This weekend excursion again reaffirmed the benefits of spontaneous travel and my love of Italiano cultura. The weekend following Halloween is a national holiday (All Saints Day). With a 3 day weekend, I decided to set out on a road trip. I drove to the mountains south of Asti which is part of the Piemonte wine region. Enroute, I booked a quaint Airbnb (La Maragliana) tucked in the middle of gorgeous vineyards in the breathtaking mountains south of Asti near Castel Rocchero. My host, Maragliana, set me up for an scrumptious dinner at a local winery (Mirepua al Cascione) and a tartufo (truffle) hunt the next morning. The soup and pasta dinner smothered with truffles complemented by vino produced on sight was a fantastic precursor to the next day. I awoke to my driver calling my name at my door. Roberto chauffered me from my peaceful getaway to the truffle fields via a mozzafiato (breathtaking) country road that wound thru small villages each with their own ancient castle. Speaking in Italiano he explained the brilliant yellow grapevines are for muscato and the red ones hold the famosa Barbera red wines. I asked Roberto if he liked living there. He simply stated, "My cuore (heart) loves this place". And I was about to find out why.
I met the truffle guide Jon Franco and his 2 dogs Gilda and Bill. We were joined by a couple from Germany and another from Sweden and off we went. What I learned is that truffles come from the roots of special mature hardwood trees (like hazelnut) and are like mushrooms that grown down instead of coming up. In Italy it would not be inaccurate to say food is a religion and truffles are its holy grail and treated like "gold". We entered a truffle reserve (guarded with fences and surveillance sensors) with the dogs hunting feverishly (Jon Franco told us pigs can are even better hunters but are too hard to handle). The dogs find the truffles from their distinctive aroma. During the fall season Jon Franco goes out 3-5 times a week. The best time is at night starting around 10 PM.
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| Hunting for Tartufo |
After a successful hunt, Roberto invited me to eat lunch at his family trattoria nearby in the small village of Castelletto Molino. Having absolutely no plans, I gladly accepted. Trattoria da NELLO is where Roberto's momma is the chef with Roberto serving as the waiter. I am so glad I had fasted that morning as it allowed me to fully appreciate the feast that I was about to be served. Mamma's cibo (food) is incredibile! What continues to amaze me is how small little restaurants tucked in tiny villages can offer gourmet experiences. Honestly, the food rivals fine American restaurants in cities like Fort Worth, but also offers a famiglia ambience that is so unique. This is where grandchildren prance around and play, families and friends come to eat and talk in leisurely fashion, there are 40 year old bottles of famous red Piemontese vino stashed all over, Roberto's papa sits quietly observing the goings on below a painting showing him in his younger years digging up truffles in a field. The antiquity, scenery, food and famiglia atmosphere combine to produce a sense of tranquility missing in American food culture which is so frantic and subpar. Roberto and his mamma insisted I try everything, to include antipastas, pasta con tarfufo, cici zuppa (chickpea soup). veal, and 3 docle's (desserts) together with my own bottle of wine
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| Antipasta and Roberto |
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| Pasta con tartufo |
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| Mamma |
I was working my way thru a bottle of the local red and fighting not to fall asleep when Roberto's friend's came in to eat with him at the end of lunch. More wine, cafe, then Amaro and soon I was part of a new family. One of Roberto's friends is named Matteo. He a young man in his 30's who had lived in this village his whole life. He invited me (and everyone else) over to see the house of his family which was a short walk from the trattoria on the other side of the ancient Romana castle. Built in 1870, Matteo's casa is a historic monument in its own right with an old grape press and distillery on the ground floor. Matteo is a master craftsman and has refurbished the house with total solar heating using advanced technology solar coils in the floors. This mix of ancient and new is so cool. We of course had to celebrate again with Prosecco. As the afternoon waned we parted with me promising to return again at the earliest opportunity. I was so grateful Roberto drove me home. I was ready for a nap before of course - dinner! O mio dio!
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