From A to Z

I know my way around a kitchen and I enjoy a good glass of wine from time to time. If quality and fresh ingredients are important to you like they are to me, then Italy is a food and wine paradise. Living in Switzerland, I can get great in season produce for a decent price, but fresh seafood? Fo get a baht it.

Cinque Terre is not only known for seafood but also for its fresh fish, pesto (served over a special pasta called "Trofie") and Foccacia bread. I tried them all in abundance. I wish I could say "I couldn't get enough" but friends, while I like Italian food, I also like variety. By about day 4 of our 6 day stay, I started to seriously crave burgers (with bacon, cheese, avocado, lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup and a extra large side of fries...just so we are clear). I never crave burgers except on trips to Italy...we are talking "rotund Italian men started looking like giant burgers" craving.

The wine...oh the wine. Each restaurant had a house red or white which were not only reasonably priced, but also delish. In addition to all of the house wines we tried, the couple we rented our room from also owned the vineyard you see behind the Boy in the picture below. We tried two of their whites and one of their reds, and they were all incredible. The name of their company is Cheo Azienda Agricola, they do not have a website and produce about 14,000 bottles per year. If you are dying to try out their wine, I guess you will just have to go to Vernazza, rent the same room we did and buy a few bottles direct from the owners:

The Boy and I tried anchovies at almost every restaurant we visited. We did this because we couldn't believe we liked them so much but also to compare how each restaurant prepared these little lovelies. The anchovies served here are of the white variety and very mild in comparison to what you get in the States. I swear each one I placed in my mouth was caught within the past 24 hours. Just so you know, they are too little to be de-boned and you even eat its little tail and probably all its other little things:

So what you are about to see may frighten you, delight you or both:

Once you get past the suckers and the tentacle-y stuff, you are treated to the sweetest, most tender and fresh 8 legged creature ever. I have to admit, it always takes me a little while to get past eating octopus and if it is the least bit chewy, I want to heave...but this dude was smooth as buttah and sweeter than any lobster meat I have ever had.

One word: GELATO. I love the stuff. Don't ask me how it is different from ice cream but I think it contains eggs and ice cream does not. I had a pistachio gelato from the little shop located in the harbor of Vernazza. Folks, it was possibly the best thing I put in my mouth all vacation. If I have any advice for gelato consumption, it would be to go outside of your chocolate or vanilla comfort zone. Try some other varieties...you will be glad you took the risk.

So here is a little story about rules. I am not a food purist and I am definitely not an expert on how to eat Italian food. I just order it and stuff it in my mouth. On our last day, we shared a pasta dish served with scampi (langostines) and asparagus. There were 3 langostines on the plate which are basically tiny lobsters and produce tiny bits of deliciously sweet meat. We knew the seafood portion of our meal would fast be gone so we asked for some Parmesean cheese to give the remainder of our dish a little flavor. Our server proceeded to roll his eyes so violently that I half expected them to drop to the ground, only to be scarfed up by the stray cat that had been patrolling the restaurant that day. While I was fearing a cat would eat his rolled eyes, he proceeded to explain in harsh tones that pasta with seafood is NOT to be eaten with Parmesean cheese. We said we wanted it anyway, he shuffled off while muttering "Jesus H Christ...why is Rick Steves bringing us all these morons?? Why?"

Finally, a little note about service and tipping. Each restaurant charged us a cover charge. I know what you are thinking, we were eating at night clubs and didn't know it. While I do not know exactly what the cover charge is for, I know what we used it for...their tip. If a restaurant is going to charge us a fee to dine there, well then no tip-a-roo. The service was also equivalent to what we experience in Switzerland...there are no "let's all hug and facebook each other" after our meal moments like you get in the States. Service is just a different animal in Europe and we are OK with that, especially considering we tip accordingly (which is sometimes not at all).

We ate and drank our way through Cinque Terre. I have new dimples on my butt to prove it.