THE Best lunch

Day 9 – Asti 7:45 train

            So yesterday we woke up to rain! ; < I used a rubbish [garbage] bag to cover my camera gear and we made our way to the bus stop. Once we reached the small town in Asti [Castagenole Menferraro] we decided to 86 the bike ride and shacked up in the most adorable bar [café] that was totally for locals. It was funny Carol asked for a hot chocolate and got this amazing thick chocolate cream sauce! SO yummy.  We also happened upon this great soda brand that has a vintage edition with pin up girls! I sampled a mint sprite that was divine. I’m hoping to be able to find them online and try the entire collection.

            After our cappuccino we went to the winery for our tasting. It was fun we got to go down to the cellar [to bad my photos didn’t turn out to well] and saw the machines and they told us the story of the winery. We then sampled eight different wines and had an apetitevo [appetizer] as well. My favorite was this wine that the grapes are treated different, once they are off the vine they sit in the sun for 15-30 days to dry out and it makes their favor more poignant. I also enjoyed the dessert wine. Two more years and I can order it in the states! Lol.

            Then we were off to our huge and authentic Italian lunch at Agritorismo. ; > It was in the home of a mother and her son, and they grow all their own vegetables and produce. Our menu was: [underlined in English]

Antipasto: Vitello Tonnato, peperone eon bagnacavda, crespella agli asparagi e “raschera.”

Entrée: Cold Veal with mayonnaise and Tuna sauce, a pepper with “bagnacauda” sauce [anchovies, cappers and olive oil]. Crepe filled with asparagus and a typical cheese from Piedmont [the region] “uraschera” This was my favorite.

Primo: Agnolotti ripieni con carne d’asino al svgo d’asino and tagliatelle con asparagi e salsiccia nostrana.

Main Course: Agnolotti filled with DONKEY meat and donkey sauce and tagliatelle with asparagus and homemade sausages. [Two types of pasta]

Secondo: Brasato di vitello zucchine melqnzane e poreodoro.

Main Course II: Veal cooked for a few hours with red wine, zucchini eggplants and tomatoes.

Dolce: Macedonia and gelato auo zabaione e semifreddo al coccolatio e mandorie.

Dessert: Fruit salad [pears, kiwi, apples and oranges from their garden] with zabaione’s ice cream [eggs, milk, lemon, and sugar], also a cold cake with chocolate and almonds. [This offered a beautiful contrast of both flavor and texture.]

Drinks: cappuccino, water and lemon cello.

Wines: Red Barbera d’asti and white chardonnay [from winery we were just at].

Needless to say it was amazing! We had to run to catch the bus [it was “dodgy” and never comes on time]. It ended up being 20 minutes late! So we all skipped dinner and had an early night.

            This morning we said bye to Asti. We grabbed a quick brekky [breakfast] at our hotel, which offered a beautiful cappuccino and danish filled with Nutella. I also encountered my first “Turkish toilet.” Really though I feel blessed this was the first one. ; > We are not on the train to Milan for the day, and Lake Como tonight.

            Yours truly, TheLostPalindrome.