Anybody been to Northern Italy?

Hey KKF folks!

My girlfriend and I are touring around Europe at present. We rented a van through some family in Poland, and are cruising around following any whim we choose. Mostly we're guerilla camping, cooking our own food on a coleman stove, trying to do things on the cheap. However, we're destined to be in Northern Italy in a few weeks. I wanted to be there for the October harvest/truffle season to see what's what. So, I was wondering if anybody has any specific advice on products to check out/places to eat.

I'm a cook myself, so I'm not exactly ignorant on products from the various northern regions. But, as a cook, I'm pretty freaking broke. We saved up for three years to go on this four month trip, which means we have some cash on hand, but we can't just run around and make it rain. I've checked out other places for advice like Chowhound, which is helpful, but seems to be the forum for "foodies," laypeople who've never worked in a kitchen in their lives, yet whose primary hobby is talking critically, and often disparagingly, about the food others have sweat and bled to prepare.

So, I come to you. I like you people (what do you mean, "YOU" people?!). And I think some of you out there can help. I would like to focus on Piedmont and Emiglia Romana. We have transportation, obviously, so no town is out of reach. We will often be sleeping on the side of some road, unshowered, and we neglected to bring any kind of dress clothes, so while putting on our fancy pants is not out of the question, let's just say it can't be our modus operandi. We might try to WWOOF in the area, for the sake of having a more permanent place to stay. We may also be couchsurfing. Unknown.

Also, if it makes any difference, we speak zero Italian. Though I'm a fluent Spanish speaker, which helps. Kind of.

Anyways, after this long winded explanation of our circumstances, anybody out there able to offer some advice? Be as specific or as general as you can, any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

T

Think about hitting La Spezia, for a day or two. It's right on the coast, I spent 3 days there on my last Med Cruise. loads of touristy site to hit, and a huge outdoor market area.
The locals are used to dealing with U.S. Navy types, they may welcome some Normal people.

I had a great Risotto in Verona which is right between Milan and Venice. But I don't remember the name of the Restaurant. It is also out of your regions. I spent a day in Rimini but was on the beach the whole time. It was nice. I put out a feeler to a Chef I know that has spent much more time in those regions than I have. I'll let you know if he gets back to me with anything. I think he is actually in Bologna right now.

I would want to see a **** load of prosciuttos hanging in Parma, check out a cheese cave, and taste some bad ass balsmico in Modena. I have also found that in Italy, because the pace is different, it takes a couple days for a city to reveal itself. I would advise sticking around longer in a town that gives you a good vibe and trust the locals with everything except your camera... They will steal your camera for sure....... Not that I know anything about that.

Piazza Duomo 3 star Michelin restaurant in Alba. In Milan Ristorante Rina Scente. It is located in the Panzerotti Luini, the market downtown Milan.

That's all I got. Good Luck!

Isn't the Olive Garden Academy somewhere near there????

The Olive Garden Culinary Institue is in Tuscany. I am sure it is a pretty wild time.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/15...-olive-gardens-culinary-institute-in-tuscany/

Chuckles said:

The Olive Garden Culinary Institue is in Tuscany. I am sure it is a pretty wild time.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/15...-olive-gardens-culinary-institute-in-tuscany/

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Dude! That article is a LIE!!!!!!!
I got my PhD in Physics from the Olive Garden Academy!


Sorry to thread jack!

I gotta say, if you are a walk-in party of 16 and 12 of your group are children the staff at Olive Garden doesn't even bat an eye. Impressive to me. They are like a battle hardened zombie army fighting to lower the bar of what constitutes mediocrity. You could get your soup and immediately pour it on the ground in front of the server and they would ask you what kind it was and then go get you more without giving it a second thought. Twilight zone sh$t.

Chuckles said:

Piazza Duomo 3 star Michelin restaurant in Alba. In Milan Ristorante Rina Scente. It is located in the Panzerotti Luini, the market downtown Milan.

That's all I got. Good Luck!

Click to expand...

Thanks Chuckles! Stoked to check out at least Piazza Duomo....planning on doing at least one solid splurge. If all else fails, I'll party at the Olive Garden Academy.

T

The best advice I could give you is to be on the lookout for small family restaurants that are a bit out of the way on your trips. Some of the best food is served there for very reasonable prices. Also being able to speak spanish is going to be more of an advantage than you think.

I bought 'Osterie & Locande D'Italia: A Guide to Traditional Places to Eat and Stay in Italy' once to plan a holiday but unfortunately didnt get to execute it

I highly recommend a few meals in Bologna. I've eaten at Diana, Osteria Dei Poeti, Trattoria Gianni, Da Cesare, Battibecco, Ristorante Franco Rossi, and Trattoria Belfiore, and recommend them all. They are dedicated to doing things right, the Bolognese way. Diana is a weird place because it looks like a diner of some kind. But, trust me, the food is good. The way to save money eating good food around here is to skip the antipasto-primo-secondo-dolci-cafe routine of the proper italian meal. Order the dish you want, and split a dolce. Do NOT get the mineral water, despite how pleasant it is. Get coffee somewhere else. Be nice, and they'll give you a small glass of prosecco or digestivo. Trust the place with their choice of wine in the half or full carafe. If it wasn't any good, they wouldn't offer it. And, do take a stroll down Via Pescherie Vecchie from the Piazza Maggiore to the fish market at the end.

Cheers,

Jack

Parma is good, too. Anywhere in the Emilia-Romangna, look for "pasta fatta in casa, " "made in house" for their pastas. If it's pizza you're after, try to look for "forno a legno", wood burning oven. It turned out that it was impossible for me to have a bad meal in Emilia-Romagna. I know it can be done, but it's not easy.

I just came back from Chiavenna/Valtellina. The local specialities are Sfuzat (or sforzato) a wine similar to amarone and bresaola a dried beef-ham. superduperyummy! Highly recommandble. BTW: If you go there by ca take the route via alpinepasses. Takes you forever, but it ha really breathtaking sights

Greets Benjamin