Charleston, SC

           Of all the American cities I have visited, Charleston is in the running for number one on my ever-evolving list of favorites. With so many restaurant options to choose from, museums, historic sites and magnificent houses, there is always something here to hold my attention.

We arrived yesterday and began our day at Southern Season, an enormous food emporium with a cooking school and very nice restaurant. In a space about the size of a modern supermarket, the store has sections including coffees and teas, world cheeses, chocolates, sauces, ethnic foods, pottery, cookware, etc, etc. 

The Eataly chain is focused on all things Italian. I think Southern Season is a classy mix of tantalizing treats, with a healthy dose of southern charm thrown in. There are lots of things to taste and the salespeople are mostly like me--middle-aged food lovers who are just happy to be part of something great.

Later, Joe had a meeting, so I checked into our historic hotel, the Mills House, and then set off for the shopping streets around Meeting and King. Last week I was reading Oprah's magazine and saw a great jacket in her Favorite Things setion. While wandering around, I spotted the same jacket in the window of a shop called C. Wonder and just had to buy myself a present. Fabulous cobalt blue barn jacket with a black corduroy collar and elbow patches.

          

Dinner was at Social, a wine bar and restaurant on East Bay Street. The wine by the glass list was extensive and all the entrees are paired with a suggested flight of three wines. Joe loved his pork cheeks dish and my braised lamb over green lentils was excellent.

After dinner, we met Pat and Linda Nestor at the Thoroughbred Lounge at Charleston Place, where I had an Irish coffee and enjoyed the pianist with the Michael Bolton hair. The Nestors were in Charleston for the night to celebrate Linda's birthday.

This morning, Joe checked out early to get to a meeting and I went down to breakfast and was delighted to find shrimp n grits on the menu. Why not? Yum!

He will be back in town by noon so we can have lunch together, then we head to the airport and back home to Jamestown.

Graduates!!!

Another successful week at Il Sasso! Can't wait to return.

Telma and Luisa all washed up

Hah!! We're just getting started.

Today we drove to the wine mecca Montalcino so Luisa could get a feel for what all the buzz is really about regarding Brunello. We took a nice walk around to get familiar first and found an artisanal producers' market in the lower end of the town where they were selling newly pressed olive oil that had my name on it. Joe specifically asked for chestnut honey, so I found some of that too. Can't disappoint such a nice guy.

So finally it was time to taste Brunello. We went to the Fortezza and were greeted by Tomas, who turned out to be a real gem. I will always ask for him in the future. He was so kind, patient, and when I told him which Brunellos I already liked, he pulled together an excellent assortment that matched my palate, but also reflected the different styles so Luisa could experience the differences. When we were through tasting, we had been introduced to 9 different wines and loved 3 of them. Lucky Joe will get a very nice surprise in a few weeks when the boxes show up at his office.

Later, we went to Bagno Vignoni, because in five trips to Tuscany, Luisa had not yet been there. We had a heck of a time finding a parking place--it was mobbed. The restaurants were full, the spa was full--I had never seen so many people before. But we lucked out on a spot with someone else pulling out, then found the burbling waters and giant bathing pool the Medici family created so many years ago.

We stuck our feet in the warm stream and sat awhile thinking that life was treating us pretty well. Then lucked out again and got the last outdoor table at La Loggiata, where I enjoyed polenta topped with pecorino, radicchio and walnuts with a glass of vermentino. Another very special day.

Prima e dopo

Prima:

Ho comprato tre grande funchi porcini freschi dal fruttivendolo in Montepulciano. Vorrebbe fare un sugo per la pasta con funghi. Mettevo anche le cipolle, un po' di carne ed un pizzico delle spezie.

Dopo:

Il sugo dei funghi e carne, cipolle ed un pizzico delle spezie.

Yum!!

L'arte in Montepulciano

The Piazza Grande, at the top of the hill in Montepulciano, is usually a pretty quiet place, with most of the tourism activity taking place nearer to the bottom of the hill.  The square is usually empty except for a few pigeons, but this week, the town is full of art. These sculptures are just so full of life and energy, Luisa and I laughed out loud, sharing in the enthusiasm. Two of the pieces were of an overtly sexual nature and we agreed it would be better not to focus on those ones as we might wet our pants giggling. You will just have to use your imagination as I did not take pix of the XXX ones.

This guy was painting the buildings surrounding the piazza with his fingers. He wasn't there when we first arrived on topof the hill, but shortly thereafter, not only was he set up, but he had a pretty good painting in the works. Amazing to see how fast he could get the image on the canvas using paint thickly spread with his hands.

There was also a temporary exhibit of works by De Chirico at the Fortezza, which runs through November.

Then Luisa had to buy ceramics, so we went to see Giovanni and she filled a shipping box with beautiful things. I managed to restrain myself.

We were still full from dinner last night when we woke up this morning so ate very lightly, but were ready to eat by the time school was over for the day. Lunch was at Aquachetta, a very popular spot in Montepulciano where they specialize in large--Fred Flintstone--cuts of meat.

On the list of specials was a coniglio ripiene, which was rabbit stuffed with a sausage made of rabbit meat and put back into the body of the rabbit before tying and roasting. It was delicious and flavored nicely with sage. My vegetable was a very good pumpkin parmigiano, which was slice pumpkin topped with some tomatoes and cheese and roasted until the cheese was browned. I never thought of trying this method with pumpkin before, but it was absolutely delicious!

One weird thing about this place is that they will only give each person one glass for both water and wine and so you must alternate between the two for the duration of the meal. Not knowing the deal, I asked for a wine glass and was refused. The waitress said that having one glass was the way they did it historically and they are maintaining the tradition. 

Return to Gattavecchi

Il Sasso has a relationship with La Cucina di Liliana at Gattavecchi cantina and the restaurant offers cooking classes to incoming language students one night per session. Luisa took the class last year and has been raving about it since, so I decided to give it a go.

Liliana is a warm general, loudly giving orders to her assistants, but following up with a smile. A busy mother of four, she runs a tight ship, expects nothing but perfection and is willing to put her entire self into everything she does. Her passion shows in her food and she is generous with her recipes, sharing all that she knows with her students.

We happily chopped zucchini, rolled pasta and peeled countless chestnuts under her tutelage and the end result was a multi course dinner that began with salumi and cheese with a glass of rosso, continued with platters of zucchini gratinata and a frittura di zucchini with their vernaccia. Next was the tagliatelle made with vino nobile topped with a simple sauce of cherry tomatoes, sage and mozzarella. Then there was the roasted pork loin topped with a chestnut cream sauce, fragrant with rosemary. We started to leave about 10, knowing that we still had a long walk to the car, then a drive home, but were beckoned back with a plate of budino di pecorino--a cheesecake made with sheep's milk cheese. Fantastic!!

Finally, a big round of hugs and thank yous, then Liliana gave each of us a signed bottle of Gattavecchi wine to enjoy later. Just a wonderful night.

Return to Gattavecchi

Il Sasso has a relationship with La Cucina di Liliana at Gattavecchi cantina and the restaurant offers cooking classes to incoming language students one night per session. Luisa took the class last year and has been raving about it since, so I decided to give it a go.

Liliana is a warm general, loudly giving orders to her assistants, but following up with a smile. A busy mother of four, she runs a tight ship, expects nothing but perfection and is willing to put her entire self into everything she does. Her passion shows in her food and she is generous with her recipes, sharing all that she knows with her students.

We happily chopped zucchini, rolled pasta and peeled countless chestnuts under her tutelage and the end result was a multi course dinner that began with salumi and cheese with a glass of rosso, continued with platters of zucchini gratinata and a frittura di zucchini with their vernaccia. Next was the tagliatelle made with vino nobile topped with a simple sauce of cherry tomatoes, sage and mozzarella. Then there was the roasted pork loin topped with a chestnut cream sauce, fragrant with rosemary. We started to leave about 10, knowing that we still had a long walk to the car, then a drive home, but were beckoned back with a plate of budino di pecorino--a cheesecake made with sheep's milk cheese. Fantastic!!

Finally, a big round of hugs and thank yous, then Liliana gave each of us a signed bottle of Gattavecchi wine to enjoy later. Just a wonderful night.