I am going to Piedmont at the end of this month for the truffle festival. A friend/client is renting an entire house at an Agrotourismo facility and has invited us as a thank you because he thinks I performed a miracle for him (I did not, but I’ll take the free rooms). As thanks, we want to take him and his wife to a nice restaurant for dinner during our stay. I have done plenty of Googling and Trip Advisoring and even Yelping (I hate Yelp) but I would prefer to rely upon the opinion of people on this Board, who have been uniformly correct in the past. Does anyone have a solid recommendation based upon personal experience?
PS - I you have an idea for a Do Not Miss winery trip, I’d love to hear that too. We will have a car and can travel.
PPS - We will be staying a few days in Venice before going to Alba, so if you have a food recommendation there, I’d love to hear that as well.
Haven’t been to Venice in (many) years, but from 3 or so trips I found the food to be uninspiring almost everywhere. Best resto I found was by asking some French tourists where to eat (or maybe I overheard them, can’t remember).
Do avoid the pasta with squid ink, unless you want to look like Dracula afterwards!
Truffles are going to suck this year and you will have the privilege of paying more for sucky truffles. I’ll be in Umbria in early November. I’ll let you know more then.
Upmarket:
Piazza Duomo
La Ciau del Tornavento (impressive wine cellar)
Guido restaurant (I have never been there myself)
Mid-range:
Trat. la Coccinella as mentioned early is a good choice.
L’Angolo di Rosina. Great Tajarin and carne cruda
Places with a local feel:
Marsam Locanda. A bit off the beaten tracks but highly recommended. It is run by a couple (Marco and Alice) who only open the restaurant Friday (dinner) - Sunday.
Osteria della Aie. Fairly popular by now so reserve in advance. All wines are served out of Magnum or bigger format.
For Venice - I had a very good experience eating at Al Covo recently. It’s run by a woman who moved from Texas to Venice and married a local. It’s near the main tourist area without feeling like it is. A lot of the menu changes daily. The wine list also seemed quite nice.
We had a great time truffle hunting with a guide, much more than I thought. While we didn’t get to keep the truffles we found, we could buy some from the hunter. Then we BYOed the truffles (I think at Brovia , which had awesome food). I also love Trattoria Della Posta.
My suggestion, if you are drinking with dinner, get a driver or. Eat in town. Very windy roads and very dark at night.
Let me know if you need a recommendation for a driver for more extensive touring.
Osteria dell’Arco - located in the historic center of Alba on the Piazza Michele Fererro, a pedestrian plaza that is ringed by cafes and currently festively decorated with a merry-go-round. Simple, unfussy, understated elegance. Fine but not showy. A member of the Slow Food organization. Traditional local dishes, well made. A decent-sized wine list with a small selection of back vintages, including some by Coravin. (I had a 1996 Fontanafredda Barolo Vigna La Rosa btg). Almost entirely locals on a Thursday night including a number of multigenerational families ranging from small kids to grandparents. Lots of bottles getting opened. 15-20 tables; typical leisurely service. The tajarin, sautéed porcini mushroom entree and tiramisu were all ridiculously good.
Coccinella - In town, but a real elegant farmhouse feel. Intimate (10 tables). Impeccable food and warm service. Preparations tilted modern. I didn’t delve into the wine list but the house Spumante hit the spot. Mix of locals and visitors.
Bercau - Rustic and informal; sort of “family style.” All locals. The vibe was simultaneously both peasant and hipster and I mean that in a good way. Great list…Allesandria Pelaverga btg was +++.
Il Centro - This one seemed like the the place most likely to have a Michelin star of the bunch (tasting menu style, huge cellar, staff all in black suits) but they still were all pretty chill. The Americans at the next table were a train wreck but the staff handled it beautifully. It was a bit of a show but well executed. Very limited btg selection. All tourists.
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If I was staying in Alba and wanted to take my friends out to a nice dinner, I would definitely choose Arco out of these four. It’s hard enough driving those crazy roads In the daylight, straight.
Had my first Truffles of the season a week ago at Ledoyen in Paris, I find it hard to compare year to year but these were good examples. I asked the staff and they felt the quality was good.