Some of the tastiest ali di pollo grigliate (barbecued chicken wings) you’ll ever find outside of North America are prepared to perfection daily in a small, rustic, wooden rifugio (chalet) halfway down a challenging black-marked ski run on the slopes of Monte Elmo in the breathtaking and picturesque Dolomites of northern Italy.
Chicken wings? Italy? ARE…YOU…CRAZY? No. Well, yes, if you consider the only way there and back is via that treacherous pista nera, which ski bum friends have dubbed the “Chicken Wings” run.
At the Baita-Hütte Raut, proprietor Manfred Moser and staff serve up plates of the mouth-watering chicken wings — with its top-secret sauce — along with more traditional Südtirol fare that you’ll find around the Alta Val Pusteria area of the Trentino Alto Adige region: canederli (bread dumplings), spätzle (small egg noodles) gulasch (thick soup/stew) speck (smoked prosciutto/ham) and bratwurst mit kartoffeln (grilled sausage and potatoes), just to name a few.
If you’re planning to experience Italy in the winter, there is nothing quite like a settimana bianca (white week) up in the Dolomites. And, nothing says skiing better than the daily pranzo (lunch) breaks at one of the countless rustic rifugi that dot the snowy landscape.
Come for the skiing, but, by all means, enjoy the chicken wings, too.
by Tom Weber
Tom is a veteran print-broadcast journalist who resides in the Colli Euganei (Euganean Hills) in the province of Padova in the Veneto region of northestern Italy. He hosts the eclectic travel/foodie/photography blog The Palladian Traveler.com, is a regular contributor to Los Angeles-based TravelingBoy.com, and is a member of the International Travel Writers Alliance. Feel free to follow Tom as he “meanders along the cobblestone to somewhere.”
Such a beautiful area of Italy! My daughter’s high school choir took part of the Alta Val Pusteria International Choir Festival in June 2009, so we spent 4 wonderful days in San Candido and visited a few of the surrounding villages as well. It is just as beautiful in the summer months as it would be in the winter. I look forward to revisiting it at some time in the future!
Hum, Tom, I am not much for skiing, but I will come for the chicken wings! Fun note! Toni
Ciao Tom…I’m with Toni…skip the skiing, bring on the wings! What’s the Italian version of a hot toddy? :D Victoria
and the recipe is ????????????????????
Tom your article was simple and straight forward. I am not a skier but looking at the photos of the food I instantly became hungry and had a desire to take one lesson. Point the skis in the direction of the wings… Looking at the other dishes they would most certainly have to roll me down hill… LOL
tom…saw this interesting item on mt. elmo and the chicken wings…i have a place near by, in vinigo di cadore, and ski at mt elmo every year…don’t know the refuggio. ..would welcome a reply. regards,