted around the best fresh and preserved ingredients, has an unmistakable identity from a season about to pass. “Rantan is not a restaurant – you can eat, stay and share in nature’s rhythm,” says Choi in a video posted on their website. Beyond the exquisite bread is the butter, cold-churned, raw and white as snow; polenta even whiter, next to artichokes with a hint of char; potato latkes abundantly speckled with delicate trout roe from a local Traversellaian who raises trout in fresh spring water just down the road. The feeling of being cooked for by a family that knows you and knows the land, is exactly what Rantan is all about.

While Carol sliced her signature brown bread the next morning, Francesco lit the kindling on his newly arrived smoker on the terrace. The crackle of the hazelnut and oak wood made a staccato applause for the cows whose bells echo endlessly through the valley until nightfall. Scarrone’s first go with his smoker was with a dairy cow shoulder given to him by the family across the street, reluctantly sacrificed because of a back injury. Not surprisingly, he barbequed the shoulder and invited their neighbors in the valley to taste it. While my stay had come to an end, my window into the world of Rantan is everlasting. The space and people are special and their resilient passion for all that is simple and yet in need of preservation- making it simultaneously innovative and delicious.

by Elizabeth T. Jones first published on Italy Segreta

Risotto Steel 1/1/21 Risotto Steel 1/1/21

LET’S STAY AT AN AGRITURISMO - ITALY SEGRETA

THE BEAUTY OF DISCOVERING AND REDISCOVERING ITALY’S CENTURIES OLD TRADITIONS MAKE THE TERRITORIES ONE OF A KIND.

My friends Josh & Catherine were driving across northern Italy as part of a longer journey from Paris to Croatia. A car full of luggage and their two young boys in tow, we hatched a plan to meet them as they passed through. 1500 kilometers to the Croatian border, the drive from Paris would take three days and Milan was an easy stop in the middle but they didn’t want to be in another city as they’d just left one and we were safer in the open air during the pandemic. They asked to meet at a nearby agriturismo.

As typical Europeans who cherish proximity to rolling hills, expansive agriculture and the bounty of local foods that accompany it we envisioned long lunches, easy hikes and making new goat friends. A blended mixture of tourism and agriculture, an agriturismo in Italy offers the best of both worlds — a connection to nature’s seasonality and a relaxed (and affordable) approach to modern hospitality.

The search for an agriturismo a few hours outside Milan was fruitful. A hub for finance, fashion, design and tech-startups, few know that Milan was once called Milk City due to many nearby dairy farms that produced Lombardia’s globally celebrated cheeses. The entirety of Northern Italy is fertile, due most in part to the Alps on the Italian border. Alpine water ideal for cultivating rice for risotto milanese drains into the Po River just south of Milan, the longest river in Italy. The farmsteads that surround the city are welcomed destinations for city dwellers who crave a mix of hazelnut manure-scented air. A few nights away in an agriturismo over long weekends is only a question of “which direction?”.

Italy is not only known for agriturismi, it’s their birthplace. Italian farm stays became officially recognized in 1985 when the government established tax and promotional incentives for small agriculturally productive landowners. This economic boost would aid in continuing their lifelong investment in maintaining Italy’s pastoral glory. Now farmers could host people around the world to experience it: stomping cannonau grapes during the vendemmia in Sardegna; churning butter under the watchful Redena cow’s eyes in Trentino; rolling and twisting olive oil infused taralli dough in Puglia under the shade of 1000 year old olive oil trees. The beauty of discovering and rediscovering Italy’s centuries old traditions make the territories one of a kind — and in these discoveries, nature’s gifts within.

Farm experiences are not a requirement for agriturismi but serving a selection of their heavenly bounties in the restaurant is. Menus are crafted from farm famiglia recipes unlikely written, changing daily, often iconic of the region and season. Our search for an agriturismo not only included a restaurant (easy enough) but a pool for our kids (a little harder). Agriturismo Villa Bissiniga, less than two hours away on Lake Garda has both. My dubbio blossomed into gioia. A villa and farmhouse on the edge of Alto Garda National Park, the great beauty of stone fruit and olive tree covered hills; the gardens overlooking the bay of Salò; the natural swimming pool and aromatic gardens and the 15th century home that we could call ours for three nights. We’d stepped into yet another Italian fairytale, and the emotional cloak of a global pandemia, lifted.

Agriturismi may not have air conditioning or even printed english menus. The romanze italiane can often be summed up by what is not there, not what is. Salvatici meaning savage, in Italian it refers to untouched land; overgrown bramble, a shield from the sun; deep forest woods, an unmarked trail; a villa above the lake, no wifi or cell service. The roads less traveled that surround Italian’s majestic cities and quaint towns are as much part of Italy’s ancient history too; centuries of foot-pounded earth, pre-Roman tracks formed by adapting to the expansive, diverse nature of the territory. Cascina, tenuta, or azienda agricola, with over 20,000 agriturismi in Italy, the agriturismo farmers often keep close attention to their historic architectural foundations. In Puglia, 16th century fortified farmhouses called Masserie have majestic high-walled courtyards that once protected from intruders. Elegantly whitewashed, as white will not fade, their thick walled structures are ideal for keeping cool inside on a hot summer evening.

Here’s a list of a few key words to keep in mind as you search for your next trip to an agriturismo:

Casetta – a small house or cottage

Antica Casa – an old house; “antique” often implies it has kept many of it’s old, beautiful characteristics

Fattoria – an area of farm land used for growing crops, breeding and keeping cows, sheep, pigs etc

Cascina – typically a large square-yarded farm from the 16th century in the Po Valley, often with semi-autonomous settlements for multiple families

Maso – wooden farmhouses from the 1800s in the mountainous South-Tyrol

Masseria – unique to Southern Italy, large old fortified farm houses constructed with thick, white walls and often with few windows to keep cool temperatures inside

Azienda Agricola – Agricola, from the Latin agricŏla, is often related to planting vegetables and working the soil. These operations often also refer to livestock farming, beekeeping and more

Biologico – organic

Tenuta – means estate, often used for old farmhouses in Tuscany

Podere – means farmhouse and is frequently in the names of wineries in Northern Italy

by Elizabeth T. Jones first published on Italy Segreta

Risotto Steel 12/15/20 Risotto Steel 12/15/20

PANETTONE!!! - ITALY SEGRETA

By the time my husband rolled me into Milan’s Buzzi Hospital maternity ward in the early hours of Christmas two years ago, our ultimate gift was already two weeks late. Among the small details I remember about the twenty-plus hours in labor, was a little red box on the lunch tray ensconcing a buttery treat that livened me with a precious hint of festivity in between slowly intensifying contractions. It was a mini panettone, a soft and airy reminder that it was Christmas. All panettone is defined by its sweet brioche-like bread quality. It is airy yet moist, cylindrical in shape, and always presented in its entirety before being cut in wedges. I hardly missed the uniquely Milanese tradition of adding a dollop of Marsala-spiked mascarpone or the glass of dry spumante to wash it down (although I would not have minded it!). The young elf hat-adorned hospital attendants grimaced with my one too many demands. Night fell, but my baby didn’t. My time with my own personal size panettone would be the last peaceful pause before an emergency C-section. And though a visitor snuck in a few Marchesi pastries the next morning — nothing would compare to the memory of my sweet little panettone.

Throughout childhood in suburban New York, Zia Maria, a family friend, was our gateway to all things Italian. Thanks to her our Christmas meal always ended with a real panettone from Italy. The domed cake-bread hybrid, came in an elegant big red hat-like box. As Zia Maria took the knife to it, we’d all hold our breath in anticipation of its collapse and sigh in relief as the panettone kept its form while stylishly and imperceptibly bowing. My brother and I picked out the raisins and candied fruit and ripped the dough sheaths before lowering them in our mouths. I’ve come to learn that this was all too Italian. “Children are expected to pick out the raisins and canditi that make panettone more of an adult dessert,” Italian-born San Francisco Bay Area based chef and my friend Viola Buitoni explained to me by phone. “My mother used to say she was fat because she was given all the leftovers from her five children.”

Panettone has by now claimed a place in Christmas tables around the world but it is originally from my adoptive Milan. Some say it was first requested in the XV century by local ruler Ludovico Sforza who wanted a sweet bread with grapes on the Christmas table, others say that it was a fallen bread made by a baker with heart woes and he added dried fruit to make it look and taste fancy. Whatever its inception, it is a fact that Milan’s Biblioteca Ambrosiana jealously guards the 1470’s manuscript that first mentions the celebratory sweet. The domed shape was always the cake’s distinctive trait, however, panettone remained stout, bread-like and mostly local until the 1920’s when the Motta family introduced strong leavening suitable to mass production creating the iconic alto (tall) shape.

Stanislao Porzio, a food scholar and author of the 2007 book Il Panettone: Storia, Leggende, Segreti e Fortune di un Protagonista del Natale, the most comprehensive Italian book on the subject, writes that panettone was first mass produced when Motta opened a factory on viale Corsica in Milan with a grand innovation for the time: a thirty-meter-long oven. Motta helped shape the industrial market through the years, though their mother yeast still remains in the ingredient list even as production has expanded to South America and beyond.

Since Motta’s innovations, the tocque-shaped sweet has been such a Milanese symbol that in the 1980s, the late designer Enzo Mari named the tiny concrete traffic bollards he designed for the city after it.

A handful of bakeries sell panettone year-round for breakfast in Milan, but it is during the winter holidays that panettone becomes ubiquitous throughout Italy, and becomes a real obsession for the Milanesi. Every November, as Christmas approaches, Milan hosts a few large panettone festivals. Under the guise of competitions, these fairs’ ultimate goal is to create selling opportunities for small bakeries around Italy who relish in the Northern Italian embrace of new styles of panettone.

The panettone obsessed food writer Margo Schachter led me around I Maestri del Panettone (The Masters of Panettone) last year. Twenty master pastry chefs showcase more than 150 panettoni during a two day pop-up fair. After braving a line snaking around the block, one finds a long Last Supper-style table of judges who have been tasting panettone all morning in front of a captive audience. Crowds flock to the stands of winners, in an effort to score at least one of the event’s finalists. They stream out of the exhibit hall arms filled with as many panettone boxes as they can carry. At the end of the day, over 15,000 panettone will have been sold.

Porzio went even further thirteen years ago when he founded the fair Re Panettone – King Panettone. All participating pasticcerie are required to guarantee that their products do not contain mono- and diglycerides commonly added to industrial foods to increase their shelf life. His festival celebrates panettone that follows Italy’s ministerial decree stating that panettone must be made with naturally fermented starter, is at least 16% butter and contains fresh eggs — in short, simple ingredients, without additives and preservatives. It also cannot contain brewer’s yeast, starch, vegetable fats (excluding the cocoa butter in chocolate), whey and derivatives, soy lecithin, dyes or preservatives. Porzio is even petitioning for the art of panettone making to be added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It would join Neapolitan-style pizza that won status in 2017 and the Mediterranean Diet in 2013. This effort is to preserve the role of the artisan and preserve purity, ritual and rules that distinguish the marvellous from the ugly — in the words of many panettone enthusiasts including master baker Nicola Olivieri, “real from fake.”

Traditional panettone classico Milanese is enriched with plump raisins and canditi — orange, lemon peel and Sicilian citron that are candied — the purist preference. Things started changing in the 70’s when chocolate panettone gained popularity. Buitoni still remembers the brouhaha that came with what by now is an accepted, even quaint, alternative. It still takes a stringent pastry pedigree to play with tradition, but a few young, forward thinking bakers are experimenting with fermentations and bold flavors like ginger, black tea and pistachio. An increasing demand for panettone dotted with dried figs and sour cherries, enriched with moscato, filled with gianduja or even flavored with saffron is prompting regional trends and pushing boundaries. A successful pairing can create the right buzz, but a true mastery of fermentation is required to be in the running as a panettone worth springing for.

If you are not Milanese, you may have a wider angle on panettone. According to Schachter, Southern Italians like their panettone sweeter and fluffier with a preference for short basso panettone often pale in color from baking at lower temperatures. Buitoni, who hails from the central region of Umbria, remembers both kinds from her childhood, the artigianale alto arrived with her Zia who lived and worked in Milano, the basso, which she knew as Piemontese, was coveted for its sugar and hazelnuts Dutch crunch-like glaze by kids. As the world of panettone multiplies like pantone colors in Italy’s pastry shops, markets and grocery stores, Italians categorize three groups of panettone that also reflect their price points — industriale, semi-artigianale and artigianale.

For most or all of the last three decades of the 20th century, Nestle effectively cornered industrial panettone making, with outright ownership or controlling interests in Motta, Alemagna and Perugina, three of the largest producers. Interestingly, this was also the period in which panettone transitioned from a specialty niche product to a household name. Even though in 2009, Bauli, a Verona based industrial baked goods maker, bought Motta and Alemagna back into their original side of the Alps, there is still little difference between a big box panettone and the next, making price the discriminating factor. In fact, it is widely known that industrial supermarket panettone is often sold below cost (5-10 euros) as a means to lure in holiday shoppers. An industrial panettone can have a shelf life in excess of six months.

Semi-artisanal panettone is made by medium size, family owned outfits who specialize in holiday sweets. They use high quality ingredients but have the technology to make batches large enough to satisfy the demands of stores like Eataly. A careful eye to packaging design typically distinguishes panettone in this category, they’re coquettishly wrapped in expensive paper with intricate drawings and glittery ribbons, at times packed in keepsake tins. Last year at Eataly in Milan I counted at least a dozen different panettoni: gluten free, wholewheat blueberry, fig and Malvasia wine, pistachio cream and more. Semi-artisanal panettoni range between 15 and 25 euros and their makers typically recommend a best by date that does not exceed three months.

Panettone artigianale from a local baker starts at 20 euros and can go up to 40 when made by one of Milano’s legendary pastry shops or Italy’s revered master bakers. You are paying for more than the guarantee of impeccable texture and flavor: you are supporting the dedication that has stewarded the unpredictability of fermentation to perfection over several days, you are rewarding the passion of an artisan who has toiled in the kitchen so you didn’t have to.

These masterpieces, when not wrapped to order, are stylishly and simply clad, they don’t need designer clothing to take center stage. No panettone artigianale worthy of his name will last longer than a month. On trend, Italian fashion houses Armani and Gucci offer signature panettoni in branded collectible tins for the holidays, a pezzo forte for fashionistas and much more affordable than a handbag. Dolce & Gabbana collaborates with historic Sicilian pasticceria Fiasconaro to create two variations sold in Italy for 50 euros.

Buitoni recalls how hard it was to find panettone when she moved to New York City in the 80’s. She’d have to brave the crowds at Balducci’s in the East Village just to find commercial brands like Perugina at astronomical prices. Today, panettone is as common on shelves as peanut butter, and as expected on holiday tables as fruitcake. But while all panettone produced in Italy is held to the standards of the ministerial decree, even the cheap industriale, requirements are broken and circumvented once production expands abroad. Most Americans around Christmastime eat “an industrial product packed with a ton of preservatives and low quality ingredients. It is made in July and August and exported in advance to sit on the shelves for weeks leading up to Christmas,” says master baker Nicola Olivieri.

But the trend is slowly changing. These days panettone semi-artigianale is available at better stores and online sellers. And, albeit very slowly, artigianale has been finding its way to the increasingly discerning palates of American in urban areas. At Buitoni’s shop Buitoni&Garretti, a fine Italian foods store that she and her Milanese catering partner, Yolanda Garretti, owned and operated between 1999 and 2001 they paid a fortune to have panettone artigianale from famed pastry shop Gattullo Milano shipped to them at Christmas time. They hoped they would at least cover shipping costs and brought twenty into their shop to sell to their more discerning clients. Even at $40 for a small and $65 for a large, they sold out in two days. The following holiday season, people started reserving their panettone artigianale for the holidays in September.

Shortly thereafter Gustiamo in the Bronx started importing the outstanding panettone artigianale made by Luigi Biasetto, a Belgian born award-winning pastry master of Venetian descent whose name is whispered in respect by those in the know. Even with a price tag of $60 plus tax and shipping, Gustiamo has sold four times what they normally sell this year.

One of Italy’s new kids on the block is Olivieri. A 6th generation baker, he grew up in Arzignano, a small town in the Veneto region. After a pastry stage in Australia, he returned to his hometown to transform and expand the family business. Today, he co-owns Olivieri 1882, a modern pasticceria with traditional roots, in a repurposed warehouse more reminiscent of Williamsburg than Venice. The all-day Olivieri shop, designed by local architects AMAA Studio, is “a sort of ‘piazza’ where locals can meet and drink high quality coffee and pastries” according to Olivieri. An adjoined restaurant he conceived opens at night with naturally-leavened sourdough pizza and natural wine. Despite the unlikely location of the shop, Nicola Olivieri’s innovative creations are making waves in Italy’s pastry corridors; his work rivals that of Milan and Rome’s dernier cri pastry destinations. While Olivieri got his panettone feet wet as a kid in the family’s shop, he credits famed yeast guru Francesca Morandin as his maestra – mentor. Even Olivieri’s business model is innovative: instead of working with a far away distributor, as of this year he retails his panettone online, sending it fresh, direct from Arzignano to the lucky buyer.

The NYT’s Tejal Rao wrote an article in 2017 entitled “Panettone Has Become an Obsession for American Bakers.” She shares the stories of a handful of them including New Yorker Jim Lahey, the founder of Sullivan Street Bakery, rose to fame for his focaccia and no-knead bread recipe, and began making a small number of panettone every Christmas five years ago. While his run was previously so small you’d have to book months in advance, they are now available around the US on Goldbelly. The best case in point is Roy Shvartzapel who, like Olivieri, believes that panettone should stay on the shelf for a month at maximum. Roy’s tall panettone with large, elusive air bubbles is available year-round — his Instagram photos will convert any skeptic but his products are no secret — in fact he sells out often. On The David Chang Show podcast, Shvartzapel shares his heartwarming journey as a pastry chef learning and studying with many great chefs. Humbly, he credits his experience with Italian pastry god Iginio Massari at his laboratorio in Brescia as the most formative, prompting his pursuit of a perfect panettone and his subsequent success.

In the Bay Area, many also swear by the panettone made by Manresa Bread, owned by 3 Michelin star chef, David Kinch. Manresa will ship from any of his 3 locations.

Whichever panettone suits your taste and budget, there is one rule you need to observe: do not finish it in one sitting, Leave at least a wedge to toast for morning-after-Christmas breakfast. To get your panettone on this Christmas, here is a short guide.

Artigianale:
Pasticceria Biasetto – Padova, Veneto, Italy via Bronx, New York’s Gustiamo
Olivieri 1882 – Arzignano, Veneto, Italy direct from website
From Roy – San Francisco, CA direct from website
Sullivan Street Bakery, New York, NY via Goldbelly
Manresa Bakery, California

Semi-artigianale:
Loison is a Verona based family run high end baked goods producer whose Christmas goods are available online from San Francisco importer Howard Case
Albertengo has been making panettone Piemontese in the province of Cuneo for over a century. Find their delights on iGourmet
Perbellini’s chocolate and orange creation, also produced in the Verona area is worth every penny. Find it at Boston’s food lovers’ paradise Formaggio Kitchen

If you happen to be in Milano these artisans make a few different types of panettone on a limited run so it’s best to order ahead.

LePolveri is a micro panificio with a line out the door and sells panettone by reservation only.
Panificio Davide Longoni is a destination for bread in Milan as Longoni is known for experimenting with non-traditional flours, ancient ancient grains and fermentations. His panettone can be found in his shop or on cosaporto.it.
Pasticceria Polenghi is a family business run by Angelo, in his 70s, founded by his mother in Milan’s city center in 1945. He only makes only 400 classico Milanese and still uses the cooling baskets his family passed down to him. Most of his customers know him by name.

By Elizabeth Jones first published on Italy Segreta

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Living Puglia in 72 Hours - ITALY SEGRETA

OUR PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOME OF TARALLI, ORECCHIETTE, YEAR-ROUND CITRUS AND BEYOND WAS CLOSE AT HAND.

Stepping off the tarmac for three nights in Puglia, the jolt of dry heat of Southern Italian spring mixed with salty breezes off the Adriatic sea awakened us after a quick and very early flight from Milan. My food journalist friend and I had planned to see Trani, Gargano and Ostuni in just a few days – on a mission to experience the food that is rooted in the thousand-year old twisted and gnarly olive trees. We longed to bathe our pallets in the birthplace of this liquid gold. After picking up our rental car we attempted to keep up with the Puglians speeding to lunch. Our pilgrimage to the home of taralli, orecchiette, year-round citrus and beyond was close at hand.

We’d enlisted Italian food expert Livio Colapinto to help us make the most of our short time. Find me at Orto di Pietro Zito Antichi Sapori, a trattoria an hour’s drive from the Bari airport, he told us. Pietro Zito himself walked us around his four acre organic orto –– the kitchen’s nearby garden – after lunch. The chalkboard above our table read “Maggio: raccolto, odori and insemina’. This was May’s garden harvest, a list of all the vegetables, fruits and herbs featured on this month’s menu. As any true farmer plans the growing season, Zito lists what seeds he’s planting for diners to read and pontificate.

As soon as we sat down, Zito, cuoco contadino (the farmer chef) sent plates upon plates to our table. They arrived family style and included burnt wheat orecchiette with “L’ Cimchcozz” apulian dialect for germogli aka zucchini shoots and hard ricotta; a bright green egg frittata filled with beet and dandelion greens, mint and marjoram. In Puglia, Livio explained how durum wheat grains were once cultivated and recultivated. After the harvest fields were burned, the peasants gleaned the grains that remained. This special wheat flour called grano arso was a necessary invention by frugal Italian farmers centuries back in efforts not to waste a single grain of anything. Burning fields is no longer a common practice yet the flavors, in the form of toasted semolina, remain alive due to chefs like Zito. His homage to Puglia’s contadina heritage transcends with the slightly smoky and nutty grey earshapped pasta intertwined with squash shoots – yet another delicious ingredient overlooked often by growers.

Like a young, bald and clean-shaven Santa Claus, Zito pointed out his prized heirloom vegetables as if they were little elves working night and day to spread cheer. The erbe selvatiche, herbs that are left to grow in wild abandon, flagrantly flaunting themselves beside otherwise pristinely kept rows. While this trattoria is a destination in a rural village of Montegrosso, a working class town with humble origins, Zito is lauded for traditional dishes that revolve around his garden. Dishes like pumpkin parmigiana and broad beans and chicory with fried olives are why Livio calls him the godfather of Apulian cuisine.

With several bags of Zito’s dried orecchiette al grano arso our the backseat, we set our navigator to Bitonto. 45 minutes by car on the way to Ostuni in the metropolitan outskirts of Bari, Bitonto since the 12th century, is at the center of northern Puglia’s olive oil production. Livio guided us through the medieval streets in search of Puglia’s most prized aperitivo snack: taralli. At Antico Forno San Pietro a legna di Nicola Bisceglia the stone wood-fired ovens have been cranking out these tiny, addictive crackers for over four centuries. After the oakwood fire is lit at 2AM, the oven hits max temperature. Their traditional bread from local durum wheat semolina is retrieved using long paddles. The ancient oven is capable of holding up to 300 kilos of bread (or 3 Fiat cinquecentos!) at one bake. As the oven temperature drops and the focaccia is done, the non-leavened taralli, made with flour, olive oil, white wine and salt go in. These flaky aperitivo crackers are twisted into little circles by hand at San Pietro. We piled several bags of fennel seed and onion taralli in our back seat, said ciao to Livio and made our way to Ostuni for the night.

Masseria le Carrube, is one of the many masserie (farmhouses) in Puglia restored for hospitality over the last 20 years as Puglia has risen to the top of any Italophile’s bucket list. Once a frantoio (olive oil production mill), the old mill equipment is in the lobby. Before dinner we took pictures in the gardens surrounding the buildings with the mediterranean chaparral and the blooming cacti. We both wondered why we weren’t staying longer.

Nestled at the crossroads of Fasano and Cisternino, the door to Trattoria il Cortiletto is a hole-in-the wall with a sign easily missed while driving past it at dusk. The beaded doorway led us into a precious candlelit veranda much larger than a little alley as the name hints. The bounteous antipasti spread of fava bean salad, stuffed eggplant, fruity tomatoes suspended in peppery olive oil were complemented by a lively Bombino Nero rosé. Our shared primo of fresh pasta maccheroncini with lemon pesto and fresh perch left room for the crunchy cannoli filled with almond mousse and fresh strawberries.

While one night was certainly not enough to see (or eat) in Ostuni, Livio was waiting for us back in Trani. We stopped in Alberobello for a few photos and explored Trani before a light aperitivo dinner followed by gelato, still full from yesterday. We met Livio in the morning for a trip to the spur of Italy’s boot: Gargano. A large territory that includes one of the largest forests in Europe and Gargano National Park we stopped first in Rignano to meet what I am sure are the happiest cows on earth. Livio introduced us to the Paglicci cows and also to one of his good friends, Giuseppe Paglicci: agronomist, heritage cow and goat breeder and a multigenerational cheese maker. His caciocavallo podolico cheese is only made in small batches in a cast iron cauldron over a wood burning fire. The only evidence of technology within the stone barn was a thermometer hanging on a thin string by the wall. Roaming free year-round in 500 hectares of unspoiled mediterranean bush, Paglicci cows have over an acre to call their own yet the land is dry and rocky and so the cows must be nourished by Paglicci and his family. While caciocavallo is common in Southern Italy, podolico refers to the fact that this cheese is entirely made from the milk of the stunning podolica bovine; grey and beige colored with large commanding horns. Paglicci, along with the support of the Slow Food movement, are trying to preserve these animals — it is estimated that only 25,000 remain in Italy. Only expert cheesemakers who have mastered the stretched-curd can shape the caciocavallo into its iconic rounded bottle form, bathed in a cold water and brine immersion and then hung for maturation.

The magic, love and labor to keep these cows alive cloaked each bite of cheese in pure joy.

Before our final meal with Livio, he took us to meat artisan Michele Sabatino in Apricena. Livio hyperbolically described Sabatino as the best butcher in the world. We soon learned that he wasn’t the only one. Sabatino’s meat was shipped weekly around Italy including to Milan’s two Michelin starred restaurant Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia. Chefs all the way in Milan feel the same way.

Sabatino explained that like the rare citrus fruits and olive cultivars, the wild breeds of cow, pork and goat populating its National Park have been devoured by Gargano people for generations. Sabatino is a proud breeder of the indigenous black Dauno pig, supplied by five other local farms include Paglicci’s masseria. His shop in Apricena supplies many villages in Gargano. As he walked us through his facility he shared: “My wish is that consumers and society will treasure and remember what nature gives us. I hope this will not be forgotten. The air we breathe and the food we eat requires human attention and we can’t live without taking care of our land.”

While our hearts exploded with all the Puglian artisans we had met, our stomachs were ready for one more meal. Gargano has beautiful beaches and a dramatic coastline of white limestone cliffs. With little time for anything but lunch, we went straight to the end of Italy’s spur to experience the trabucchi, seaside restaurants that center their menu around the old fishing techniques. In Gargano, they are protected as historical monuments. At Al Trabucco da Mimi, the trabucco is an ancient wooden structure with ropes, pulleys and knots. It looks like a beautiful wooden sculpture that if you affixed a sail to it, it might soar into the sea. They are still used by fishermen daily to cast their nets into the Adriatic. Antipasti with octopus, anchovies and mackerel kicked off our meal before an entire mullet graced the picnic-style table, a surfboard hanging from the ceiling. Built with wood saved from refuse after big coastal storms, the Ottaviano family established Al Trabucco in the 1920s. Today, the grandchildren Domenico and Vincenzo who have experience working in kitchens in Asia and Australia carry on the delicious family tradition alongside their parents Carlo and Rossella.

It’s only a matter of time that we will return to this culture I grew to love in 72 hours, with so many nooks and crannies in this expansive culture, food and nature-rich region. I aspire to make it at least 72 days next time.

By Elizabeth Jones first published on Italy Segreta

Risotto Steel 10/1/20 Risotto Steel 10/1/20

Food & Drink in Milan During Covid Times - ITALY SEGRETA

One evening, not long after I moved to Milan in 2015, I was having an aperitivo with a group of Italians, who were trying to educate me about the identity of my new home: “Milan is more part of Europe than part of Italy,” they said. I smiled as my pride for Milan, a bit of an unsung hero amongst cities in Italy ran deep, but this felt like a bold statement. However, since then, this line always comes to mind when I’m describing my city to visitors. While the rest of Italy proudly suspends in time, Milan dances between reverence for its history and the cutting edge. When Covid-19 hit, Italians dusted off their copies of a national treasure, Alessandro Manzoni’s 19th century novel The Betrothed, taught in every school to every Italian high school student. While reading about how the bubonic plague ravaged Milan, and Italians washed their coins in vinegar in an attempt to sterilize them, the Milanese ate pizza and sipped on wine ordered via mobile app, in order to avoid over two hours lines at grocery stores. While food delivery existed in Milan before the pandemic, companies are already reporting over 300% increases in business this year.

February 21, the day the first person-to-person transmission in Italy was reported was also the day before my 40th birthday party, for which I’d planned to take over one of my favorite local trattorias for 28 guests. I felt crushed, and considered canceling my festa when one guest called to politely decline saying they wanted to “see how this was going to play out in Lombardy.”

We went along with it, not wanting to also disappoint the trattoria owners Bruna e Sandro, whose bar I frequented for an afternoon espresso and a fistful of hazelnuts from their coin-operated vending machine. A mix of my Italian family, friends, and their kids came — we were 25 in total. With a large TV screen connected to a computer, we sang karaoke. Toto Cutugno played until after midnight: “Buongiorno Italia, gli spaghetti al dente…” Little did anyone know it would be our ultimo ballo for the unforeseen future.

Soon, even walking by our favorite hangouts was forbidden; then one by one they shuttered, with the exception of those who rapidly pivoted to takeout or at home delivery. When the grocery store and the pharmacy became the only places you were allowed to leave your home to go to in Milan, lines snaked around the block to shop; entering a Milan grocery store could take hours. Penne lisce, the smooth penne that was one of the few pasta that remained on shelves with the announcement of lockdown, became a trending hashtag on Twitter. Food delivery went from luxury to necessary standard. We deemed our friends with the vegetable-forward restaurant Erba Brusca clairvoyant as they had just begun to farm in an abandoned lot on Milan’s Naviglio Pavese canal and delivered their farm boxes overflowing with end of winter produce and fresh eggs. Washing the city farm grit from the enormous leeks they delivered gave us some hope, and cooking down the towering piles of winter greens gave us more to do in the kitchen, a welcomed distraction from Zoom calls.

When lockdown ended in April, the reopening of bars and restaurants was contingent on copious rules. Shiny plexiglass barriers keep cashiers and patrons at a distance. We could no longer gather al banco for our espressos as the number of people allowed to enter was limited. Caution tape was affixed on floors and bars; nervously gloved owners waited at doors with thermometers next to industrial pumps of heavily scented gels. Some places did not reopen at all. Taglio, along the heavily foot trafficked via Vigevano in the Naviglio District, was the first closing that hit us hard.

Now that we made it through summer and Covid numbers have plateaued, there is no better time to be eating and drinking in Milan. A new, hip Korean street food Li-Sei Deli opened during the pandemic across from the shuttered Taglio location and a natural wine bar not far away with an abundant garden, Enoteca Naturale, has begun hosting pop-ups with other local businesses again. As restaurants and bars have expanded into the openair, into streets and sidewalks, gathering in our favorite places is exhilarating. I barely miss the shoulder to shoulder aperitivo inside the historic Cantine Isola bottle shop as the row of colorful serviced tables outside means I can sit and watch Milan’s Chinatown come alive again. Milan’s food and drink scene is bustling and my friends and I have found ourselves going out more than ever, masks in tow.

MILK & RICE CITY

While the food-theme Expo Milano 2015 put this city on the map as a global food and drink destination, true understanding of the gastronomic riches begins on Milan’s metro map and on the historic canals as the city center was once navigated by boat, even if landlocked. Milan’s most classic establishments (and there are many!) pull from the historic agricultural bastions of Lombardy. The Gorgonzola stop on the green Line 2 was once farmland where the silky milk of grazing cows, milked twice a day, was transformed by caseificazione into the world famous ‘zola. While the town of Gorgonzola has developed over the years, production is still close by. It’s the only cheese in Italy that bears the categories of dolce and piccante – sweet and hot – the latter without peppers or any added spice, its name referring only to the cheese’s strong flavor and hard, aged consistency. The dolce is often melted to adorn creamy polenta or a steamy plate of risotto.

Gorgonzola is not the only cheese with a Milanese provenance. Long before panettone and risotto reigned in Milan, it was referred to as “Milk City.” Stracchino, mascarpone, bitto, taleggio, and many more cheese stories begin just outside the Milan city walls. The ease of transportation by boat in and around the city by canals situated the processing, consumption, storage and markets closer to the food-stuffs-generative, uplands of Northern Italy. Grana Padano’s history crystallized in an abbey next to gorgeous Trattoria Al Laghett 1890, only 9km/5m from Milan’s Piazza Duomo. After a profumato plate of risotto al salto, I like to walk around the Chiaravalle Abbey grounds just next door before heading back into the city. Once a milk and cheese shop along the covered San Marco canal, chef-destination La Latteria, across from Corriere della Sera offices and adjacent to Milan’s fashion epicenter, does not take reservations and don’t be surprised if they seat the regulars first waiting outside. Arturo and Maria sala da pranzo is amusingly decorative; their food is the welcomed punchline to their inside jokes. Northern Italian classics may delight you (prepare to google translate the menu) and non-traditional yet signature comforts including lemon spaghetti with fresh spicy green pepper, season-shifting chicory or puntarelle with anchovies are my favorites. Arturo’s “alchemic” eggs cooked on a silver pan are legendary. Instead of removing tables since Covid, the piccola La Latteria has placed sheaths of plexi dividing each of the seven tables.

Milan is a city built over flowing canals of water that flows into the rice fields surrounding the south and west parts of the city. While its signature risotto Milanese made with arborio rice may be what guidebooks tell you is standard, carnaroli while more expensive is the local standard for risotto as it is almost impossible to overcook, maintaining its al dente with a high starch content. Ratanà’s ever-changing contemporary spin with Riserva San Massimo carnaroli is a top five favorite in Milan. Trattoria Masuelli 1921’s shimmery allo zafferano with saffron is renowned as risotto Milanese runs under third generation chef Max Masuelli.

ITINERARIES

Expats that live in Italy are used to revising, scribbling, amending, translating, and even footnoting lists of where to drink and eat to share with friends and family when they visit. We share our favorite books and articles about our adopted country and often make reservations in Italiano at restaurants that are our local favorites. I always choose to pepper my lists with museums, shops and directions as Milan’s gems are spread out.

While taxis lack efficiency, they also usually manage to feel like a rip off so I have deemed them prohibitively expensive both in time and money. (A friend of mine drives everywhere in Milan; possible when compared to Rome or dare I say traffic-ridden Naples. This is why our air quality is lacking, along with our proximity to the Alps, which encourages the carbon monoxide to linger.) Instead, I have embraced all non-vehicular forms of transport, and have learned there is nowhere worth going that public transport won’t take you besides Erba Brusca and Trattoria Al Laghett 1890 which are best reached by taxi.

A short metro ride on the yellow Metro Line 3 to Lodi, for instance, followed by a 10-minute walk to the spartanly exquisite Prada Foundation is well worth the trip even if only to admire the grounds, though the experience is enhanced appreciably by a panini or slice of pink cake at Bar Luce. It may have been the first place in Milan where you could plug a USB charger cord into the wall, thanks to Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis’s OMA design in collaboration with Wes Anderson. (Ahead of the first of ten of Italy’s humdrum Starbucks which have opened in rapid succession since the buzzworthy Piazza Cordusio Roastery ribbon cutting in September 2018.)

Another metro ride on the red Line 1 to Sesto Marelli about thirty minutes from Duomo is to Pirelli HangarBicocca (admission is free) where the Pirelli tire foundation commissions contemporary mixed media artists from around the world for monumental mind-bending exhibitions that fill one of the company’s former factories. Walk through to view the emotional permanent installation by Anselm Kiefer. I recommend stopping on the metro ride back at the Galleria Campari Sesto 1 Maggio FS, once it reopens. (It’s currently offering virtual tours guided live by museum operators.) Any negroni lover will marvel at art and design but it will make you thirsty. Metro back to Piazza Duomo on the red line to the Camparino Bar for one of the several Campari cocktails on offer though be warned that likely no one will engage you about your interest in Campari’s history here as it’s often jammed with tourists vying for a table facing the Galleria Vittoria Emmanuele – you’re likely to find me at the bar with a Campari Seltz. Next, pop across Piazza Duomo to Museo del Novecento (which once housed one of Mussolini’s offices) for some twentieth-century Italian art. Experience the piazza from above at the Giacomo Arengario bar inside the museum with a better view than the Aperol Terrazza bar where you’ll feel obliged to sip on an overpriced spritz.

If you can get a prized reservation at Italy’s three-Michelin-starred Enrico Bartolini, head down to the Tortona District with time to explore the MUDEC museum and the design shop. After a meal, marvel at drivers navigating the people and cobblestones via Tortona and make room for a cone at Gusto 17. End your walk in the charming and historic Naviglio area in time for a cocktail at Rita and dinner at 28 Posti

Milan in a day is a question I frequently am asked and besides a food tour with me, I say: put on your cutest walking shoes and visit Brera, Porta Nuova, Chinatown and end your stroll in Duomo. While it’s only a taste, there’s a little bit of everything.

TOP EAT & DRINK MILAN IN 24 HOURS

Old-world coffee & pastries at Pasticceria Marchesi 1824 or Iginio Massari

Specialty coffee at Orsonero or Nowhere Coffee & Community

Ligurian focaccia snack at Manuelina Focacceria or Milanese-style pizza at Spontini

Classic lunch at La Latteria or Antica Trattoria della Pesa or Trattoria Masuelli 1921

Wine shopping at Cantine Isola or booze shopping at Enoteca Cotti dal 1952

Chinese dumplings on foot at Ravioleria Sarpi

Aperitivo & gift shopping at 10 Corso Como bookshop

Dinner at Ratanà (or taxi to Erba Brusca or Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia)

After dinner drinks at Bar Basso before you get on the train at Centrale or roll back to your hotel.

by Elizabeth T. Jones first published on Italy Segreta

Risotto Steel 9/15/20 Risotto Steel 9/15/20

Smooth vs Ridged Penne, A Covid-19 Pasta Drama - MOLD MAGAZINE

Less than 24 hours after Italy announced a COVID19 outbreak in Lombardia in Northern Italy, photos of barren Italian supermarket shelves were posted on Twitter. The subject of the social media buzz centered around one of Italy’s most favorite topics: pasta. Lonely bags of smooth penne pasta, penne lisce, remained perched on ravaged aisles. All of the penne rigate, ridged penne, was gone. While the president of Lombardia Attilio Fontana asked Italians to curb reckless shopping, assuring emergency precautions were in place, controversy over #pennelisce boiled over, becoming a trending topic on Twitter in Italy.

This Tweet by @diodeglizilla on 2/23 generated over 16K likes and over 3000 shares in a few days. “I keep looking at this photo I took earlier in the supermarket, and I think the biggest loser of this virus is penne lisce. Italians think it’s shit, even as they panic and prepare for the apocalypse.

@LaskaJuventus Tweeted “Pasta lisce is absolutely evil. More than the corona virus.

The controversy revolves around a longtime belief that smooth penne does not hold sauce like penne with grooves. Defenders of smooth penne say if the pasta is made well, it will absorb sauce and taste good even with just a few drizzles of olive oil. Italian chefs including Gennaro Esposito, famed Neapolitan chef, go as far to say that the ridged penne is inferior as it becomes overcooked on the outside.

While many shape origins of pasta are unknown, the original penne pasta was smooth. Meaning “pens” in English for its resemblance to the nib of an old fashioned quill, the machine to cut industrialized penne lisce was invented in 1865 by a pasta factory in Genoa. Giovanni Battista Capurro patented a machine to perform an inclined cut, considered a technological innovation. At the time, ziti pasta had popularized in Southern Italy and was dried in long tubes and then cut by hand, ‘maltagliati’ meaning ‘with mistakes.’ Popular Italian website Gambero Rosso speculates South Italians prefer lisce because of its birthright to ziti, which may explain why it’s most enjoyed there.

Maureen B. Fant, co-author of Sauces & Shapes: Pasta the Italian Way, has not seen penne lisce at her local supermarket in Rome in years, but she likes them better than rigate. She says, “All the original industrially made shapes were lisce until somebody figured out that striations would grab the sauce. Maybe the ridged penne holds a tad more sauce than smooth — though I have never been troubled by slippery sauce with penne lisce — but what you really want is not so much for the sauce to stick as to be absorbed into the pasta. This you achieve regardless of shape by choosing a pasta that has been extruded through bronze and dried slowly at low temperature. The barely perceptible rough surface of a good-quality pasta is much more important than the visible ridges.” Over an email exchange with her this week, we discussed whether American preference for ridged penne may have influenced Northern Italians. It may be embraced in cities like Milan because it is modern, a city that also loves sushi and international cuisine.

Near the border of Liguria in Tuscany, the Martelli family makes their ‘one of a kind’ penne, “Classiche”— smooth penne, a family business since 1926. They are proud to be the only pastificio in Italy that makes only penne lisce along with four other standards: spaghetti, spaghettini, fusilli and maccheroni.

Artisanal pasta is extruded through bronze dies, a soft metal that leaves a rougher surface for sauce to cling to. Teflon-drawn pasta is common in industrial pasta manufacturing. Exemplary grain quality and slow drying at low heat are the other two important factors that distinguish artisan from industrial. The ridges on industrial penne mask imperfections in the quality of the pasta ingredients by adding texture.

As an expat living in Milan, I’ve enjoyed penne arrabiata, the classic Roman dish made with penne, at friends’ homes and at restaurants when visiting Rome. Translated as ‘angry’ pasta, the tomato sauce is spicy, prepared with olive oil, garlic, and red chili peppers. Always served with penne rigate, I never gave it much notice. When the noise over penne surfaced on February 24th, I went to Eataly in Milan, curious to conduct my own taste test. Out of a few dozen artisanal brands, Mancini’s was the only penne lisce. Mancini grows their own durum wheat in Le Marche and has a cult following amongst chefs in Italy and abroad. Continuing my search, I went to the large supermarket by my house three times last week. In the pasta aisle, packed with over fifty kinds of pasta, no penne lisce was to be found, even from the industrial brands De Cecco and Barilla.

As soon as #pennelisce went viral, De Cecco took advantage of a marketing moment by defending it on social media (photo), reminding us they use bronze dies. A meme surfaced on Twitter of Marie Antoinette holding a book was replaced by a Barilla box of penne lisce, reading “if they don’t have anymore bread, they eat smooth penne.”

The discussion of Twitter went from feelings about penne immediately to how grocery stores are saving thousands of euros by learning about customer preference. At Barilla, globally, penne lisce is around 10% of the total penne production. It is sold primarily in the United States and Italy, mostly in Campania, in the South.

“Paccheri, a smooth shape, are now turning up in ridged versions. Still rare, but I’ve seen them in restaurants.” Despite what ridged pasta fanatics might think, Fant argues that the barely perceptible rough surface of a good-quality pasta—no matter where its eaten—is much more important than the visible ridges.

by Elizabeth T. Jones first published on Mold Magazine

Risotto Steel 7/15/20 Risotto Steel 7/15/20

FAST BIKES & SLOW KITCHENS - TUORLO MAGAZINE

IN THE INDUSTRIAL PERIPHERY OF BOLOGNA IN SAN LAZZARO DI SAVENA IS DESIGNER RICCARDO RANDI'S SHOWROOM AND WAREHOUSE, VERY SIMPLE STUDIO.

Randi’s offroading bike; a Beta 450 enduro bike that he modified to look like a 1970s vintage enduro bike.

While working on the reinvention of the urban kitchen, opening physical doors in the former HQ of moped company Velomotor Testi was kismet to Randi whose hobby is fixing vintage motorbikes. He rides his 1991 Honda XRV rd04 to and from the studio where he too works around metal daily.

I met Randi and his co-founder and collaborator Federica Poluzzi during Milan’s Salone del Mobile in 2018. Just starting out, a love knowledge for Bologna and a mission to scale their “made in Italy” ethos charmed me. The industrial inspired kitchen spoke to my New Yorker within. I was recently married and on the hunt for a rental apartment in Milan. I swiped through listings of kitchens with tubes and wires emerging from walls covered in fading antique cementine tiles; lines left on pretty pavimento floors from stoves and ovens taken away along with previous tenants shelves. Just a lightbulb remained. I had visions of daily moka pot brew splatters and over full pots of salty pasta water bubbled over. “Fast kitchen” may be an obvious choice for rentals with multiyear rent control. However, the thought of buying appliances (that I’d eventually move with!), meant to me that the countertops and drawers should also be meant to last. Furnishing a kitchen you might want to move with some day is commonplace in Italy and designing a non arredato (unfurnished aka no kitchen!) apartment was my daily daydream and frequent nightmare. In the end, we found a flat with a built-in “continuous kitchen.” Even if I still want to ditch the deep corner cabinet doors that are hard to organize and liberate my kitchen gadgets and tools from behind opaque doors, Poluzzi came by to assure me that what I had found was right for our space.

While Very Simple Studio (VCC) business is mostly homeowners and offices, Randi and Poluzzi played into my American naivete, though it does hold a bit of weight. Sustainability is not only sourcing locally but is reflected in the material value. Steel is durable and recyclable.

“It was the powder-coated color pop of Very Simple Kitchen that set to pause my Instagram scrolling. The experience of building your own dream kitchen on their website. A user friendly Tetris game, stacking drawers and lining up countertops - all framed by stainless steel. While I am trying not to use the word simple, it comes to mind as the ease of design and industrial feel makes you want to cook more and better.”

Randi met Poluzzi as an engineering student at Università di Bologna and then left mid-degree for Milan to finish his studies in product design at IED Istituto Europeo di Design. They reconnected when he went back to Bologna and created the first Very Simple Kitchen prototype in Randi's garage. With the slick vision of a Bologna-based design agency they paid for with their savings, VSS doors opened with a website only at first. They relied on friends and family, including Randi’s social media strategist girlfriend (now mother to son Romeo and business partner in a hotel project) to get the word out on Instagram. While traditional suppliers refused to believe social media and passaparola would create enough buzz to sell their metal kitchen, orders for VSS kitchens lit up their inbox. Randi's mother, a restaurant entrepreneur, shared her connections to steel suppliers, which brought them trust and a line of credit.

VSS kitchen merges architecture, furniture and efficiency. With optimized storage and preparation furnishings, Randi’s first encounter with stainless steel was washing dishes in his mother’s restaurants as a teenager. He also honed a craft for tinkering adjacent to steel-fixing cars. With an ever emerging trend in food consumed by television in media, VSS cites chefs and their commercial work tables as the starting point for his Very Simple Kitchen idea. Customization of colors, countertop material, sinks satisfy aesthetic ambitions; modular and stainless steel, like restaurant kitchens, makes them less expensive. Steel kitchens have been a mainstay globally since the 1930s. With the rise of the 1920s Monel Metal sinks and countertops were promoted by the International Nickel Company in the US. Their resistance to corrosion by many agents including rapidly flowing sea water, hot and cold working machinery and atmospheric corrosion boasted durability and promoted hygiene. Icon of mid-century design Frank Lloyd Wright famously used stainless steel in his personal kitchen in Arizona. A few studies claim that stainless steel has a “cockroach penetration rate” that is 1/8 that of wood.

I interviewed Randi to learn more about his hometown of Bologna, his love of motorbikes and his simple design philosophy.

You grew up in Bologna and your family is in the restaurant business. What was it like growing up?
Bologna has always been synonymous with good food and is home to some of the most famous dishes in the world; the Bolognese love their restaurants. Since I was a child, my mother managed pastry shops, bars and bistros and the people that worked there were a bit like my second family. Her vision was avant-garde for Italy, he taught me to always try to create something unconventional and out of the ordinary. All of my jobs growing up revolved around food-- from delivering piadina to washing dishes at my mother's restaurants. She now owns two Italian restaurants in Bologna.

Tell me about your business and your collaborators?
I founded my company in 2018 in Bologna after design school in Milan. Our focus is “Made in Italy'' products with simple lines and competitive prices. We have six people working in the studio to keep up with the demand for our first big project - the Very Simple Kitchen. This allows Federica and I some time to develop new ideas.
Last year I opened the Lidaloro guest house as a side project with my life partner. We plan to be fully operational by spring 2022, once the pandemic dust settles. Lidaloro’s philosophy is very simple hospitality. We have renovated five apartments so far and we’d like to take over the rest and create a boutique hotel complete with a 'secret' restaurant inside the courtyard. We have a three year old named Romeo and we’ve designed it with children in mind as well.

What is Bologna in one sentence for you?
Bologna is culture, music, history, art and much more -- it cannot be told, it must be lived.

What are your favorite places?
Bologna is relatively small but it’s easy to get lost while walking around the medieval streets and I love this about it. One of my favorite places to eat is ‘Altro?' . It’s inside one of the oldest markets in Bologna, the Mercato delle Erbe. It has a bucolic, convivial and no-frills atmosphere.
Our suppliers are in Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Le Marche. I know and enjoy exploring these regions in Italy the most.

Where have you received the most inspiration when traveling?
Traveling is one of my absolute favorite things. I have fond memories of when I was 21 years old and my friends and I drove a “junkyard” car from Bologna to Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia in the summer of 2009. I then flew to Australia and eventually flew back to Italy which was much safer than riding in that little Subaru Justy.

Who has inspired you the most in life?
My Nonno, my mother’s father, was an artist and no doubt, inspired me. He married my Nonna who had a fashion boutique in Bologna. My other Nonno was a wine producer and a Millemiglia car driver from Romagna. Although I never knew him, he definitely instilled an appreciation for entrepreneurship. If I must pick one designer who I admire, it has to be Enzo Mari.

What do you do when you’re not in the studio besides spending time with your family?
Riding off-road. Enduro riding is a passion of mine. I also like repairing and modifying vehicles of any kind which was my first interaction with steel. I’m extremely proud when I don’t have to go to the mechanic for my car or bike. I'm not particularly good but it clears my mind and is a great escape from everyday life. I have 3 motorbikes now. Often I have a few more I keep around to tinker on. It was really normal to work on motorbikes as a kid growing up in Motor Valley, but we are likely the last generation of motorbike enthusiasts 😂 I ride my 1991 Honda XRV rd04 to and from the studio.

By Elizabeth Jones first published on Tuorlo Magazine

Risotto Steel 11/1/19 Risotto Steel 11/1/19

Photographer Andrea Wyner

This past Thanksgiving, 8 months pregnant and craving turkey, stuffing and homemade cranberry sauce, my husband and I went to Erba Brusca to try chef Alice Delcourt's prix fixe holiday feast. Delcourt's Thanksgiving has become legendary in Milan. A mix of bluegrass and classic rock in the background, Alice's gravy and thyme biscuits with lemon honey butter rival everything I've ever had. And the American woman, photographer Andrew Wyner who was sitting next to us, agreed.

Lorenzo Serafini at Casa Campanini, Milan

Alice Delcourt at Erba Brusca, Alzaia Naviglio Pavese, Milan

This was not Andrea first Thanksgiving in Italy. Living in a micro apartment for the majority 8 years in Milan while traveling the world, Los Angeles-born photographer and I may have begun chatting over how we missed American pie. A fan through her Instagram before we met by chance, many of her photographs reinforced my love for Milan and even prompted adventures to new places. Her photographer of another American transplant in food, Corey McCathern of Corey's Soul Kitchen led me to the only place you can find American pie in Milan.

Panettone at Pasticceria Cucchi, Corso Genova, Milan

While she most recently shot the 36 Hours in Milan for the New York Times, here are a few more links to my favorite photos in her editorial portfolio.

While Andrea's warmth both behind and in front of the camera (I know this because she took precious photos of me while pregnant) is unmistakable, she knows she has the best job in the world. While she'll be the first to let you know it can be lonely traveling 250 days out of the year, Andrea has found creativity in what some travelers for business would find mundane. She has photographed every bed she's slept in since 2011. With more than 1000 photos of beds around the world (and a pending project to share her collection), her hashtag #homeistheplaceyouleft is a constant reminder to cherish (and sleep comfortably!) every adventure I take.

Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II, Piazza Duomo

While Andrea's knowledge of big Italian cities like Milan and smaller towns like Crema is vast, her photographs are illimitable. She continues to draw inspiration from Milan as she moved her on assignment to shoot Salone del Mobile, the expanding design fair that attracts trade and consumers from around the world who are passionate about design. While we bonded over food, Andrea has been integral in supporting my own passion to grow my food tour business in North Italy. I'm honored to share some of her best photos of Lombardia here.

Andrea’s neighbor, Tortona District, Milan

Restaurant Torre at Fondazione Prada, Milan

Links to Andrea’s favorite pieces:

Italy’s Hottest New Destination? Yes, Milan - WSJ, 09/2018

48 Hours in Milan with Angela Missoni - New York Times, 09/2017

There’s More to Cremona than Violins - New York Times, 09/2015

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A COFFEE IN TORINO BY EVELYN HILL

Lately, in light of the controversy of Starbucks opening in Milan, Italy’s coffee culture has felt under attack. Many say this generation of Italians drink so much coffee and pay little attention to the origin and ethics behind their coffee beans. In Torino, this isn’t exactly true, many coffee bars use beans sourced from local roasteries, or fair trade and single origin varieties sourced from more common companies such as Torino’s own Lavazza.

While Juventus and FIAT may first come to mind, Torino has been a city with a love for food, especially chocolate and coffee since the 1700’s. The Torinese love to combine coffee with their melted hazelnut chocolate “gianduja”, which has been around since chocolate was first brought to the kingdom in the mid 18th century.

TORINO’S LONG HISTORY WITH COFFEE

World-famous Lavazza, Caffe Vergnano, and Caffe Costadoro were all founded in Torino in the 1880s and 1890s. While their coffees are enjoyed around the world, they continue to be sipped on in Torino’s famous historic cafes; Many of these cafes were established when the city was home to the King of Sardegna and Sicily, on it’s way to being the capital of future Italy. It was here at these cafes, dotted along the grand piazzas, intellectuals, writers and Italian politicians often met. Torino is where it’s believed Italian coffee was perfected - the birthplace of the iconic espresso - the 1 euro fix which millions of Italians and international coffee lovers enjoy daily.

In 1884, Angelo Morando of Torino designed the first espresso machine in order to serve clients faster at the busiest times of the day. His original design used vapor (like the Moka) which made up to 10 coffees in 2 minutes. Morando’s design was then adapted by Achille Gaggia (of the still active Gaggia) in 1938, applying high water pressure for faster production. While it impacts speed, the ratio of pressure and vapor combined even today is crucial with the modern espresso machine, allows for the full aromas of the coffee to come through.

However, long before the espresso machine was innovated, Torino’s royals, politicians and nobles came together to share “un caffè” in true Enlightenment epoch fashion in Torino’s iconic cafes. Still a local favorite haunt of today, Cafe al Bicerin, dates back to 1763.

SOMETHING DIFFERENT: CAFFE AL BICERIN

A particularly unique cafe for the time, Cafe al Bicerin was opened by a man, but from the second generation onward was run by the women of the owner’s family. Located across from the church in Piazza della Consolata, it is said that its patrons too, were mostly female. During the late 1700s and early 1800s, it was uncommon for a woman to go out unaccompanied, especially to a social area such as a bar; but Cafe Al Bicerin created a welcoming space for women, one of the few social spaces they could gather to meet and pass time.

Originally a small store that sold primarily soft drinks, it found its claim to fame with the discovery of the Bicerin drink. First named the ‘n poc ‘d tut, meaning a bit of everything, it has just that: a layer of foamed warm milk, coffee, and hot chocolate. The name Bicerin refers to the small glass cup it is served in. Starting with a base of melted gianduja chocolate, covered by a shot of espresso and then topped with foamed milk, Bicerin is meant to be enjoyed as it is served (without stirring and mixing layers), allowing the chocolate to pass through the coffee and milk with each sip.

Until the late 1900’s, the price of a Bicerin was only 15 to 20 cents lira. Today you will find it from 4-6 euros at most cafes. It’s an acceptable treat at every hour of the day, even after dinner. While many Italians enjoy a quick espresso and sweet pastry such as a brioche in the morning, a Bicerin is taken alone as it easily replaces the need for a sweet and a caffeine fix.

Cafe al Bicerin is open every day except for Wednesday and is worth a stop in for the elegant antique design.

Apart from Cafe al Bicerin, Torino has 10 historic cafes to visit dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as more modern specialty coffee bars that are worth seeing.

OUR FAVORITE TORINESE CAFES

STRATTA 1836, PIAZZA SAN CARLO
OPEN: 9 TO 7 TUESDAY TO SUNDAY

Both a traditional candy store and bar, the uniformed staff welcomes guests with an elegant “Madame” or “Signore” and is ready with small talk to warm-up your day. Offering two different coffees from Slow Food Presidia beans sourced from Ethiopia and Peru, they are woodfire roasted nearby in the Val di Susa by San Domenico Roasters.

ORSO, SAN SALVARIO

OPEN: 8 TO 6 EVERY DAY.

Opened recently in 2014, this is a modern center for coffee lovers. Orso offers Giuliano Caffe, a roastery located north of Torino for a simple espresso, as well as multiple single origins and specialty blends which change monthly. Choose from a variety of preparation methods including espresso, Chemex, french press, moka and more.

BARATTI & MILANO, PIAZZA CASTELLO

OPEN: 8 TO 8 TUESDAY TO SUNDAY

Known worldwide for their artisan chocolate making, Baratti & Milano opened their large cafe and sweets shop in 1858. Enjoy aperitivo and people watching and take home their famous cremino chocolates (the small creamy chocolate square). They are also known to have best hot chocolate in the city.

FIORIO 1780

OPEN 8 TO 1AM EVERY DAY.

Known by all modern Torinese for their creamy gelato, find their hybrid gelateria-cafes all around the city. Their historic cafe on Via Po has a beautiful marble counter, mirrored walls and red silk decorating the back rooms.

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ZIA ESTERINA SORBILLO

Since 1935, the Sorbillo family has been feeding Napoli, serving up not only the iconic Pizza Napoletana and (some say even more importantly) a close relative: pizza fritta. Walk the streets of Napoli and you’ll be hard pressed not to find a corner of the city where the scent of fried dough in the air fails to linger. Fried pizza has been said to be as common as Mozzarella di Bufala or Sfogliatelle. There are two likely guesses. Time and money.

Gino Sorbillo is at the helm of the slowly growing family-owned empire alongside his younger brother Antonio. Their father was born into a family of 21 pizzaioli. They all worked to varying degrees in the booming family business of pizza and in the late 30s and 40s, pizza fritta was the affordable option for the unemployed and a fast option at lunchtime for workers rebuilding the city after the war. Pizza fritta is prominently featured in the post-war classic 1954 film D’Oro di Napoli (The Gold of Napoli - start watching at 20.40) directed by Vittorio De Sica where Sophia Loren famously makes pizza fritta in 1930s worn torn Napoli. Unfaithful to her husband, she pretends to lose her wedding ring in the pizza dough to explain why it’s missing. The scene is said to have been filmed down the street where the original Sorbillo still stands near via dei Tribunali with 15 other pizzerias, likely the largest concentration of pizzerias in a city of more than 800.

Beyond the Sorbillo legacy of dough slinging pedigree, Gino Sorbillo ran for mayor some years back and received global notoriety in 2012 when he reopened his pizzeria the day after the Neapolitan mafia set it ablaze. Gino was determined to let Napoli and even more so, Italy know he’d not let them get in the way (and urged neighbors and tourists to do the same). The name Zia Esterina Sorbillo comes from, “Aunt Esterina” one of Gino’s beloved aunts who was said to make the best pizza fritta at Sorbillo. Today in Napoli, two Zia Esterina Sorbillo cater to locals and tourists alike in the city center. Over 1500 pizza fritta of the same found in Milan (to even a longer line outside) are devoured daily.

Pizza fritta is considered low maintenance in the kitchen compared to its older sibling; while the dough and ingredient quality matter (Sorbillo sources organic flour and San Marzano DOP tomato sauce and respected cheeses), the key requirement to its delightfully crisp texture is simple: a pot of hot frying oil. Traditional pizza obsessives (like myself) ponder oven heat temperatures, fire and electricity sources and the sacred dance of the pizzaioli Pizza Napoletana. They assemble, insert, spin, observe and wait as circular pizzas expand inside sweltering ovens, their crusts bubbling up from olive oil and heat. At Sorbillo in Napoli, up to 8 pizzaioli work in unison on two ovens in intimate piping hot quarters. The pizza fritta pizzaiolo, in comparison, some say, has it easy. And the cost of keeping a fryer hot is negligible considering that most pizza ovens these days run on electricity, or burn through large quantities of wood which can be costly.

The line outside Zia Esterina Sorbillo in Milano spills onto a side street near the pulsing tourist center of Duomo. Neapolitan locals and a few tourists assemble early to watch their pizza fritta as it’s made, projected on a live medium-sized TV screen mounted above the open entrance. Surrounded by government buildings, a vibrant shopping district and a bevy of restaurants, Zia Esterina is smaller than a one-bedroom studio apartment. Order from the short menu of four different types of savory pizza fritta whose style and ingredients does not wander from classic Napoli (expect for the Nutella pizza fritta, a modern take). A round circle of dough is filled with a combination of meat or tomato, cheeses and fresh black pepper folded over into a half moon shape. If baked in an oven, this pizza would be called a calzone and for this reason, guests may feel the urge to call it a “fried calzone.” Call it what you want amongst friends, this pizza fritta is as traditional as you’ll find in Northern Italy. The iconic version (recommended by me) is cicoli, ricotta, smoked provola and black pepper. Hard to find anywhere but Napoli, Cicoli is like a poor man’s guanciale (when I called 5 Italian groceries in New York to buy some I was bewildered that a few well-stocked shops didn’t even know what it was). Made from leftover scraps of porkfat once the pig is broken down, it is salted and dry aged, then sliced into thin slices resembling salami. In Sorbillo’s pizza fritta, it’s flavor is mellowed by fresh cow’s milk ricotta and melty smoked provola.

Half submerged in sunflower oil, the pizzaiolo bastes the pizza pocket for about 40 seconds as it inflates, crisping to a light golden yellow. When it comes up for air, it’s gently patted down with butcher paper to ensure crunch and not grease at first bite. Note: the amateur mistake for first timers is in the timing -- it is extremely hot. The best advise any local will share is to wait five minutes before taking a bite. Walk to the nearby Piazza San Fedele or join locals sitting on the curb in the shade with a Peroni in-hand. When cool to touch through the wax paper, carefully squeeze the inside of the pizza fritta from bottom to top to ensure your second or third bite is more than just near perfect fried dough.

MARCHESI 1824

CUCCHI

LE POLVERI

SISSI

LOSTE CAFÉ

PANIFICIO DAVIDE LONGONI

TONE

PAVÉ

TIPOGRAFIA ALIMENTARE

TERROIR

WHEN I SING EDOARDO VIANELLO’S SONG:

THE BEAUTY OF DISCOVERING AND REDISCOVERING ITALY’S CENTURIES OLD TRADITIONS MAKE THE TERRITORIES ONE OF A KIND.

MILK & RICE CITY

ITINERARIES

TOP EAT & DRINK MILAN IN 24 HOURS

TORINO’S LONG HISTORY WITH COFFEE

SOMETHING DIFFERENT: CAFFE AL BICERIN

OUR FAVORITE TORINESE CAFES

STRATTA 1836, PIAZZA SAN CARLOOPEN: 9 TO 7 TUESDAY TO SUNDAY

ORSO, SAN SALVARIO

BARATTI & MILANO, PIAZZA CASTELLO

OPEN: 8 TO 8 TUESDAY TO SUNDAY

FIORIO 1780

OPEN 8 TO 1AM EVERY DAY.

STRATTA 1836, PIAZZA SAN CARLO
OPEN: 9 TO 7 TUESDAY TO SUNDAY