Sapore 2010: Italian Sideways - Part 14
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Day 14, Saturday, February 27
We sleep badly, sneezing and coughing and wake up in the morning both with a bad cold and sore throats. We call the hotel owner and let her know that we'll be moving out as soon as someone can come by to let us pay the bill. Before checking out however, we have time to go out for a breakfast of espresso for me and latte with double coffee and a pastry for Brigit, which we have sitting outside a small cafe warming in the sun.
Hotel Moderno, Sant'Antioco
Later we drive to Sant'Antioco and check in to the Hotel Moderno, owned and run by chef Achille Pinna, whom I had met a little over a month earlier at the Fancy Food Winter, in San Francisco, California. We set up in a very pleasant, recently renovated room, with a perfectly working heating system which we crank up to 28°C. (82.4°F.)before going out again to check out the town and end up having a light lunch at a cafe facing the small port. I order a deliciously satisfying hors d'oeuvre of fresh, skillfully presented raw artichoke and bottarga and a glass of Terre Fenice, the Vermentino di Sardegna DOC bottled by the local winery, Sardus Pater, while Brigit orders a small portion of Spaghetti allo Scoglio (Seafood Spaghetti) and sparkling water.
Brigit by a windy beach outside the town of Sant'Antioco, Sardinia
We walk back to the hotel where we refresh, dress with warmer clothes and take a ride around the small island of Sant'Antioco looking for nuraghi, the ancient, round, tower-like buildings which dot Sardinia. We don't have any luck, so we return to the hotel where we lay down a bit in our well heated room to read and try to kick off the cold. Achille, the owner chef of the hotel, tonight opens the restaurant, which is closed for the season, for a special sushi dinner, however we feel so pitiful that we don't feel like waiting for aperitif until 8:30 and then sit down for a long dinner with local partying folks. The idea actually attracts us very much, but it would be fair to the other guests to sit down with them and sneeze all over the place.
Instead we go for an early dinner (7:30) at Il Cantuccio (The Little Corner) restaurant, which is located on the second floor of a nearby building. Since the restaurant has just opened and people tend to dine later, we are again the only guests and choose the best table in the warmest corner of the not so little, despite the name, dining room.
As we sit down the owner brings us a basket of Pane del Sole (Bread of the Sun), known also as Pergamena da Musica (Parchment Music Sheet), a local flat bread even thinner than the better known Pane Carasau, as well as sliced home made bread with excellent Sardinian extra virgin olive oil. To start we order a Pinzimonio to share, consisting of fresh slices of fennel, Belgian endive, tomatoes and radishes, which we dip in the flavorful oil enriched with salt and balsamic vinegar.
Brigit orders Spaghetti alle Vongole (Spaghetti with Clams, she loves spaghetti with any type of seafood), and I order a Saragossa alla Griglia (Grilled Saragossa, a local type of sea fish) which the restaurant owner cleans for me before serving it. We share a bottle of 2008 Cala Silente (Silent Bay) Vermentino di Sardegna DOC from the Cantina di Santadi winery. As we walk back to the hotel we still sneeze and blow our noses every so often, but we feel very satisfied by the lovely, almost intimate dinner.
<< Previous • 14 of 20 • Next >>
- Our Own Sideways: Index
- Piω Gusto 2009 Sideways Six Parts December 2009
- Island Sideways 2009 Five parts October 2009
- Vinitaly 09 Sideways - Four parts April 2009
- Arezzo Wine Sideways 2009 - Four parts March 2009
- Birthday Sideways 2008: Lake Tahoe & Yosemite Park - Five parts October 2008
- Vinitaly Sideways 2008 - Four parts April 2008
- European Sideways 2008 - Ten parts February 2008
- Iowa Sideways: A Quest for Wine in the Midwest - Two parts November 2007
- Southwestern Sideways: A Quest for Western US Wine Not From California - Ten parts October 2007
- Lonesome European Sideways - Sixteen parts March 2007
- Partially Aborted Sideways - Five parts October 2006
- Italian Sideways 2006 - Nineteen parts April 2006
- Our Own 'Sideways' Trip - Four parts October 2005
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