I’d visited Tribunale on Friday, though it has since closed for hols, and had a very tasty and interesting insalata rustica, made with warm cooked onions, slightly pickled, and pancetta.
Tammy and Sue came to visit on the weekend and we did our best to eat our way through the local offerings – what was left of them, as many places have already shut for summer holidays. We were enticed into Osteria del Gesso by fond memories, air conditioning (it was 38 degrees on Friday) and an “open” sign. Always good and often unusual food. Here’s my starter which was a salad of strips of something from the octopus family on a bed of farro (aka spelt or, I have read, more accurately emmer)
Next course for me was a nice bit of lamb with an apple marmelade. My companions had excellent tortelli di erbette – some of the best I’ve tasted.
Ombre Rosse has often served the uni crowd well; it seems to be open when all else is closed, and its 1,500 item wine list is entertaining reading. They have an unusual menu, from which I chose the quail salad with peaches and foie gras – an odd but pleasing combination:
Gatta Matta is always excellent, and we had some wonderful food there. I’ve become a huge fan of tepid octopus salads, and got to have a bit of that here
followed by some lovely steak
and some very boozy zabaglione – I think they’d emptied the Marsala bottle into it (and the effect was not unpleasant, though perhaps I didn’t need a delightful glass of passito on top) served with some excellent quaresimale (almond biscotti)
We finished our weekend with a second lunch at Sorelle Picchi, where my visitors made sure that the tortelli di zucca was in fact as delicious the second time as it had been the first (it was), and I had the triple-barrelled combination of tortelli – zucca, erbette and patate con funghi. All excellent. We washed it down with some inky cold frothy lambrusco. As you do.
