After we left Cinque Terre, Jenkins and I took a train to Pisa, where we would spend the day before flying out that evening to Paris. Pisa was never really high on our list of places to go but since we were passing through, we figured we may as well check out some of Pisa’s major sites. Pisa’s main attraction is its leaning tower so we made reservations to climb the tower later in the afternoon. It was scorching hot the day we were there so we tried to spend as much time as possible out of the sun.

While we were waiting for our turn to climb the tower, we decided to grab a quick lunch. Paninoteca Il Canguro was far enough from the leaning tower that the prices were reasonable but was still in the city centre so it was bustling with locals and tourists alike.

They had quite an extensive menu of paninis, which was exactly what Jenkins and I had been looking for. I decided to go for a foccacia panino with lettuce, salami, cooked ham, and mozzarella cheese. I asked for my panino to be toasted so the focaccia had a slight crunch to it. The ingredients were thinly layered and combined together to create a light yet hearty sandwich.

Jenkins chose a baguette-style panino with a different type of salami, spinach, and a creamy mayo sauce. Jenkins’ sandwich was also quite tasty but I felt that the focaccia was fresher and made for a better sandwich.

Our sandwiches were just enough for a nice, light lunch and quite reasonably priced. We munched on them as we walked back to the leaning tower where we arrived just in time to start the ascend to the top.

We actually enjoyed our sandwiches so much that we picked up another one for an afternoon snack as we wandered through the rest of the city. A lot of places in Pisa are quite expensive due to their reliance on tourism so Paninoteca Il Canguro is quite the gem if you are looking for a fast, tasty, and cheap place to eat.

Details:
Via S. Maria 151 – 56100 Pisa, Italia

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

I’m sure some of you must have thought I was finally done with my vacation series to Italy and Paris but guess again! I had almost forgotten about this myself in my haste to post about all the restaurants I’ve been visiting lately. Our lovely stay in Cinque Terre was about to come to an end so Jenkins and I decided to celebrate our last evening by going to a nice place for dinner right by the harbour. Our guidebook noted that Bar del Capitano offered the best value out of all the restaurants by the harbour so we decided to check it out. Bar del Capitano had limited inside seating and the majority of its seats were outside on the main square so we snagged a table on the edge for optimum people watching opportunities.

As I probably mentioned before, the tap water in Cinque Terre was not recommended for drinking by our guidebook so we ordered a bottle of mineral water to share. I always choose the “gassy” version because I like the fizz and bubbles.

One of Capitano’s specialties was the antipasto misto, which was an appetizer platter of seasonal, fresh seafood. Although it was for the two of us to share, it was so good that I could have easily called this a main course and have eaten it all by myself! The seafood was very fresh and most of the items were prepared in ways that I had never tried before. My favourite was the buttery stuffed mussels, which were slightly crispy on the outside and stuffed with a saffrony, aromatic mixture that complimented the mussels themselves very well. I also really enjoyed the cold salad of squid with olives and tomatoes.

Along with our antipasto came two fresh prawns that were half de-shelled but basically presented whole. Jenkins remarked that they looked a bit scary but the prawns were simply divine. They were served cold and were prepared with a bit of lemon juice, which seemed to cook the prawns a bit. This really brought out the sweetness of the prawns and I wish they had given us a few more with our dish.

The menu at Capitano is seasonal and we noticed that there were quite a few mussel dishes so we figured they must have been in season. I decided to order the steamed mussels with white wine, shallots, and lemon juice. It probably wasn’t the most original dish but the fresh ingredients really highlighted the mussels’ sweetness and how it was complemented by the wine and lemon juice.

Jenkins decided to order the spaghetti chitarra, which came with mussels, clams, and prawns. It was chock full of seafood and I think there was more seafood than there was pasta. The pasta was lightly tossed in a tomato-based sauce with a lot of parsley, which went really well with the seafood.

Jenkins and I were really glad we could end our stay in Cinque Terre with such a fantastic meal. Even though we ate around 8PM, it was considered early in Italy so the restaurant was quite empty and we had the full attention of our server. Even though we were quite full at this point, I convinced Jenkins to cap off our meal with a dessert of gelato and affogato. I would post pictures but greedy little me gobbled up my affogato and gelato before I remembered to take pictures.

Details:
Bar del Capitano, Vernazza (harbourside), Cinque Terre
Wed-Mon 12PM – 3PM & 7PM – 10PM
Closed Tues except in August, closed Dec-Jan

Summary:
Food: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$$

Right around lunch time in Corniglia, Jenkins and I first stopped in Enoteca Il Pirun, which is a small, homey wine bar right on the main street of Corniglia. They had quite a large variety of both local Cinque Terre and Italian wines.

On shelves in front of the enoteca, there were several different wines all lined up with various pictures of dictators and revolutionaries. I’m not sure if these were for sale but they were definitely effective in drawing curious tourists to the store front.

Jenkins and I stopped in to try the locally acclaimed wine of Corniglia. According to our guide books, the wine from Corniglia is one of the best of all the Cinque Terre towns. We figured this must have been true since there were quite a few vineyards amongst the hills.

We chose a locally made white wine and even though neither Jenkins nor I are wine connoisseurs, we really enjoyed the fruity and dry wine. We were also served some complimentary olives and cheese crackers which went quite well with our wine. I especially liked the olives, which were not too soft and were just the right amount of saltiness. Before we left, I also bought a couple packets of home-made limoncello candies.

After we finished our wine and snacks, we were surprisingly full so we wandered down the street to the local grocery store, where I asked the grocery store owner to prepare a small take-out of seafood antipasto (about 4 euros). The storekeeper picked a little of everything, which included anchovies, roasted peppers and eggplant, squid, and mini octopi. I especially liked the slightly chewy squid and octopi but what surprised me the most were the anchovies. They were slightly salty and pickly and went very well with the small loaf of bread we also bought. We carried our antipasto to a small viewpoint at the end of Via Fieschi, where we happily munched on our light lunch.

Details:
Enoteca Il Pirun
Via Fieschi 115, Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy

Butiega shop
Via Fieschi 142, Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars (for both)
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
Price: $

To work off all the tasty food we had been consuming thus far on our trip, Jenkins and I took advantage of the great weather by hiking from our home base of Vernazza to the hill town of Corniglia. Of the five towns in Cinque Terre, Corniglia is the only one that is not directly on the water and is about a 90-minute hike from Vernazza.

It was late in the morning by the time we arrived and a bit too early for lunch so I made the decision to have some gelato instead. If you’re wondering why there haven’t been any gelato recaps during this trip, it is mostly because I am in such a hurry to eat it that I forget to take a picture of the gelateria and the gelato itself.

I’m not sure if this small gelateria in Corniglia has an actual name but it is the only one in town and is on the main street, Via Fieschi, and is across from a wine bar called Enoteca Il Pirun. Although some other shops in town have gelato, Alberto & Cristina’s tiny shop is the only one that makes it right on its premises fresh every day. Being the only gelateria in town, it was bustling with people choosing flavours inside and people happily enjoying their gelato outside.

I decided to pick two flavours (cone on the right in the picture below), one being the miele di Corniglia, which was made from fresh local honey. For my second flavour, I picked the always reliable pistachio. Fresh Italian gelato is really in a league of its own and is nothing like the gelato available in Vancouver. Better yet, because the standards are so high and there are so many gelaterias, you can always find one with quite reasonable prices. For example, the gelato here with 2 scoops was 1.75 Euro when we went (about $2.80 Cdn).

The honey flavour was very mild but had a nice sweetness and flavour to it. Its mild taste was complemented by the light and creamy texture of the gelato itself. I would have liked the pistachio flavour to be stronger but in terms of texture, it was right on the spot. The gelato was creamy with all the nut bits strained out and not over-frozen.

Jenkins decided to go fruity with a combo of cantaloupe and pineapple (cone on the left in the picture above). He is not usually a big fan of fruity flavours when it comes to gelato but he felt that he had really picked a winner that day. The pineapple was slightly tangy and actually went well with the sweeter and more mellow taste of the cantaloupe.

The gelato here was actually so tasty that Jenkins and I stopped by again a few hours later before we left Corniglia. We learned early in our trip to feed our gelato cravings whenever possible because if you think about it, who knows when the next time you’ll be back in Italy and when you’ll be able to have such delicious and well-made gelato!

Details:
Alberto & Cristina’s Gelateria
Via Fieschi, Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italy

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

Remember the delicious pizzeria/focacceria that Jenkins and I visited in Vernazza that I couldn’t remember the name of? Well, you are in luck because Jenkins and I went back a few days later for some take-out pizza and I remembered to take a picture of the restaurant this time around. We had been eating at some nicer and more expensive places the past few days so we wanted to temper it with some cheap eats. Since we enjoyed the focaccia at Flli.Basso so much, we decided to go back and try their pizzas. We went for the take-out option and brought our pizzas and some wine to eat/drink on the harbour facing the Ligurian Sea.

Jenkins and I decided to order two individual-sized pizzas to share. Jenkins’ choice was the pesto pizza. This came fresh Cinque Terre-style pesto generously layered on top and a thin layer of tomato sauce and a little bit of cheese. I was afraid that the pesto would be too overwhelming but it turned out to be just right. The pizza had a nice earthy taste to it and although I normally like my pizza with meat, the pesto pizza was very tasty.

I ordered the weiner pizza because it seemed to be quite a popular choice with many of the restaurant patrons. It normally wouldn’t have been my first choice for pizza but I decided to go for something different. The weiners actually tasted quite bland and with the exception of the crispy crust, the pizza itself did not have much taste to it.

If I had to choose between the pizzas and the focaccia at Flli.Basso, I would stick with the focaccia for sure. The pizza was tasty but I just found the focaccia to be made very well and unlike any focaccia I had tasted before. The pizza was good but similar quality stuff could be found in other parts of Italy.

Details:
Via Roma, Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

For our first dinner in Cinque Terre, Jenkins and I decided to eat by Vernazza’s small harbour so we could enjoy the sea breeze and view. There are a few options by the harbour and we chose to eat at Trattoria Gianni, which was owned by the same family that rented our room to us. It was fairly bustling with people but we were able to score a table right by the main square.

To start off our meal, we ordered a bottle of the house white wine. According to our guide book, white wine is a Cinque Terre specialty and very tasty. Jenkins and I aren’t huge wine connoisseurs but the wine was fairly dry and had a nice crisp taste to it, which we enjoyed. The table next to us, who professed themselves to be big wine people, seconded our amateur opinions.

I knew I had to have some type of pesto-based pasta since pesto originated from this region so the trofie with pesto was exactly what I was looking for. The dish did not seem to be very large but it was the perfect size for a light dinner. Although the helping of pesto was generous, it was just enough to lightly coat the trofie and was not over-sauced at all. I really liked how the flavour of the basil really came through and was not overwhelmed by too much garlic nor cheese.

Jenkins chose to have a seafood ravioli stuffed with cheese and anchovies and tossed in a tomato-based sauce. The fish stuffing had a very mild taste and blended very well with the cheese. The ravioli was cooked perfectly al dente and the tomato sauce complemented the stuffing very nicely.

This was more than enough for Jenkins and me that day. We had been snacking on focaccia and gelato throughout the day so we weren’t very hungry by the time dinner rolled around. We topped off our evening meal with a small affogato from a small gelato stand right by the harbour. I would share pictures but I gobbled that down before remembering I needed pictures for Ho Yummy.

Details:
Piazza G. Marconi, 5-19018 Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy
Tel: +39 0187 821003

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

After Jenkins and I departed from Milan, we took a late night train to one of the most anticipated stops in our trip: Cinque Terre. We had wanted to go to the lovely Cinque Terre region when we first travelled to Italy but due to timing constraints, we just weren’t able to fit it in our itinerary. This time around, I wanted to make sure we were able to fit it in our trip and both Jenkins and I are able to say that this was definitely one of the highlights of our vacation. Everyone that was there must have felt the same way as us because the whole time we were there, everyone (both tourists and locals) were super nice and friendly and all the towns we went to had a happy, carefree mood to them.

Jenkins and I chose to stay in the lively but quaint town of Vernazza while in Cinque Terre. During our first lunch there, we wandered into a busy pizzeria that seemed to be teeming with people. I’m a bit embarrassed to say that I can’t recall the name of this place but it was on the main road (Via Roma) and was next to the Forno bakery. If it helps, here is a snapshot of the bag they used to put our breakfast in.

Despite the fact that I can’t remember the name of this place, it was one of the best places in town for focaccia bread, which was originally from the Cinque Terre region. Although the restaurant served pizza as well, we really wanted to try the focaccia first so we ordered a few items to share.

First, we had a focaccia panino with cooked ham and cheese. The focaccia was definitely the star of the show. It was light and super crispy on the outside. I had never had focaccia like this before and was really surprised at how different this tasted compared to the regular focaccia I had eaten back in Vancouver. It had a slightly chewy consistency that really went well with the crispy shell.

We also shared another focaccia sandwich that had tuna and tomatoes for its filling. I actually enjoyed this more than the ham version, but it may be due to the fact that I really enjoy tuna sandwiches. Even though I could tell that there was a fair bit of mayonnaise, for some reason, I did not find it overpowering even though I normally don’t like too much mayo in my sandwiches. The tomatoes were very sweet and the whole creamy filling contrasted nicely with the crispy and chewy texture of the focaccia itself.

Finally, Jenkins and I had a regular focaccia with pesto sauce on top. I don’t recall the exact price but it was around 1.50€, which I thought was quite reasonable considering we had quite a large piece. I did find the focaccia in Cinque Terre to be oilier than what I was used to but I suspect this was also why it was much crispier as well. The pesto was generously slathered on top and may have been a tad too salty but for some reason, I felt this really worked.

During our stay in Vernazza, Jenkins and I went back to this pizzeria several times, usually for the focaccia but sometimes also for the pizza. The prices were very reasonable and a single slice of focaccia was all we really needed to eat for breakfast. There really is no better place to have focaccia than in Cinque Terre, where it was invented afterall.

Details:
Via Roma (right next to the trail to Monterosso al Mare), Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italia

Summary:
Food: 5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

On our second day in Milan, we ended up around the Duomo area again during lunch. Since Milan is quite well-known for its tasty “fast food” options, we decided to go to one of the several cafeterias in the area. When we say fast food, we don’t mean burgers and fries though. Fast food in Milan is very tasty and can be found in its numerous bars, delis, and cafeterias. Milan is very much the financial and business capital of Italy and there are several options for its business crowd to eat quickly or grab food on the go.

This time, we decided to go to Ristorante Rita. It is located about a block away from the Duomo itself and is located upstairs from its take-out only counterpart. Since we were there on a weekday, the restaurant was packed with business people on their lunch hour but the line moved quickly through the food areas.

Jenkins and I wandered through the different food options and tried to see what seemed to be most popular amongst the locals. As usual, we decided to share a few items to get the most variety. We realized we hadn’t been eating as many vegetables as we could while we were on vacation so we assembled a small bowl of salad from the salad bar. The cherry tomatoes were marinated with balsamic vinegar and basil and were fresh and sweet. I also enjoyed the grated carrots which were tossed lightly with lemon juice.  We also tried some of the raw julienne zucchini, which turned out to be quite flavourful and had an interesting texture from the cooked version of zucchini.

For pasta, I picked the rigatoni-like pasta with a minced beef and a light tomato sauce. It had just come out from the cafeteria kitchen so I knew it was fresh and it also seemed to be one of the more popular choices with the customers. As usual, the pasta was al dente and went great with the light coating of sauce. There wasn’t a lot of meat in the sauce but it went very well with the mix of spices used. Even though it was an oil-based sauce, the pasta did not taste too greasy and was not too heavy.

Jenkins and I also shared some Mediterranean-style chicken with potatoes and fresh olives. I felt that the pasta was a better choice because the chicken was a bit on the dry side and the taste of olives was a bit on the strong side for me. However, if you are crazy about olives, this probably would have been a hit for you.

For a side dish, Jenkins and I shared the saffron risotto with a light smattering of seafood. The risotto was very creamy and had a nice taste of saffron, which went very well with the seafood. As risotto often is, this dish was quite filling and was just the thing to give us enough energy to do all of our touristy things for the rest of our afternoon in Milan.

Restaurants can get quite expensive in Milan, so for the most part, Jenkins and I stuck to the cheaper places, such as the cafeterias and also bought custom-made sandwiches from local delis. Not only was the food always fresh and very tasty, it also seemed to be popular with the local crowd so we were pretty sure we had made a good choice.

Details:
Via Marconi between Piazza del Duomo and Piazza Diaz, Milano, Italy

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a (self-serve)
Price: $$

After our thoroughly enjoyable stay in the Lake Como region, Jenkins and I boarded the train and headed for Milan. Milan was a relatively short hour or so train ride away and we only planned to stay for two days and one night while en route to Cinque Terre.

Our morning in Milan was mostly spent around the Duomo area. We snapped a few pictures of the Duomo and explored around the square before realizing it was time for lunch.

We decided to go to Pastarito Pizzarito, which is a popular pasta and pizza chain a couple of blocks away from the Duomo square. The restaurant was quite large so even though it was packed with people, we did not have to wait for a seat. It seemed to be quite popular with the working crowd and even though there were tourists at the restaurant, there were also quite a few locals.

As usual, we started with some fizzy water:

Jenkins and I looked around us and saw that the portion sizes were quite large. We were quite hungry after all the travelling and wandering we had done so far that day. We decided we were entitled to stuff our faces a bit.

Obviously, the specialties at Pastarito Pizzarito were the pastas and pizzas but we noticed that more people were eating pasta rather than pizza. Since we had eaten a fair share of pizza while in Lake Como, we decided to choose two pastas to share. The menu at Pastarito is such that you get to choose the type of pasta and the type of sauce and the pricing depends on the combination you choose.

Our first pick was the spaghetti carbonara. I find the North American variety of this dish way too creamy and fatty but figured this would be the best time to try an authentic Italian version. This was hands down, the best spaghetti carbonara I have ever tasted. The eggs were not too overpowering, the sauce was not creamy, and the panchetta was thickly cut and had a slight crunch. Even though I was full at the end of the meal, I could not resist picking at this pasta until the whole dish was finished. The spaghetti itself was perfectly al dente and the dry and garlicky egg sauce was just enough to coat the pasta slightly but did not leave a puddle of sauce after I finished my dish.

Jenkins’ choice was more conventional tomato with basil sauce with spaghetti. Even though it was a non-cream-based sauce, the tomatoes did not have too much acidity and the whole dish had a “freshly-made” taste to it. There were also small pieces of panchetta in this dish too but I felt that the flavour of the tomatoes overpowered it somewhat.

Of the two pastas, you can probably guess that the carbonara was my favourite. It was just so well-made that I probably could have eaten the entire dish myself and just left the tomato pasta to Jenkins even though the tomato pasta was still quite tasty. Just looking at these pictures while writing this post is making my mouth start to water! We enjoyed Pastarito so much that we tried to go again the day before we left but unfortunately, they do not open for dinner until 7:30 and we had to be at the train station to go to Cinque Terre at 7PM.

Details:
Via Verdi 6, Milano, Italy (1 block from La Scala opera house)

Summary:
Food: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

Jenkins and I were feeling particularly lazy one evening and did not want to make the 10 minute walk down the hill into town for dinner. It had rained quite heavily earlier that day, and we were also a bit afraid of getting caught in a torrential downpour. As a result, we made the decision to just eat dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was still chilly that day so the outside terrace was not open for dinner but here was the view from the restaurant:

As usual, we started with our bottle of fizzy water. The tap water in most of the places we’ve been to in Europe is safe to drink as is, but we specifically read in several guide books that the Lake Como tap water is not good for drinking.

The bread we were served wasn’t very good but the packaged items weren’t bad (breadsticks in pink and mini toasts in yellow).

Unfortunately, as we browsed through the menu, we discovered that there wasn’t a restaurant-sized kitchen in the hotel and most menu items had been pre-made earlier and was simply reheated for dinner. Although I wish I had known this before I sat down, I did appreciate that the fact certain items were pre-made was clearly stated on the menu.

I looked through the menu for something that wasn’t pre-made and decided to start by sharing a charcuterie platter with Jenkins. I discovered this during my last trip to Europe, where a friend living in Paris introduced me to the wonders of saucissons, cured meats, and the like. Ever since then, I always order the charcuterie platter a few times throughout our trips to Europe.

The charcuterie platter contained a variety of Italian cheeses, prosciutto, cured beef, panchetta, and saucissons (start at the cheese and go clockwise). I enjoyed all the items on my platter quite thoroughly. I normally eat this with the bread that’s provided. Although the charcuterie went very well with the breadsticks and toasts, I wish the fresh bread had been fresher and more tasty.

I had the roast duck with potatoes and vegetables. Even though it was pre-made, it was surprisingly tasty and had a nice crispy sin that wasn’t too oily. The vegetables were finely chopped and slowly cooked in a tomato sauce and actually seemed like an Italian version of ratatouille. The potatoes weren’t too interesting in and of themselves but were nice and crispy without being greasy.

Jenkins had the roasted pork ribs with the same sides as my dish. The ribs were surprisingly moist and tender. They were seasoned nicely and had the rustic taste of a home-cooked meal.

Given the circumstances around the hotel restaurant, we enjoyed our meal quite a bit. Oddly enough, there were quite a few local Italian patrons in the restaurant. Jenkins and I wondered if they knew about the pre-made dishes and still decided to go to the restaurant or if it was a surprise to them too. Even though our meal was better than expected, we probably would have gone to a restaurant in town where the dishes weren’t pre-made and just re-heated.

Details:
Via Roma n° 11 – 23829 Varenna Lago di Como, Rome

Summary:
Food: 2.5 out of 5 stars although the charcuterie itself rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$