Engendering Madness - What Price for an Authentic Italian Meal?

Seafood with Cheese - Authentic or the Ultimate Culinary Transgression?

 Over the past few days, I’ve been chatting with a foodie friend who spares no expense when it comes to food and wine. This is a person who will fly to Japan to eat raw fish. He was asking me for my take on some Italian places here in Dallas. One of his comments, in response was, “I’d rather fly to New York and go to Rezdora,” where the chef is a (local) friend of ours.

It got me to thinking about the costs of getting on a plane and going to Italy to eat authentic Italian.

What? Of all the profligate, indulgent, extravagant, privileged, entitled, senseless babble!

Well, as Batman said, “The world only makes sense when you force it to.”

So, let’s run some numbers.

Great Meal Moment: "Feed me! Feed me!"

Folks who know me know I’m not a BIG MEAT kind of guy. I’ve been steadily progressing back to my hippie days in the ‘70’s, when the life was simpler, more natural and meatless. But in Italy, that’s a different story.

After a harrowing couple of days in the Langhe, what with the snow and ice and the hassle of getting down the hill we made it to Franciacorta-land. Wonderful respite from the cold. I missed a couple of meals too. So when our host, Alberto, recommended we go to their Tuscan styled restaurant near the hotel, my colleague and I were game. And what better way to unwind from a whirlwind trip through the frozen tundra of the Langhe than to share the classic steak of Tuscany?

Great Meal Moment: "I'll have what she's having."

One of the best things I have ever had was this simple dish of pasta, filled with a light cheese, and topped with a little butter and dusted ever so delicately with cheese. I think it was the “Il Plin” con la ricotta di pecora da Murazzano e burro d’alpeggio. I wasn’t paying too much attention when they brought the dish, which was served to me on my recent trip to the Langhe at Locanda nel Borgo Antico in Barolo. Only to say I had a “When Harry met Sally” moment when I first tasted the ravioli. Absolutely perfect in every simple way a pasta should be.