Eat Like Ushi

Italy and gelato. There aren't many other things to trawl through place after place in Italy. Everywhere you read online will point you in directions of favourites and the reality is all of the ones I visited are good, because they generally have to be;

If in doubt, look for somewhere that states Gelato Artigianale which translates to homemade gelato. Some say those in metal tins with closed lids are more authentic and retain flavour longer also. But with the quality and turnover, I don't think it makes too much difference.

My benchmark is pistachio flavour and generally the murkier green or lighter brown, the better. I tried pistachio nearly everywhere which ranged from light to intense, sweet to nutty. Each was slightly different and I can't say I didn't like any of them. There were no hints of ice or crystals. However trying to pick my favourite of the lot is indeed difficult. I think one of the best was in Vernazza - considering the location in the middle of a plaza, it was a pleasant surprise - check the light brown pistachio on the right of the photo.

- Gelato Passione (Rome) - great pistachio and tiramisu
- Fior di Luna (Rome) - no photo
- Giolitti (Rome) - known mainly for creamy flavours, but melon was very good
- Ciampini (Rome)
- Carabe (Florence)
- Gelateria Perche No! (Florence)
- La Carraia (Florence)
- Antica Gelateria Fiorentina (Florence)
- Slurp! (Monterosso, Cinque Terre)
- Gelateria Artigianale Vernazza (Vernazza, Cinque Terre)

I hit all these gelato places around Italy within 6 days. My list was still longer. Here's the ones I didn't make: Gelateria dei Neri, Vivoli, Gelateria Santa Trinita, Grom (all in Florence), Gelateria Il Porticciolo (Vernazza).

I flew to Turin (Fiorio) as the airport stopover to the white truffle festival. I had an extremely creamy version in Alba (Darios), where after I tried their delicious gelato pistachio and nocciola, the shopowner made me come back on the day it was made fresh. The texture was smooth and untouchable.

Osteria Nuova is a much more casual food option in Alba. It's open for dinner each day and also for lunch on weekends only. After being rejected on Friday night for turning up alone, I was lucky to score a seat for Saturday lunch. They seemed surprised and relieved when I told them I was happy if a random sat on my table.

- Ovetto al Pailot & Tartufo Bianca - they translated to me as an omelette, but turned out to be a fried egg with white truffle. Only one egg with not as much truffle as I'd expect for the price;
- Brasato al Vino Rosso - braised beef stew served with fried potatoes. Strong wine-flavoured stew with reasonably tender beef. Very tasty potatoes;
- Panna Cotta - really beautiful dessert of delicately smooth cream, laced with delicious sweet sauce and served with burnt caramel peanut sticks. Sensational.

Overall a nice relaxing place to eat. Definitely recommended as an alternative to all the otherwise fine dining recommended venues in Alba.

Next time I would order any you like and finish with the Panna Cotta. Whether intended or not, the many other Italians in the restaurant all ordered it too. The select daily pasta and meat dishes all look good to warm your belly.

I won't lie and say I intended to eat at Enoclub. In my indecision, I hadn't booked anything, expecting that on a Friday night in Alba there wouldn't be so many people as to book out most of the town's restaurants. I admit having the White Truffle fair on the Saturday may have skewed it against me, but nonetheless I thought I was unlucky as I walked around from place to place being rejected over and over, oftentimes because I was a sole diner and they didn't want me to take up a whole table. Bastards.

Just for the record, the places of note were Piazza Duomo (2 Michelin star, TA #1, be careful this is NOT the pizzeria of the same name), Osteria dell Arco, Osteria La Libera and Osteria Nuova.

Enoclub was actually suggested to me by two of my rejectors - I would otherwise not have found it or considered it. The venue is actually quite nice, and I happily sat at the empty bar section enjoying the more informal setting. The specials of the night obviously revolved around the white truffle and I selected two dishes which I hadn't tried with truffle yet:

- Uovo in Tegame all'occhio con Tartufo Bianco d'Alba - fried egg with sliced white truffle. Often thought the best way to enjoy white truffle with the scent and flavour accentuated by egg yolk. Not bad at all, but it feels painful paying €30 for fried eggs;
- Carne Cruda di Vitello Fassone con Tartufo Bianco d'Alba - Fassone veal tartare topped with white truffle to mix through. Good quality tartare with the occasional hint of white truffle flavour, although not enough truffle for €40.

Next time I would order something more standard from their basic menu of salad, ragout, pasta, burger. Alternatively book one of the other places who seem to have more extravagant regular dishes.

Wandering through Alba looking for somewhere to eat lunch turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. Since I didn't have a dedicated lunch venue, I ended up walking around the small town centre until I found a place that looked promising.

Sognatori certainly ticked the right boxes - located on a street not on the main drag, a local tavern, filled with Italians, and a menu that only exists with a few hand written words on a piece of paper.

The service was great - the waitress didn't speak English but was friendly and smiled. The host of the venue spoke better English and was very personable complimenting me some free dishes, a free glass of house wine, and topping my pasta with additional butter and white truffle until he thought it was satisfactory.

Supporting dishes was a slice of mild Goat's Cheese topped with White Truffle. Since fondue is supposedly one of the main ways to enjoy white truffle, I imagine this was a more scaled down and simple version. It was adequate, although I wouldn't pick it as my favourite truffle dish. I also received a dish of Potato Gnocchi topped with a lot of parmesan - heavy and dense and probably a little too much richness for the end of the meal.

But the star of the show was their version of Tajarin with White Truffle. As mentioned earlier, after I tossed the truffle slices through, the host looked and took it away to add more butter and truffle as he thought it needed more. At €47 for the dish, you'd expect about 5-8g of white truffle for the €40 and it was certainly the most generous of any of the restaurant dishes. It was a stronger truffle and butter flavour and scent than Tre Galline. I added a little parmesan but in hindsight this was probably a mistake as the cheese dampened the truffle flavour slightly. It certainly wasn't mindblowing and I doubt I would pay that much for the dish again, but at least I left knowing this is what it is supposed to be.

Next time I would order whatever their daily menu is serving. Classic Italian dishes of pasta, rice, meat and seafood with house wine and port selections to complement. Service was friendly and inviting and would easily return again.