– a pre-appetizer platter with Russian salad, focaccia, parmesan puff balls, fried potato balls and some fried bread thingies (a big hit with Julius).

I really don’t get this region’s fascination with Russian salad …. but it was very nice

– a perfectly round piece of beef roast simmered in Barolo wine (in case you don’t know, you can get a very decent bottle of red wine here for 5€ … but Barolo starts at 15€) on top of a very nice fonduta (cheese sauce) with a single potato chip.

I am still wondering how they cut it out so round .. and this was just the pre-appetizer for everyone. Amazing job and very flavourful!

– a platter of different breads with butter (serving butter with bread is quite rare here).
Yeah .. let’s fill our tummies BEFORE the actual eating starts ..

– a very fancy presentation of carne cruda (raw minced beef), accompanied by (from left to right): some mini ratalluile, cheese egg frittata, then the meat with some salt and parmesan, porcini mushroom and a poached quail egg.

This is the closest competitor to my favourite raw meat offering at ‘La Pace‘ yet …

– a pairing of a stack of beef tongue with ‘salsa verde’ (a sauce of green herbs, oil, spices, whatever is tasty and around … ) and this time a fried quail egg and mini sandwiches with duck prosciutto on some potato mash.

Oh my. Those duck slices were yummy (a bit salty) … and the tongue! …
I wish I had any idea how to prepare tongue .. maybe I should make that a mission … again, perfectly shaped …

– risotto with fois gras (goose liver paté) and slivers of fried artichoke.

Now, here is a new idea .. putting fois gras in risotto … I was very pleasantly surprised .. and I usually do not finish my risotto … By that time we were really full …

– last but not least: pork knuckle, or what they scraped off it.

After a long time in the oven, taken off the bone, then shaped, again in a perfect circle, wrapped in bacon and caramelized in pineapple syrup, served with a slice of apple fritter and some more pineapple pieces.

Incredibly yummy … albeit by this time I was very full .. and I was happy the portion was rather small … but the flavour was fantastic …

– while everything above was selected by the chef, we could select our desserts: Ritsu had a mini crepe filled with peach and yoghurt ice cream

– while I had something like tiramisu, swimming in a zabaglione sauce, topped with amaretto ice cream.

– though we did not order any coffee or grappa, we still got this crazy assortment of sweets … as if we had not have enough yet.

– Our wine was a Roero Arneis from a small producer Marco Porello.