Must Do (Eat) in Varenna

 Last hour in Varenna and I wanted to comment on the town itself and a great spot we found for dinner in Varenna, Il Cavatappi. 

I believe this town is likely in the Rick Steve’s guide. Don’t know for a fact but there are ton’s of loud entitled American tourists and the town itself is quite touristy. We stayed at Villa Cipressi, which is adequate. Friendly and helpful staff with spartan rooms. Most of the restaurants in town suck and cater to tourists. I suspect before Rick Steves (BRS from now on) the town might have been quite charming, but his book likely opened that gates to ton’s of old people aiming for that “adventure of a lifetime” and “Influencers” (lot’s of little girls posing with cameras in front of just about any object that remotely looks charming). Still if you walk outside the perimeter of the town (take a strenuous hike up the hill) it’s a beautiful countryside. Just don’t fool yourself into thinking you seeing the real beauty of Italy when in town. It’s a fabrication that maybe gives you ten percent of what Italy offers. So it’s worth a day visit to Varenna but plan on spending an hour in the town and seven hiking the hills around. If you want to spend two days get an all day pass to the ferries and explore some of the other towns along lake Como. Top this off with a nice dinner (see below).

Buried in the streets of Varenna, is the restaurant Il Cavatappi. It hits all the rules (less than 10 tables, menu in chalk etc). You’ll have to dig to find it and I strongly recommend reservations. They speak perfect English so no worries - call a few days ahead (they are closed on Tuesdays). The restaurant offers local wine and food in a slow food movement sort of way. Unusual for so touristy a town. It’s tiny and minimally staffed so don’t expect a focus on service, take your time. Because they are small get off your wallet and spent some cash, don’t go in for a salad and a glass of water - go in hungry and order a meal (one of the review complaints is they pushed us out when I went to eat but wasn’t hungry so I ordered a glass of wine - of course they did they need to stay in business and they are a restaurant, not a bar au vin). Our dinner included a bottle of Nebbiolo from a nearby vineyard, an asparagus flan, octopus, beef cheek, and a wonderful pappardelle with duck ragu. Proof below.

Rainy Hike in Varenna

 Took a strenuous but relatively short hike today in the hills above Varenna. A lot of it was up we cobblestone they someone was “kind” enough to create. It’s slick as snot and painful to walk on. Still fun to get out and do some hiking. Here are a few photos.

Dinner Last Night

 We had the best meal of the trip so far last night. I was a last minute reservation at our hotel’s sister property’s restaurant Du Lac. Each dish was truly great, a delight, to use a trite phrase. Pictures below with a brief commentary

My main, a salmon with potato purée and green beans, OK not inventive but tasty

Fran’s lobster paccheri (giant tubes of pasta), sadly I couldn’t try this.

Pollpetti (octopus) in a tomato sauce start, my highlight of the meal.

Carccofi in a cheese sauce, another great starter

A few drinks before dinner.

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Expensive but elegant meal by the seaside. If you ever make it to Varenna, or if we make it back to Varenna, stay at this hotel or at least eat at the restaurant. Great serendipitous find. 

Varenna

 Uneventful train ride between Milan and Varenna, other than an annoying group of guys in the seats next to us one of whom would not shut up. Sigh.  I’ll add had a great diner at the restaurant at Hotel Du Lac, next time we’re in the area we need to stay at that hotel - much nicer than the one we chose. 

A few pics from our day in Varenna:

Best Meal in Milan this trip

We ended up, randomly, at Osteria Formentini for dinner tonight. Recall from one of my previous posts that we dumped a Michelin starred meal. Don’t regret it for a minute. If you’re in Milan go here. A few pictures:

Where do you put the groceries?

A serious proliferation of these beasts on the road in Milan.  

 

Brera Neighborhood

 We didn’t have reservations this evening. We decided to wing it and ended up in the Brera area of Milan. Highly recommend visiting the area if you are in the city. Kind of a chairs in the street loud neighborhood full of lively restaurants and hawkers trying to get you in. Fran was in the mood for meat and we found a place that had a number of meat dishes on the menu: il Kaimano. The reviews for this place are very mixed. It’s loud, the staff a bit obnoxious, and it’s a bit on the pricy side (but honestly not terrible). I really think if you’re not fun loving or don’t understand Italian family dynamics you could be put off by it. It’s a family restaurant. Honestly it reminded me of my childhood with loud family members yelling at each other over food. That said, if you take it as the cultural show it is, and accept the food isn’t Michelin starred, it’s a fun experience and I’d recommend it to others. As a matter of fact we canceled our planned dinner at a Michelin restaurant tomorrow night and we’re returning the the Brera Neighborhood for Aperitivo and Dinner - Likely not Il Kaimano, it’s fine but hey there are lots of other places to try. A few pictures from dinner:

Tagliata de Manzo (thin sliced beef)

Coletto (a Milanese speciality)

Fried Zucchini Flowers Stuffed with Ricotta

Prosciutto and Melon

And Me.

Photos

 A few obligatory photos from around Milan. Just things that captured my attention or are obvious area photos  

Dinner Post

 We were both excited about dinner tonight. We’d gotten a recommendation from Giancarlo, a local working at the hotel. So off we went to La Libera. The short answer is meh. Had good starters (I had a tuna carpaccio and Fran had a buratta salad) and our hopes were up. But we were both left cold by the cold pasta dishes that arrived at our table. Admittedly both dishes were not Milanese. I’d gotten cacio a pepe and Fran carbonara. Now I rarely eat pasta (carbs and all) so I was looking for a treat. I love simple pasta’s like alio an olio or cacio a pepe. But here they used way too much cheese and as Fran said it seemed like it had been sitting on the pass way to long. Meh. So it has potential but if you go order local dishes and probably not pasta.

On a happier note here’s me at Aperativo (at N’Ombra de Vin):

Mayday! Been Shot Down over Stormy Seas!

Actually everything is fine. Just thought a Joe Bonamassa song lyric (from Sloe Gin) would liven things up. Actually, it is Mayday. Walking to the Navigli Canals today we realized it was Mayday. The clue was there was a parade (the Communist Party of Italy) went down the main drag to the Duomo. There was also a film being shot at the Armani Hotel (which is on our way to the Duomo). Our route ended up being a bit circuitous to avoid all the activities and, unfortunately, many of the stores were closed. Fortunately the cafe’s and bars were open so not all was lost. A few pics from our walk.

Oh and on a sad note Bar Gerico is no more. We walked by and it’s now L’argent Bistrot. And even though the new Bistrot gets rave reviews I’ll miss Gerico, it did, after all, introduce us to proper Aperativo.

Yeah, yeah, yeah and all that

 I know Italians basically gave us great culture, food, architecture (hey think of the Roman arch), art, and music already. But it all pales in comparison to their greatest gift: the Aperitivo. I’m not joking. What a civilized thing to do - sit on a warm day, watching people go by, with a cool drink and some snacks while contemplating what you’re going to go eat for dinner in a few hours. OK and talking about the people going by. It’s like I’m so proud of my people for inventing this I can’t think of the superlatives to describe my pride.

Here we are enjoying the Italians greatest gift to man at Camparino in front of the Milano cathedral this afternoon. Fran, of course, has the Negroni and I have the Campari spritz. Not cheap but worth every penny. The Campari in Italy is richer than we get in the states - I’m not sure the difference but I want to ship some home.

Spent most of the day walking and getting our bearings between naps. We’re getting there. 

Ate dinner at a decent place (Locanda la Scala - behind the la Scala theater) - worth a stop, not earth shattering but good risotto, pork belly, and osso bucco. Wine was pricy (for Italy) but a decent selection. Head waiter was humorous, spoke at least five different languages, and was spread a bit thin with little help. A fun few hours with Fran just talking but our legs got tired of sitting.