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“No, grazie,” you say to the waiter, “non posso più” (I can [eat] no more). He leaves to serve the cake to others, those with gargantuan stomachs.
You look around and see the trattoria packed with families, three generations, at large tables. They have all eaten the antipasti, ravioli, risotto, carne and now expect the dessert.
In Italy you only find a family trattoria like this by chance. They don’t advertise, no road signs. Their fame is spread by word of mouth, the fastest way to become known here, and the only way to stay in business.
This Sunday lunch, il pranzo, takes the whole afternoon. Children go outside to play soccer with Max, the dog in residence. Max’s other job is to lie around the restaurant, especially across the entrance to the kitchen. The waiter simply steps over him.
Dogs never stop eating, you realize, they eat everything that is served. You stop musing and look at your plate. The dolce. The waiter has just served you a slice.
“Solo un assagio”, he says, and smiles. (Just a taste…)
- Contributed by Stef Smulders, mathematician, travel writer, and owner of B&B Italy Villa I Due Padroni
Great note. Restaurants like this are magical. I never make it to dessert either…
Would love to know the name/address of this magical trattoria for a future visit there, grazie!
I’ve found that probably the best restaurants I’ve encountered in Italy have been the non-advertised ones in small towns and hamlets, the reason being that they are so good is that they exist only for the locals, not for tourists. At these trattorie (many times located at the local bar) one finds the true local kitchens, remember that these establishments have to be very good, they are competing with the region’s mothers and grandmother’s kitchens. In that most of these restaurants cater to the working class not only are their meals more affordable but the portions are larger. Many times in the small villages the establishments don’t advertise or have a sign being the inhabitants already know where they are located, as stated above it’s all by word of mouth.
We have had the rare privilege to stumble across a few of these trattoria and I can still taste the heavenly food in my memory.
Thank you for helping me re-live those memories.
The restaurant is Trattoria Marinella at Ponte Nizza in the province of Pavia, Lombardy (Trattoria Marinella Di Negri Agostino
Via Prendomino,40 27050 Ponte Nizza Tel.: (+39) 038359121). The trattoria is situated in the hills of the Oltrepo Pavese (as is our B&B) and exactly matches the marvellously precise comment of Gian. Many of the restaurants in this region are that good because they cook for Italians which are used to their mother’s kitchen at home. When Italians eat out, they eat Italian food, when Dutchmen eat out, they eat foreign kitchen. Both ways have their charm, but it makes a lot of difference.
I found this description on the Internet (mark the last sentence!):
Ristorante Pizzeria Marinella nasce da una tradizione familiare che sa unire i gusti tradizionali a quelli più attuali con piatti della tradizione lombarda e pizze sempre nuove.Questa tradizione continua anche oggi,con un servizio all’avanguardia,un ottimo menù a base di piatti rigorosamente fatti in casa e una pizza cotta nel forno a legna.La cucina genuina e di prima qualità comprende piatti tipici dell’Oltrepo Pavese preparati con prodotti in prevalenza locali.La cortesia e la competenza dello staff renderanno il vostro pranzo o la vostra cena un momento lieto e gustoso della vostra giornata,in un ambiente familiare immerso nelle verdi colline dell’Oltrepo. Giardino recintato interno per bambini. “Assistenza di Max, pastore tedesco che gioca a calcio”.