Food, glorious food!

NOTE: This post belongs between the two Italian posts.

We searched for, but didn’t find cheap food. We followed a recommendation from another friend and wandered down alleys until we came upon what was supposed to be the tasty little hole-in-the-wall trattoria. It looked empty. We almost walked away, but we decided to go inside for just a second. The waiter led us deeper into the restaurant, which was filled with people wearing very nice clothing and speaking many different languages. We were struck by the realization that it might be a little pricier than first expected. We sat down, to find out what we had gotten ourselves into.

What followed was a 7 course meal including 3 antipasti, 2 primi piatti, 1 entree, and 1 dessert. I enjoyed every single bite starting with a whole plate full of prosciutto. Next was a sort of savory flan with creamy potato sauce, followed by a goat cheese with olive oil from a 200-year-old tree. Meanwhile the five of us were enjoying multiple bottles of a fine red wine. One of the primi was a risotto (famous in Milan), and the second was a selection of ravioli filled with pumpkin and spinach. For the main course, I chose thinly sliced beef (whose name eludes me) that had a sweet Champagne reduction drizzled on it. I asked for panna cotta for dessert, and by the end of our meal, we were the only ones still in the restaurant.

In the end, the damage was around 40 euro a person, which, considering the quantity, quality, and variety of food purchased, was not all in all a bad deal. Of course, I told myself that I deserved it (having not eaten much real food for the past three days) and that it was an important cultural experience for my last day in Italy. I very much enjoyed it. Damn, I’m getting hungry writing this…

Also, it turns out I am extremely uncreative when it comes to post titles: this is the second time I used this title!