Category Archives: restaurants

Weekend in the Bergenland

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Last week in Portschach was pretty quiet. There were several days of rain. I did take some walks along the promenade and took some pictures of the interesting architecture. We ate out a couple times.

On Friday we were off on another excursion. This time our destination was the Bergenland in Styria. This is a wine region. We drove along the very good roads that are in Austria. We haven’t found a bad road yet, not even the small ones. The first part of the trip after leaving Klagenfurt is some of the prettiest scenery I have ever seen. The alps are just to the south, then it becomes rolling hills, farms and dense forests. A very, very lot of forests with straight pines towering into the sky. You can see nothing within after the first fifty feet or so they are so dense. I loved driving through that part.

About 12:30, we decided to find lunch. I put in Google maps “restaurants” and there were many in towns off of the Autobahn. I randomly picked one which got a score of 4.8 and figured it would be a nice Gasthaus. We got off the highway and drove down pretty roads with great views across a large valley. The GPS took us to a village called Ligist. It was the quintessential Austrian village and the Restaurant Wörgötter was right on the main square.

There was a covered porch and we found a table outside. The locals looked very curious. The waitress was a beautiful young girl, slim with porcelain skin. We got some wine and the menus. Luckily I still remember a lot of my German and can read menus in German without any trouble. I decided to get more adventurous and I ordered two things I wasn’t familiar with. The appetizer is hard to describe but it had beets and kohlrabi as main ingredients. It was delicious. Then I ordered a braised veal shoulder dish which also was very good. Luther got the salmon sashimi and the cod. The plates were beautifully presented. It was not your typical Gasthaus! Sehr gut. I didn’t realize at the time it was actually a Michelin one star restaurant! 😳

While in the restaurant a couple came in. I couldn’t help marvelling at her outfit. It was a very short, flouncy dress and red knee socks and shoes. Austrian fashion I guess.

We drove onward past Graz and the countryside got uglier. Eventually as we entered Styria and drove further it began to get prettier but remained very flat. When we got near our apartment we stopped at a vinotek and bought some wine and sat outside with a couple glasses in the pretty, well manicured lawn area with many small buildings alongside it. Two had thatched roofs which I never saw here before.

We had read about a lodging option in the wine region with many of the old winery buildings being converted into cottages you can rent. They are called Kellerstöckl. Ours is the Kellerstöckl Andrea and Walter Mittl. Pretty little place. Tiny inside with a kitchen living dining area and a small bedroom and bath. Nicest part is the covered porch with grape vines, laden with grapes all over it. Nice big table and a view of the vinery grapes.

Saturday morning around 10:45 we planned to go and visit some wineries and the have lunch. Luther did some research and found 4 places he liked and off we went. It was cool and overcast. None of the places were more than 15 kilometers so not far. The roads were good. Some were very narrow. For the most part the land was flat except for the best wine area and there was a large hill on which were planted many vines. Here are pictures of some roads and also views from that hilltop.

We visited all four of Luther’s picks and, although TripAdvsor said they were open…they were not. So, by this time it was lunchtime and since our choice for lunch was ALSO closed I got on google maps and found a few in a town 17 kilometers away. The town was Grosspetersdorf. It had two choices. We decided on the Gasthaus. It was good enough. We sat outside and each had fish.

We stopped at a grocery store and bought some meat for our picnic this evening, and then we went to a winery we had visited that morning which showed they were open after two. It was a nice place. Luther bought nine bottles. We will take them back to Portschach to enjoy. We may be able to squeeze in some bottles when we return to Umbertide but the Porsche is pretty packed so can’t bring many.

Sunday. Another overcast day. We had a lazy morning and Luther researched places to eat. He found Restaurate Ratschen. It is an interesting enterprise with spa and sauna and 24 small cabins 24 square meters each arranged in a circle around a common area where they serve breakfast. I would have stayed there had I ever heard of it. Anyway, the restaurant was lovely. it was situated up on a hill with great views. Lots of glass ad wood.

The people were very nice. Lots of young people and an apprentice who was very young and eager to learn and the owner/manager was super kind to him and seemed happy to have him for 3 months. Our meal was very nice and the Austrian wines were spectacular. I had a appetizer of watermelon with cheese. it tasted more like tomato than watermelon and the cheese was imperceptible. It was still good if not as expected. Luther had beef tartar. We both had trout for an entree.

We decided to forgo dessert and have an after lunch drink. I got a sweet local wine which was much like port which I really liked – it was very creamy. Luther got Schnapps.

Tomorrow we return to Portschach. We will leave early-ish and drive straight through. It was a nice visit but I doubt I will return. It is so quiet here.

Random Observations
* Very little is old here except some of the farmsteads. Most of the cities were bombed in the war so they are rebuilt. Things were damaged in Italy, but not like here.
* The towns, except for the biggest ones, have no services at all. No stores or shops or restaurants. They are only residential towns with homes shuttered from the street so it is all very stark and empty. Uninviting.
* After Italy, this place is irritatingly tidy. 😁 Will it be hard to go back to messy, untidy Italy…nah!
* There are more bells in Austria than Italy.
* Both apartments have an abundant selection of egg cups of all things!
* Maybe not so surprising is that the glassware in both apartments is high quality crystal. Austria is known for its crystal. I have an entire set I bought years ago in Vienna. It was a gift from my Mom and Dad.

Weekend trip to Graz Austria

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Graz is only two hours from Portschach and we had never been. So we decided to take a weekend trip there. It is the second largest city in Austria. We stayed in the Schlossberghotel. Just at the north end of the old town. The building dates from the 1500s and was originally an artisan wood workshop for the aristocracy. Now a boutique hotel known as the art hotel. The owner has commissioned over 100 works of art specifically for places in the hotel. Our room has several. Here are a couple hotel pics.

Gift on arrival
I got a suite. it is the biggest room we ever had. But not expensive.

After we arrived we checked in and went for a walk. We stopped for a glass of wine in a plaza near us but it was also home to the amazing staircase up the Schlossberg to the clock tower and where the castle used to be. There is a lift and a funicular if you don’t want to do the stairs.

We decided on a place for dinner. Schmidhofer im Palais. We had a nice time. We enjoyed the ambiance. Not fancy. Good people watching. I had fried burrata with tomatoes and watermelon and branzino.

Schnaps

We woke to pouring rain. it was predicted. But it was a deluge. We had breakfast and stayed in for a while. We finally donned our raincoats and went down the street to the Graz museum. Mostly history of Graz but a special exposition had some art too. It was interesting. Graz was bombed during the war by the Americans. 30% of the city was destroyed. I delved into it a bit and found that Austria is a neutral nation. The Russians liberated them and in order for them to remain independent they agreed to that. They are not members of NATO.

Rainy morning

After the museum it had cleared so we went for a walk to check out the Murinsel. Built in 2003 in conjunction with the European Capital of Culture celebrations. They have an outdoor arena where they screen movies.

Then we walked into the altstadt where we explored a shopping street and visited the main square. There were some exquisitely decorated and painted buildings. The sun had come out and so had the people.

Door to an old bakery
Decorated buildings

Time for lunch! Luther chose Steirisches Wirtshaus, a very traditional restaurant. There was a great outside garten but it was very wet so we stayed in the outside, undercover area. I had forelle, which is trout served whole. One of my favourites. So good.

This concludes my trip report on our short trip to Graz. I really liked the city. Tomorrow we head back to Portschach. Our home away from home. Our house sitter sent us pictures of what we are missing. I miei pomodori.

Back to Portschach tomorrow. Ciao for now!

The excellent adventure begins…

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Well, here we go! We have embarked on our excellent adventure. We left pretty early on Friday and the google person said it would be a 6.5 hour drive. It ended up being more than that because of what looked like the removal of a burned out truck. It sure slowed us down. This was in Bologna. The traffic there is always bad. Then we continued north, passing Ferrara (one of my favourite towns) and Padua. Then Venice and finally Udine. The alps were now visible ahead, the traffic sparse and the air clean. ahhhh.

We checked into the Werzer Strand Casino. It is apartments that are part of a hotel. Despite the name it is not a Casino. We have a one bedroom apartment with a nice terrace right on the lawn that slopes down to the lake.

There was a mishap in the underground garage. Luther scraped the Porsche against an Audi parked in the spot next to us. He met the owner and they have worked out an agreement without getting the police involved. I felt sorry for the German guy who was just trying to enjoy his Urlaub in Austria. In fact he lives in Aschaffenburg very close to where we once lived. Cars can be repaired so no real harm done.

We had stopped for groceries before we checked in so I got us all unpacked and by then it was near dinner time. So we went to the closest place which abutted the property we were on. It was a beach restaurant called Werzer’s Boothaus Café. It was right on the lake next to the boat landing. We sat outside and watched the world go by. A family came up to the dock in a beautiful solid wood oversized rowboat with electric motor. it had a nice table aboard.

Here are views of the lake. It is just north of the the Alps so some mountain views too.

I can’t say the dinner was amazing. I did like my appetizer. It was sliced beets with feta and grilled octopus. A nice combination.

Since Austria is still very old fashioned and nothing will be open on Sunday we went looking for a wine store and a farmers market on Saturday morning. We were successful on both fronts. The wine store was amazing! It had so many Austrian wines which are among my favourite wines. We bought a lot. They also had more spices than I have ever seen. Maybe more than Penzeys!

Then we navigated over to the farmers market which turned out to be very nice. Not huge but nicely varied. There were two vegetable stands, a couple selling fresh and cured meats, at least 3 cheese stands and a wine stand. I bought some pork chops for dinner and we bought cheeses and meats for our lunch. It is open on Saturday and Wednesday mornings. Excellent find.

It was a laid back day. We enjoyed the nice weather and watching all the activity on the lake from our terrace. I cooked the pork chops which were good. We ate them with fresh tomatoes which are quite nice and new potatoes. Ciao from Österreich. Until next time…

Luther’s birthday

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We are still dealing with heat but we did have some people over lately. Our friend Karen from Toronto came for lunch Wednesday. It was great to see her, and then Thursday our newest friends Don and Sarah came for aperitivo. The terrace has a decent breeze most of the time.

Saturday was a busy day. I had books for dogs at eleven. But I needed to go earlier to get tomatoes and also to take pictures of the biggest field of sunflowers (girasole) I have ever seen. But even more important was to leave in time to get home and change clothes because I was taking Luther out for a birthday lunch.

Not the best pictures but you get the idea. It was very hot today. It is high summer in Umbria.

I drove to a place to park but had a ways to walk. Then the market had been moved out of the piazza because of a basketball event with a court set up there. So I walked to find the vendors. I did finally find them and bought a few tomatoes and then headed back up into Centro. I stopped into Bar Mary for a bottle of water and then sat out at the tables until my shift. But by this time I was sweating copiously. 😳 I worked my shift and I left a bit early to go home and try to make myself presentable for a fancy lunch.

When I got back to the car the car thermometer said it was 40C. That’s about 105F. When I got home and walked up the 61 steps to our apartment (did I mention our elevator died?) I was dripping. I got in a cold shower. That helped some. I put on my new linen dress and got all ready but my hair was still very wet, from sweat. Is this TMI? If it is, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to paint a picture of living in this heat. Anyway. Off we went to our Birthday celebration pranzo.

Luther had always wanted to go to Reschio. It is the enclave of the rich and famous in this part of Umbria. They say the rooms are €1,500 a night. It is hard to describe. It has evolved over the years we have been here. The first things they did was to sell lots, build houses and restore all the old out buildings and dependencies. Some of these are rented out to families for vacations. They constructed a huge barn and arena and outside horse rink for their equestrian center. They began renovations on the castle and then opened it as a hotel. There is a LOT of money invested in this place. I don’t know who is doing all that investment. A lot of movie stars come and stay here. And many other notable people. It is where Meryl Streep stayed for her birthday party a few years ago.

There are two restaurants. One, in the castle, called Ristorante al Castello, the other, more casual, near the equestrian center called Ristorante alle Scuderie. Only this last one is open for lunch. Here are pictures from their terrace where we dined, and also of the food we had.

Overall we liked it quite a lot for a splurge. The food was good, not great. There were many families there having lunch. The wait staff was very nice. The pacing of the dishes was too fast for me. A little time between the first and second courses would have been better. We had some of the Reschio wines and their own olive oil. Both of these were super. I am glad Luther enjoyed his Birthday.

Here is Rocky, trying to keep cool. He knows how to do it. I also harvested my first big tomato from my plants. I’m glad I got to do this before we left for our summer vacation. My house and cat sitter will be the beneficiary of many others. I do hope there are some left when we come back home in August.

I call him Moby Pomodoro. He got more ripe and I cut him from the vine today. We will have him for dinner. Stare fresche! 🥵

Summer, here we come!

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The weather is picture perfect right now. Quite warm, 31C or 88F today and getting hotter. Our terrace is the perfect extended living space. Last night we inaugurated eating dinner outside, and then watching a movie. 🙂 It was lovely. Luther smoked a cigar but I really think he has decided that cigars are no longer a big part of his life. It is hard for him to transition. But it’s a good thing. Maybe now it will be an every-now-and-then thing rather than an every night thing.

Today is a holiday here. Republic day. The day, in 1946 when they voted that Italy would become a republic. Nothing is open. I had a basket of the kumquats that I harvested from my tree sitting on the counter for a week mocking me to use them. I found a recipe for kumquats and apricot chutney. So today I amused myself making a batch. It’s quite tart and a bit piquant. I think it will go as a relish with many things.

Last Saturday night we had rather an unexpected experience. Goes to show we can still mess thing up after all these years 😁 We used to have a restaurant in town called Locanda Appennino. It had a lovely outside summer terrace which sat right on the city walls. Sadly it closed several years ago. Recently friends told me it was open again under new management.

We had friends visiting in town who own apartments in the countryside and we always try to have a meal together when they come. I made a reservation at this new place for us all. Or at least I thought did. I first called the number on the Internet and ended up with the old owner who said they were closed. But I “knew” they weren’t! So I found another number and called it. I made the reservation and let our friends know.

Saturday we went into the restaurant and looking back on it now, they didn’t seem to have a reservation for us but said if we came back they would open up the terrace for us. So we did that and returned.

The place was a little basic (understatement!). I think it must be a work in progress. The owner and cook were your basic, rather “rough” Umbertidese. But sweet, as all Umbertidese are. They told us what they had. Basically an antipasto assortment, a primi which was tagliatelle with ragu, and a secondi of pork. We had one vegetarian so we asked for a non-meat pasta which they made for us. The wine was red…or white in re-used bottles.

The antipasto was good and varied. We had cheeses, meats, roasted baby onions and radishes on platters to begin. Then a plate of the thinnest sliced eggplant ever (super good), and a plate of bruschetta fegato, (liver). Oddly, no bread. In the end, we all got fed and had a laugh. 😆

At nine o’clock I got a call from the other Locanda Appennino. Yes, there are two. I was so embarrassed that I had reserved a table for six on a Saturday night and then was a no show. I never would do that. I even told him when he asked where we were that we were there now, eating. Until we figured out the confusion.

We are finally enjoying summertime in Umbria ! 💚

Hi folks!

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I decided to put out a quick post. Luther and I both are battling a mean cold. Called a raffraddore in Italian in case you’re interested. We went to the Books for Dogs charity Quiz Night. Fifty people packed into a small room. Superspreader event for sure. I’m glad it wasn’t COVID. We had a lot of fun but I’m not sure that makes up for battling this cough. We did come in second however…😉

Anyway last weekend was Pasqua, Easter. A Big Deal in Italy, and we kind of missed the whole thing this year. We had reservations with friends to go to Pasquetta lunch, little Easter, Easter Monday. But we had to cancel.

Sadly, we lost our beloved Papa Francesco on Monday. We will all miss him. The funeral and then the conclave to elect the next Pope will come next. I will be interested to watch it all.

The weekend before Easter, Palm Sunday we did go out for pranzo. All around Umbria they hand out olive branches rather than palm fronds on this day. You could see places everywhere to pick some up. Pranzo was at Ristorante UNE where we had been a number of times in the past…before they were famous… Last year they received a Michelin star. It wasn’t much changed, except for the prices doubled. It used to be €45 per person for a five course fixed price lunch, which was a steal. Now it is €90. But I get it. Thing is, there were only five tables for two for a Sunday lunch. I wonder if it’s because of the prices. Anyway, it was good, I took pictures of course. This first one was on our way up the little road to the village. So green.

Here are some of the courses. I enjoyed the meal but I was full-to-uncomfortable. The next three are just some of the ten different small appetizers we had. Captions under the photo if I recall what it is 🙂

Snails on a skewer with cauliflower
This was my favorite of the appetizers. Filled with porchetta with a cheesy dip,
Primi. A carrot flan with black miso, underneath the raw, thinly shaved mushrooms.
I just remember the top thing is rabbit. Those yolks are quail and barely soft boiled so they burst in the mouth.
Dessert. Ice cream stuffed with fruits and chocolate underneath the meringue
Assorted extra desserts…which I couldn’t eat! Too full.

Next week we have planned a trip to Spain. I sure hope we are both better by then! We will fly to Valencia then train to Alicante and then to Madrid. All new places for us. We have a house/cat sitter who arrives from London at the Perugia airport Sunday. That gives us a day to show her the ropes. Of course there will be a trip report! ☺️. Ciao for now.

AWOL!

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So sorry I have been gone a while. I was really hoping to wait for final bathroom pictures. It took longer than expected. But we are close enough for me to post pictures. My statement was the towel rack. I like it. Some might not but it is my little statement.

OK. Tell me what you think. I’m fine if you don’t like my green pop. 😁

Calagrana had a lovely bistro lunch on Wednesday. We asked friends Debbie and Bob to join us. And they invited their Swedish friends to join us. It was a lot of fun. Here is the food.

The meal was excellent as always.

Our weather is going to turn icky after today. Much rain ahead. But that is the way here. Spring we get rain. Dry from May to September. So happy to get the rain now.

Buona domenica a tutti!

Thanksgiving 2024

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We had some wild weather last week with strong winds and rain. After the storms, all of a sudden all of the surrounding mountains changed to gold. I couldn’t get a good picture but this is our Monte Acuto. Doesn’t look so golden in this one but take my word for it, it is!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We had nice weather, we got to see a lot of friends and we ate lots of food!

We were guests of Susan and Gary at a table with nine people. Luther and I treated everyone to the wine. We had four italiani and five americani. We are all old friends. I sat at the end of the table with the Americans who mostly don’t speak great Italian. Me, Roger, Gary. Luther was seated next to Antoinetta. She is mother to our old Geometra, Manuele who did our first renovation here. Manuele’s wife, Barbara came with her mother in law. Then there was Fabio, our most enthusiastic thanksgiving Italian friend. He wonders why we only do this once a year?! And his girlfriend Chiara.

As always, we went to Calagrana. They always have a Thanksgiving lunch every year. The dining room was full. Quite a few British friends also like the feast. Here is the food starting with a plate of four little bites.

Then a gamberi appetizer served chilled.

The main event. A Tom turkey who weighed in at 18 kilograms or about 40 pounds. The entire dining room was fed from this bird. They made a smaller one just in case, but it wasn’t needed.

The turkey was probably the best I have ever had. The entire thing was moist and delicious. There were many sides. A roll of sausage, dressing mashed potatoes, carrots and green beans. I provided the cranberry sauce. I used up my last cranberries on this one.

For dessert we had a delicious, and light, semifreddo.

After dinner we had a delicious coffee with cognac and whipped cream. I didn’t get a picture.

It was a really nice lunch. It was so good to see everyone. I am very Thankful for my life here in Italy and all the blessings we have. I miss family on this holiday where families are the most important part. I hope all of you folks who read this journal had a wonderful day as well.
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Baci e abbracci a tutti! 💕

A trip to the wine country for lunch

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Today was a gorgeous autumn day. Crisp and brilliant sun with blue skies. We had planned another meet-up of the Gang o Six. A longstanding group which enjoys lunch together every so often. We wanted to see each other and have fun and this seemed like the time to do that.

We went to Osteria di Sagrantino at Doug’s suggestions since our first choice was closed for vacation. It turns out it was a great choice. It is just my favorite type of restaurant. Not pretentious at all and straight up, seasonal, good Umbrian food. Nice people. Great local wines. It is set among the famous Sagrantino vineyards which are all flaunting their autumnal colors. They are nearly past their peak but still very pretty.

Here is Osteria di Sagrantino. Nice outside space for summer. Inside cozy and an enoteca with a cheese and sausage display for sale.

My first course was Lonzino with Torta al Testo. I had not heard of Lonzino before. Lonzino is an air cured pork which is very thinly sliced. Not smoked like so much is here. It was served with the traditional flatbread of Umbria, torta al testo. I really enjoyed it.

Doug got the Vellutata di Verdura. It was a pretty puree soup of roasted seasonal vegetables.

For the next course most of us got the Tagliatelle con Funghi Porcini. Also called Cèpes in France, and Steinpilzen in Germany. A seasonal delicacy, the mushrooms are not cultivated but are foraged in the wild. Very meaty and delicious.

I forgot to take a picture of our desserts. They had three and we got one of each to share. A cheesecake with pears poached in sagrantino wine. Tiramisù. And a torta al cioccolato with Amaretto cream. All good.

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Today I had coffee with Joanne who brought our six liters of oil from the olives we helped harvest. Thanks Joanne and Mark!

And kindly Doug was nice to share a liter of his just harvested oil. Thanks Doug! We had some bruschetta with the two new oils. Both were delicious and both were quite different.

The distinctive green of the new oil on the bread. Yes, I took bites before I took the photo!

A la prossima…

Tartufi bianchi!

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Final thoughts on the kitchen. Then I’ll shut up. The only thing I cannot do on the present cooktop is sear food. I am afraid to get it that hot. They said I shouldn’t use my cast iron skillets either. They were my mom’s pans. As a work around I am thinking of buying a one burner portable induction unit for the counter. I can store it in the cabinet. I can get it very hot and use the cast iron on it. This will give me back the capacity to sear and brown food. I will also continue to use my own nice pots and pans. They still work on this cooktop and I see no need to replace them. I just need to start with a lower temperature and then raise it. These adaptations will make this cooktop work.

Induction is a great cooking method. My experience is out of the normal because of the thickness of the counter between the pan and the heat source. This is an unusual design. I still love the look and easy cleanup 🙂
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We went to Calagrana for a rare dinner out. We usually like to eat lunch out, not dinner. But this was a special dinner. White truffles. They are in season now. Umbria is known for it’s truffles. They are abundant. All year round there are truffles, in summer, black truffles, in winter, white truffles. They are expensive but not as expensive as the famous ones from the Piedmonte region up north. Ours are less famous, and slightly less expensive, but taste the same. You’ll notice cooks almost always pair the truffles with a mild flavored food. Favorites are risotto, tagliatelle or eggs.

I forgot to photograph the first course. It was incredible. A poached egg in a Parmesan “cappuccino” with pancetta, croutons and white truffles.

Next was the risotto. Creamy and generously topped with tartufi bianchi shaved right at our table. The aroma of the truffles was intoxicating.

Finally, the secondo was a mouth-wateringly tender veal filet sliced and served with button mushrooms, chestnuts and roasted winter squash (zucca in Italian). Topped, of course, with truffles. I loved this dish but the truffles on it were a waste. The dish had strong flavors which overpowered the truffles. Delizioso, how could it not be?!

Finally, a rare photo of mio marito! Luther, aka Luigi.

Enjoy your week. Our weather is perfetto right now!