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For the Travel section this month I reccommend a visit to the Bard Fortress, in Valle d'Aosta.
It's an ideal destination for a winter visit. The Fortress has been recently restored and has also the Museo delle Alpi (Museum of the Alps).
Winter is also the best time for a visit to Capri, watch the video of my last visit there with my family,
amazing, we hired a guide that took us on a complete one-day tour, including the blue grotto, boat rides, bus rides, taxi rides, shoe shopping, lunch and funicolare, not to mention the "aliscafo" to get there and back from Naples, all for a very reasonable fee!
For the Food section I have for you a section on italian salami, you can buy some of them in the USA at www.olioandolive.net.
Unfortunately, with few exceptions, they cannot, be imported into the USA due to the arcaic, prehistoric FDA restrictions. I urge you to look to what we all are missing in the USA, and to lobby with your elected official to change these outdated laws. Of course these laws only apply to those of you living in the USA, and if you are resident of other countries you can for the most part order directly from the various internet vendors listed in the "Salami" section.
As a consolation price for us unfortunate Americans, I tell to you about the "Caffe'".
imported into the USA by my lady friends at Gustiamo.com:
Camille is enjoying a few quite days in Roma where she is attending a school to learn Italian. But her culinary adventure does not stop: she is still looking for the Italy Best Foods (and coffee) and she is meeting with Gustiamo producers. Click here if you wish to read previous stories. In Roma, she pays a visit to Sant'Estachio, il Caffe':
I like to think of myself as somewhat of a coffee connoisseur. But in Italy, it’s a whole different story. From what I can tell, the majority of Italians drink caffè (what we would call “espresso”) with breakfast (for many, breakfast is only caffè), as an after-lunch pick-me-up, in early evening, and after dinner. By Italian standards, my one or two cups a day of watered down “caffè americano” with plenty of milk is as far from caffè as you can get. So I’ve been trying to take advantage of the “bar” (caffè bar, that is) on every corner, drinking as many cappuccini as possible before lunch (it’s strictly a morning beverage) and a caffè during the mid-afternoon slump as possible. When I first arrived I was impressed by everything, but now I’ve started to understand the difference between a perfectly balanced caffè and one that’s overly bitter or watery. And the caffè at Sant’ Eustachio is by far the best I’ve had. As I have been with every producer I’ve visited, I was really excited to visit the famous Sant’Eustachio in Rome.
I read about it in my “Food Wine Rome” travel guide and, as you might have noticed, they’ve been getting some great press lately. So although I was unable to visit them on a day when they would be roasting, I still felt fortunate to get a brief tour of where the magic happens. Raimondo took a quick break from the line at the cash register to show me the traditional, wood-fired coffee roaster (very few of which are in use today) and the bags and bags of pure arabica beans lining the walls. He explained that the entire roasting process takes only about 20 minutes, and that they have several different grinds (all of which are available through Gustiamo).
The best part of the visit, though, was getting to try the famous caffè. It had bite but wasn’t overly bitter, was extremely sweet (just how I like it, but you can get it “senza zucchero” if you prefer), and the perfect strength. All in all, perfectly balanced.
And it’s worth visiting just to watch the barista at work – even when the line to get to the counter is three people deep, he works with determined precision and turns out the most attractive and best tasting drinks possible. As someone who’s done barista work, I appreciate the ability to make quality espresso even under pressure!
I look forward to taking my parents, who will be joining me in Rome, to Sant’ Eustachio and showing them the best caffè in town.
Camille Frazier
Posted at 05:22 PM in from Camille - a culinary adventure, Gustiamo's Sant'Eustachio, il Caffe', Sant'Eustachio, il caffe' | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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Italian Flavor Forum XII in San Francisco
This event brought many small and medium wine producers from Italy to the California market, check here the results of the tastings and evaluations of the American buyers and sommelliers.
Il Mio Vino is a very popular and reputable magazine but if you wanted it, you could only buy it on newstands in Italy. Finally, Il Mio Vino has landed in America and it's in English. It is only online and - best of all - it's free. Therefore, subscribe here. It covers only Italian wines and its ratings are given by a blind panel of leading Italian experts. You can't go wrong. Subscribe here.
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