TorreBarolo Blog

Only 45mins from TorreBarolo, you can be in downtown Turin.  I understand if Turin might not be on your list of “Must Sees” if you only have a week of holiday in the Langhe but I would strongly suggest even an afternoon as it has some of the finest cafes in Europe, wonderful promenades and a strong sense of history that will surely enhance your holiday experience.

Turin has its share of beautiful palazzos and interesting museums but to get a sense of the city’s gracious past, exploring the cafes is a fun way to do this. In experiencing these cafe’s decor, you see that Turin‘s great era has more in common with Paris than with Rome.  I suppose with all these cafes it should not be surprising Turin also is home to the largest coffee company in Italy, Lavazza. They even have their own training center where you can take a class on everything coffee but it is for professionals only.

Torino also produces some of the finest chocolate in Italy as well and often you find in Torino coffee and chocolate are often combined. Gianduia is a good example of their excellence in chocolate, as the blending with hazelnuts (from the Langhe) creates a deliciously sweet confection.

Below are a few suggestions of caffès and sweet shops, though don’t  leave it to a Sunday as almost all these shops are closed on Sunday and even some of the caffès and some even on Monday.

Bars/Caffès:

 Caffè-Pasticceria Baratti & Milano, Piazza Castello 29, closed Monday. This caffè, which opened in 1875, is known for its quiet elegance. Its gracious rooms are ideal for enjoying a coffee or tea with a delicious pastry.

Caffè-Confetteria al Bicerin, Piazza della Consolata 5, closed Sunday afternoon and all day Wednesday. Although this is a bit tricky to find, it is a landmark not to be missed. It is Torino’s oldest locale in continuous operations (since 1763) and it can claim both Nietzsche and Alexandre Dumas as regulars. Bicerin is named for its most popular drink, which is a combination of hot coffee, chocolate and light cream. I can definitely say this is a “must experience” drink and given the quality and richness of the ingredients, dare I say I didn’t even need a pastry to accompany my beverage. The word Bicerin comes from Torinese dialect that means “something delicious”. If a hot drink might not be what you are after on a summer evening, they also make a light refreshing chocolate drink called cioccolato freddo.

Caffè del caffè, Piazza Carlo Felice 49. Many locals say this beautiful bar has the best coffee in town.

Caffè Mulassano, Piazza Castello 15, closed Sunday. This is a classic cafe and considered by many to be one of the most beautiful. It opened in 1907 and its decor reflects a taste for the exotic that influenced the art and design in Torino at the time.

Caffè San Carlo, Piazza San Carlo 156, open weekdays and weekends until 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. Opened in 1837. A perfectly square room, a neoclassical hall of 12 mirrors with a huge Venetian chandelier above.

Caffè Torino, Via Roma 204 (Piazza San Carlo). Closed Sunday. Opened in 1903. They have seating outside under the porticos but the elegance of the decor on the inside is what I enjoy. Inside there is a long carved wood bar on the left and on the right is a display case with chocolate, tiny pastries, gelatine (candied fruit) and breakfast pastries. 

Sweets:

Confetteria Avvignano, Piazza Carlo Felice 50. Closed Monday morning and Sunday. This has been a sweet shop since 1882.

Falchero, Via San Massimo 4 (just off Via Po) Closed on Monday and 3 weeks in August. Famous for tiny fresh creamy pasticcini that weigh only 10g and contain relatively little sugar. You can taste the flavours of all the ingredients.

Peyrano, Corso Moncalieri 47: considered the best chocolate maker in Torino. They can be purchased at Pfatisch (closed Sun/Mon) on Corso Vittorio Emanulele II, 76.

The schedule for Vinum 2010 was released last month. This wine event is sponsored by various entities such as the Regione Piemonte, the City of Alba and the Province of Cuneo and focuses mainly on regional wines, such as Barbera d’Alba, Dolcetto, Barolo, Barbaresco but also Moscato. This year the event will takes places over the following three weekends: April 16^th-18^th, April 23^th-25^th and April 30^th- May 2^nd and all events take place in Alba, therefore just a short car ride from TorreBarolo.

New this year is the decision not to have tastings in the streets and piazza’s of Alba, rather the event will take place in three venues located in the historic center of Alba. The organizers believe the venues will enhance the visitors experience while still having the accessibility to the stores and restaurants of Alba’s historic center.

Palavinum 1: Inside the Palazzo Mostre e Congressi  G Morra located in piazza Medford will host “Grande Enoteca di Langhe e Roero”.  In this venue you will be able to taste and purchase a wide offering of regional wines.

Palavinum 2: Located in the Cortile della Maddalena, this venue will host “Appuntamenti Golosi”. This venue is dedicated to the coupling of wine and gastronomy and there will be regional producers with various salumis, cheese and sweets.

Palavinum 3: This venue will be reserved for “Grande Vini del Piemonte” and will be overseen by the Italian Sommelier Association. One can expect the best wines in this venue and they will host a retrospective for Barolo and Barbaresco wines from 1999 and 1997 as well as a focus on Barbaresco di Neive , Il “Piemonte Perlage” and some grand crus of Roero.  This venue will also highlight young and promising piemontese winemakers.

There are 3 other events that are running concurrent with Vinum.

One is the “Festival della Cucina” which consists of Michelin starred chefs from outside the Langhe being matched with Michelin starred regional chefs to create a special dinner at a small selection of some of the Langhe’s most prestigious restaurants. (Expect to pay €80-100 per person for one of these special tasting menus).

The “Paesaggi e Architetture del Vino” is being held in the Teatro Sociale and is an event focused on the scenery and architecture of wine.  There will also be a photography show dedicated to this same topic that will take place at the San Domenico church.

Lastly, there is a “Jazz di Vino” which will host concerts by the following artists:  Stefano Bollani, Elena Ledda e Rita Marcotulli, Furio Nicastri, Dado Moroni e Marco Tamburini.

Although the Vinum site is only in Italian, there is a detailed schedule of all the events that are hosted at the 3 venues.

Having participated last year, I think the decision to centralize the events in 3 venues with very specific purposes will enhance the ease and pleasure of the event. We have already booked our next trip so we’ll be there 24^th and 25^th April, would be great to meet some of you guys for a glass of Vinum … Cin cin!

On March 6^th/7^th, the annual “Cioccolato alla Corte del Barolo Chinato” returns to Barolo. For these two days, there will be tastings of 20 versions of Barolo Chinato, which is an aromatized digestive wine with an alcohol level between 16% and 17%. It is created by adding a sugar and alcohol mixture that has been left to absorb various spices with a Barolo D.O.C. 

This recipe is actually a prescription that was used at the end of the 1800 in the pharmacies of Chaplain of Serralunga and Zabaldano di Monforte d’ Alba to fight malaria, but since this produce has been enjoyed in the bars and vermoutheries.

Barolo Chinato production is small so this event provides a unique and fun event to sample this delicious (yet potent) liquor alongside several types of chocolates and desserts from some of the best confectionery houses in Piemonte, like Baratti & Milano and Novi & Venchi.

The event takes place in the Regional Wine cellar in Barolo and the tasting begin at 10:00. And if you can’t make it to Barolo, this event will take place in Turin on the 13^th/14^th of March at the Barolo Palace of Turin (Via delle Orfane) where some of the best pastry chefs in Turin will offer visitors their specialties for coupling with the tasting of the Barolo Chinato, and then again on the 27^th/28^th of March at the Relais Club Venchi of Cuneo (Piazza Europe). We do have availability at TorreBarolo for that weekend, so book now to get your cholcolate and wine fix!!!

I love it when a restaurant surpasses my (American) expectations and last week Bovio did just that.   My good friend Jennifer was staying the weekend with me in Barolo and as a thank you she suggested I book a nice restaurant for Sunday lunch. Always happy to oblige, I selected Bovio which I saw as a new entry in my 2010 Alice Food Guide. I recognized the name as the winery of the family that has run “Il Belvedere” in La Morra, a favourite of mine, especially after the redecoration a few years back.

The guide informed me that the family had left the premise of Il Belvedere and was now in their own building that was nestled among the vineyards in La Morra, less 10min by car from TorreBarolo.

Lucky for us, the 7^th of February was a stunning clear and sunny day as this building offers one of THE BEST VIEWS I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying while dining. My photos don’t do the view justice nor do I think their website. Just trust me on this one. 

One of my bugaboos about the selection of restaurants in the Langhe is that there are few elegant restaurants where one might go to celebrate an event and where it is as much about the setting and service as it is the food. Bovio ticked all the boxes for me.

Firstly, the building is perched on the side of the hill and given this was a custom-designed building they made the most of these stupendous views by installing windows that are vast, low as well as being architecturally appealing. We were lucky and got the best table in the dining room which was in the center of the room and directly in front of the window. Most of the tables offer great views, par one that seated two, was next to a wall and one of the diners had a view of a palm tree and wall.

There are two rooms to the restaurant and we peaked into the other one on our way out. There are no views in this room though it is has funkier vibe given the choice of wall paper. I spied a few baby highchairs at tables in this room and deduced that is where families are seated so as to not disturb the other diners.

Aside from the amazing views, the room is a comfortable size (i.e., not too big or too small), the tables are well spaced out and the table are beautifully laid out. And as a plus, when we arrived all the tables already had a varied selection of freshly baked mini-rolls and focaccia accompanied by some of the best butter I have had in years … yep, better than Beppino Occelli !

There was a tasting menu as one would expect in this calibre of restaurant (€44), though we opted for al carte.  Although not on the menu, I requested an Antipasti Misti (which they graciously obliged) which included Vitello Tonnato, a Millefoglie of Peppers with Tuna and Capers from Pantelleria and a Tort/Quiche in a creamy cheese sauce. For primo, I selected the Risotto al Barolo with Bra Sausage (little twist on the classic they have done at Il Belvedere) and Jennifer had her favourite, Tagliolini with Veal Ragu. Both pastas were light, delicious and we could have eaten more easily. For secondo, I opted that we split their Small Fritto Misto (Fried Mix), as I was curious as this isn’t something you often see on menus. It consisted of small pieces of meat, poultry and vegetables in semolina breadcrumbs that were lightly fried.  Too full for dessert, we opted for coffee and that was accompanied by petite fours that were more than enough to cap off the meal with something sweet.

The menu offers an extensive offering of starters, first and seconds so I have no doubt each diner would find something that tempts their taste buds. The room was full that Sunday but the service remained consistently excellent.

Jennifer was charged for 1 glass of wine (though she was served two) and the bill came to €80. Now, I know it is not hard in the Langhe to eat excellent pasta and yummy antipasti for €40 each, but I believe the premium was well worth it given the combination of a stupendous view, excellent service and very high quality food. Personally, I can’t wait to find an event that needs celebrating and go back to Bovio to enjoy a lunch that makes you say out loud … “life is good!!!”.

Bon Appetite and be sure to book in advance.

Castelmagno is a cheese which has been made for centuries. The earliest known mention of it dates back to 1277. In our lifetime, it wasn’t until the 1980s that the cheese re-emerged in popularity culminating in 1996 with a DOP (Denomination of Protected Origin) which restricts the production to three communes of the Upper Valle Grana, the south west of the Province of Cuneo. These communes are Castelmagno, Monterosso Grana and Pradleves, where there are only 12 producers that make about 6,000-7,000 wheels annually.

In 2002, the jury of the World Championship Cheese Contest that took place at Madison, Wisconsin, named it the #1 cheese among the category “Open Class Hard Cheeses”.

Castelmagno is a semi-hard, half-fat cheese produced from whole cows milk, obtained from cattle of the Piedmontese breed fed on fresh forage or hay from mixed meadows or pasture. On occasion some milk from sheep or goats may be added to the cows’ milk.

The taste is often described as similar to that of a young, semi-hard Parmesan with a similar texture, though flakier in consistency and can sometimes be crumbly. It has a tart, mild nutty taste and is a good cheese to use for grating or adding small pieces to appetizers as a topping.

My personal experience with this unique and delicious cheese is when I used it for the mantecatura in my Barolo risotto. This suggestion I got from Giorgio Locatelli (though not personally!) as normally Parmesan is used in making risotto. I think it is the combination of the robust, earthly flavor of the Barolo wine combined with this cheese from the same area that makes for a wonderful taste sensation. The cheese is also great eaten with just a drizzle of honey and some fortified wine.

It is a hard to find Castelmagno outside of Italy, more specifically Piemonte, but if you have a cheese specialty shop, ask them if they can get you some. And if you stay with us at TorreBarolo you can try it in any restaurant nearby. You won’t be disappointed with its unique flavor. A great selection of Castelmagno’s pictures and recipes can be found on our Fan Page on Facebook.

With the holidays upon us, might be nice to offer your guests something different as an hor’d’oeuvre. Bagna càuda, which translates into ‘warm bath’ is a famous Piemontese dish, with anchovies as the key ingredient. Seems funny that Piemonte, as one of the only regions in Italy that doesn’t touch the sea would have a dish with anchovies as its base. The history behind this is that 300 years ago, Piemontese people that harvested salt and butter in the mountains would trade along the ancient salt routes in exchange for anchovies from Liguria.

Now before you think, anchovies, yuck, too salty, the key here is that the anchovies are melted in olive oil. You have to be careful not to fry them or else the anchovies loose all their flavour. The fact that you combine the anchovies with garlic (soaked first in milk), butter and olive oil makes it clear how this is a yummy dish to set in the middle of a table for friends to gather round and enjoy large plates of raw vegetables and a good bottle of Barolo.

Ingredients: (per head)

• ¾ head of garlic
• 50 grams (1/4 cup) of chopped anchovies fillets
• 60 ml (¼ cup) of milk
• 150 ml (10 table spoons) of olive oil
• 15 gm (1 tbps) butter
• Pinch of salt
• Dash of vinegar

Suggested vegetables:

• Peppers (Capsicums)
• Celery
• Endives
• Fennel 
• Cabbage

Country Bread 

Directions:

1. Break the garlic into cloves and peel
2. Place the garlic in a saucepan and cover with the milk until the garlic is tender (the milk mellows the garlic)
3. Discard the milk and chop the garlic coarsely
4. Sprinkle the garlic with fine salty and then cut the garlic finely
5. Return the garlic to the saucepan and add the olive oil
6. Rise the salt off the anchovies and wash them in vineagar
7. Pat the anchovies dry, chop them up and add them to the oil and garlic
8. Return the pan to a low heat (the oil must not boil) and stir continuously (in order to not burn the garlic)
9. Stir until the mixture reaches an even consistency and after 20min, add the butter, stirring it in until it melts
10. Serve in an earthware pot over a flame. It is key that dip remains warm
11. Dip raw veggies or bread

Recommend wine: Nebbiolo dei Roeri

It can be hard to find fresh anchovies and generally they are sold preserved in salt, but if that is the case, just soak them in water to get rid of the excess salt. You might also have to take out the bone.