How to combine love of food and wine, Italy, ancient Greek ruins and travel into one adventure?   Spend a month in Sicily!  So that is what we decided to do… left for Rome on Sept. 18th and then on to Sicily, arriving in Catania.  We headed up to Taormina by bus to stay in a lovely hotel, Taodomus Hotel right in the heart of the town on the main street.  The location was excellent and the breakfast was cooked to order every morning along with croissants, homemade pastries, cakes and muffins… fresh fruit and juices, cold cuts and delicious cappuccinos… one of my goals was to sample espresso and cappuccinos everywhere to see if ours at Noah’s is comparable… sometimes yes, sometimes no…. so far.

We decided to have one really upscale, “nice” read expensive dinner while in Taormina and chose La Giara restaurant.  The view from the outdoor terrace was magnificant !  I tried the squid appetizer with sea urchin sauce… the squid was steamed and then peeled in thin strips like a cucumber it was really delicious and light, the sauce was rich and creamy and a bit sweet.  We ordered a typical white wine of the region but it was very dry and mineraly and not notable… John ordered the sardine pasta dish but was disappointed for the second time…  the the food was good, the view was fantastic, the service was good but a little stuffy and we decided to stick with more “family” type trattorias.

One afternoon we stopped for a snack at Bar Capriccio on the Corso Umberto and had the BEST filled to order cannoli we have ever tasted!!!  I swooned.   Another fun stop was for an apertif on the steps (the restaurant was inside) with little tables and seats near the Piazza IX Aprille.  The “snacks” they brought out with our drinks were so plentiful and delicious, we skipped dinner that night….we were quickly learning we could NOT eat a big lunch and then have dinner as it was just too much food… and then learned later, most Sicilians share meals and order “uno per due”.

In the Madonie Mountains at Masseria Susafa, the food was delicious and so was the wine !!!  It was the end of the season, so between ourselves and a lovely German couple we met, Kerstin and Carlston… we finished up their supply of Consumano Noa, a tasty Cabernet Sauvignon; Nero D’avola; Merlot blend recommended by Parkerwine….unfortunately we only ate one dinner there because we had a huge lunch in Petrolia Soprano at a little Trattoria… the special of the day was a pasta very like Bologanse, then a platter of grilled pork, lamb and beef with boiled potatoes….a half liter of house wine, bottle of  salad, bread, a couple of espressos, a pistacho cake like dessert and a grappa…. I had a stomach ache that night from just too much food!!!  and learned a lesson…. stop eating so much!!

In Cefalu our most memorable meal came from the local market… just a little family store where one can buy bread, wine, delicious Mortadella, Salami, Proscuitto, cheeses, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and take it all back to eat on your little balcony table over looking the main street, while you people watch….. we will always remember that meal as one of our best and most fun…. if only the cafe across the street had delivered 2 espressos up our 42 steps!!

Once we arrived in Monreale we knew we could hardly ever go wrong ordering the local house wine by the half liter, which is what we usually do… though we do like the Nero d’Avola /Cabernet blends and for the white wines I do love the Insoldias sp?  .  We have found a few good pizzas with thin, crispy crusts and not too much heavy cheese, but in general we find the sauces heavy and the crust thick and bready.  Eggplant is used here 26 different ways…. and Pasta alla Norman is a heavy red tomato sauce with eggplant… once is enough for me, and I love eggplant.  John will expound here on the red sauces….

In Erice we found a room with a view to die for and a huge private terrace, so once again we had a picnic on our terrace from the local market….La Pineta Hotel was just fabulous and the cappuccinos here were great too!   In the little town we ate dinner at Monte San Guiliano and I had a pasta with shrimp, olive oil, and zucchini, it was really delicious.

Today, October 10 we are in Piazza Amerina and about 3 kilometers from the Villa is a Trattoria called La Routa… delicious lunch… one of our best!!  The local house wine… we usually order the red… large fresh mixed salads…. they ALL have raddichio in them.. tomatoes and romaine lettuce.  Then we again shared uno pour due.. the braised rabbit with olives, capers and olive oil… delicious!!!!

May 20th, 2006

I’m posting details of our Argentina trip with the most recent events first.

I received a link from a friend that gives a rather humorous introduction to travel and dining in Argentina that resonates with some of our experiences.Check it out for a good laugh: Argentina on Two Steaks a Day

April 3rd Mon.

Notes from Debbie:

It has been almost three weeks since we returned. We are slowly catching up and getting ready for our busy Spring/Summer season. John has been busy researching and testing new fish recipes. Asparagus season is upon us. Ane we will be serving a new Argentinean inspired Hearts of Palm Salad.

Meanwhile, I have been planting flowers on the deck so we will have them for our vases and outside planters. Carissa is sanding and varnishing our tables and booths. We also have some new runners for the booths and are doing a makeover of the restrooms.

Trow Cottrell is in charge of hanging our next Art Show. As some of you know, M. Thomas, a Stonington fixture for many years, passed away. She had been in charge of Noah’s Art for 25 years.

March 18th Sat.

Debbie’s notes from Hotel Porteros de los Funes:

Well, here we are on the last leg of our journey. We left our B&B this morning at 9:30am and arrived here in the foothills of San Luis around 1pm. This is a lakeside hotel and resort. When we drove up to it,we looked at each other, laughed and said, “Holy Smokes!” All the rooms overlook the lake and mountains to our Northwest, and we are in the Brazil Suite. John has his tripod on the balcony hoping to see and photogragh the Southern Cross, if we can find it. He figured out how to hook up to the internet directly from our room, clever man. When we arrived, we were hungry, so went to the dining room, also overlooking the decks, pool and lake. We had an incredible arrugula and sun-dried tomato salad with a Parmesean-like cheese with a bottle of La Linda Voigner, which was perfect with the salad. But by the time our entrees of: pasta, (for me) ,with basil and almond butter and for John, you guessed…more beef.. came, we needed more wine so ordered a bottle of Rutini 2002 Malbec/Cabernet blend. Wow,( I just took a taste so I could remember it ). It is gutsy, dry, nice balance in the fruit, and a little tannin. This is our first Rutini and we seem to be leaning more towards the blends now, at the end of our trip. I am looking forward to our dinner around 11pm or so, because I saw Trout on the menu and I am longing for some fresh fish. We have decided to stay here for two nights and then on Monday make the very long drive to the airport, or close to it, in BA.

March 12-16 Photos

Hi Res Photo of Aconcagua Only for high speed internet.

March 16th From John : We are enjoying a few peaceful days here at the just 6 month old B&B, Lares de Chacras . The tranquility has been an opportunity to reflect on the politics and current events in South America. I know I am straying from our food related mission but there are reasons why a two pound Porterhouse steak costs $7.00 in a restaurant here. Two articles resonate with my experiences. If you are interested check them out: Latin America’s Leftist Shift: Hopes and Challenges and the book: Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Pro and Con.

March 14th From Debbie and John:

We left Mendoza three days ago on a quest to get as close as possible to Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas. Our trip into the highest part of the Andes took us on Route 7 all the way to the Chilean border. The mountain desert scenery along the road was spectacular. We arrived late Sunday afternoon at Cerro Aconcagua. We climbed up a few hundred feet and John took some photos in the late afternoon light. The sun sets here at about 8:15pm. We stayed at some nice, mostly empty hotels since the climbing season is almost over and skiing will not start until it snows. But there was still plenty of great food and wine.

We had grilled Kid and Rib Eye yesterday for lunch, and lots of beer; we were really thirsty after walking around the National Park of Cerro Aconcagua for a couple of hours. The mountain was still a long way from us since we were at 10,000 feet and the mountain top is 22,000. It takes two days with an overnight at a mountain camp to even get to to the spot for the classic photo of the mountain. John will be posting some photos of this incredible mountain and its foothills. Last night we stayed at the Gran Uspallata Hotel, which must have been quite the place in its hay-day. Now it is a little tired, but with lovely grounds… more photos ?

Today, Tuesday, we found by good luck and networking, a lovely B&B called Lares de Chacras in Chacras De Coria, a small town between Mendoza to the north and Lujan de Cuyo to the south. It is in quite an upscale town. Our B&B has very nice rooms, large and modern bathrooms , a pool, hot tub, nice patios, and a beautiful lounge. Breakfast is included and there is internet, in fact tomorrow, they are supposed to have each room hooked up!! We may NEVER leave here.

We had an early light lunch today. John had a perfectly grilled 1/2 chicken and I had a huge sandwich of grilled Lomo (Tenderloin), cheese, ham, fried egg, lettuce and tomato, which I could not finish. We had two liters of beer $1.50 each and a coffee. It cost us $10.00, American.

Of course, after I stated that there is never any pepper on the tables…. the last three restaurants had white pepper shakers…who knows? But once again, my “carry the tissue” hint came in handy! Actually the stereotypes of the first two weeks are starting to wear thin. The last two steaks that John ordered were served very rare. The TBone turned out to be a two pound 2 inch thick Porterhouse for $7.00 American. Porterhouses work well for us because John gets the Strip side and I get the Tenderloin. The Bife de Chorizo John ordered in Uspallata came medium rare and John never even specified how he wanted it cooked. So it is an over simplification to say they always cook the hell out of their meat. Also the meat has been quite tender lately. I must confess that we both have taken a liking to their grass fed beef and the real wood barbecue cooking method. We both love the barbecued Kid. They serve a rack of ribs grilled crispy on the outside with a little lemon squeezed on it.

John Adds:

All this does not bode very well for our quest for recipe and menu ideas for Noah’s. Wood grilled hormone free, ultra fresh, grass fed beef and rack of baby goat is never going to happen in the States. One goal of travel can be to develop respect for other ways of doing things. I don’t think their food can honestly be exported./translated/recreated. We just need to be thankful for our own local specials like the fresh Flounder Michael filets for us daily at Seawell fish market. Amen.

March 11th, A few words from John:

Driving in Argentina has been fun. The primary goal on the road is to move traffic and if you cooperate with them their system really rocks. Fist of all, lanes are merely guidelines. Since the cars are small, three cars can, as needed fit into two lanes. We are driving a VW Gol which is a Golf without the “f”. So a stopped car, blocking a lane, hardly slows traffic since the other cars merely weave themselves into an extra lane. It is sort of like the way they dance the tango. Two people become one on the dance floor. Two cars become one on the road, mystically each taking three quarters of a lane. Secondly, most intersections do not have stop signs or traffic lights. You drive very quickly into the intersection avoiding cross traffic, pedestrians on crosswalks, and motor cyclists. One driver slows his car minimally which cues the other driver to speed his car up and pass first. In this way, the car on the left yields to the car on the right at the last possible instant. Traffic really moves. Thirdly, outside of the cities, on the major roads there isn’t much traffic at all. So a 2 lane highway through the flat straight roads of the Pampas is more like an effective 4 lane since there is so little oncoming traffic. In addition, because trucks have a 50 mph speed limit and cars 80 mph limit; it is possibly to blow by multiple trucks in one fell swoop. But there is a Catch 22 to traffic suddenly occupying both directions of a two lane highway. We almost learned this the hard way in the Andes on route 7, the road to Santiago, Chile. When you make a right hand turn onto a two way highway you look to the left to make sure there is no traffic in your lane. This is common sense. But why look to the right? I only look to the right immediately as I enter the highway. But suppose you turn right and there is an oncoming passing car in your lane? You are dead meat. And finally on the plus side, drivers have no ego problems yielding the right of way as long a traffic moves. Considering the intensity of the driving we have not seen much rude behavior. We did observe a few fingers waved here and there, three 18 wheelers in the ditch, and one of our cab drivers almost squeeze a motorcyclist passing to his right into a just opened parked car door. At the next light the motorcyclist pretty calmly explained to the cab driver that he almost killed him. I personally didn’t think the cyclist would make it.

On our way to Mendoza from Cordoba we crossed some mountains on the Ruta de las Altas Cumbres and had a chance to see and photograph some Condors at the Parque nacianal de la Quebrada del Condorito. I hope we see more.

I also am learning more about the meat. Entrecot was a New York Strip Steak which came once thick and another time butterflied. Bife Chorizo was a Rib Eye or Del Monico.Though by another translation it could mean “Prize Cut Steak” which could be almost any good cut. Lomo is Tenderloin. Metambre is Flank. And Assada Costilla which is best described here:

The heart of the asado is the beef ribs which are cut differently in Argentina than in the United States. In the U.S., beef ribs are often cut into one or two bone sections like pork ribs, but in Argentina our butchers cut across the ribs so that meat forms long ribbons with a little round piece of bone every few inches. Whole Article

Here are some photos.

March 11th, A few words from Debbie: According to our travel “bible,” The Rough Guide to Argentina, we have traveled over 1000km to reach Mendoza. (Side point from me, John. A British traveler sitting in the lobby across from me just made an unsolicited comment that the Rough Guides are the best. He said that they have an excellent guide to Greece.)We arrived yesterday afternoon and after a nearly perfect job of reading our maps and guiding John through the city, we arrived at our hotel of choice, The Aconcagua, named after the mountain which is the highest peak outside the Himalayas. It is a four star hotel,with nice rooms, large pool and terrace, etc etc breakfast and parking included all for about $70.00 a night! You just can’t beat the prices. We were hungry, so set out to find lunch and ended up at a nice outdoor cafe, La Florencia, where we had a “light” lunch : seltzer, a bottle of 2004 Salentein Malbec which was WONDERFUL, nice balance, concentrated up front fruit,and dry; it was a bit pricey at $15.00 but worth it! I (Debbie) convinced John to share the grilled goat. It was so tender and delicious with a flavor similar to lamb but not quite as strong. We also had a salad, and do I love these salads; they put everything in an ensalada mixta completa: fresh beets, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, egg, celery, sprouts, lettuce; each place seems to have some different ingredients but most everywhere there are onions, tomatoes, and fresh beets! Yummy. OH and then coffee and a shared dessert; figs and nuts in a very sweet simple syrup sauce. That folks, is a typical light lunch, otherwise we would have had two entrees and two desserts.

Anyway, I just wanted to add some interesting tidbits of information and observations for those of you who travel or who are amused by these things:

First of all you NEED small coins and bills. You need them for tipping at restaurants, the bellboys, the guys who run up and wash your windshield at the stop lights, for a bottle of water,whatever.. and you can never seem to have enough small denominations :so every time you go through a toll station on the road, GIVE THEM A BIG BILL! They have all the $ 2 pesos!

Next, there is NEVER any pepper on the tables, anywhere. You have to ask for it and then they bring a pepper mill and add the pepper for you… I love pepper, so I am tempted to bring my own pepper shaker along next time.

The women and young girls here are mostly beautiful with very shapely figures. They definitely dress to show off their shapes. They all wear very tight jeans, pants, or capris and NEVER wear shorts in public especially in the cities. Even in their jeans in the 85-90 degree temperatures, they looked “dressed up”. They wear heeled sandals, nice tops, lots of jewelry and dress to be noticed. Too bad they smoke a lot while walking down the streets.

And lastly, every hotel, cabana, etc., no matter how humble, has a bidet in the bathroom… very European. (There are MANY descendants here of Italian and Spanish origin). However, one should always carry tissues, especially when going into public restrooms. I have been in the cleanest, most functional bathrooms, only to discover there is NO toilet paper or hand towels!!

So far, we have been in Buenos Aries, Rosario, Cordoba and now Mendoza. We have tried about nine different Malbecs: Santa Julia 2005, Cuesta Del Madero a blend from San Telmo, which we loved; 2003 Finca Las Moras, 2004 Colon; 2003 Trapiche Coleccion Roble Malbec, loved this one too; La Linda 2004. As for the food, we have had Chicken, Pork, Goat ,Beef, Beef and Beef, Pasta — I wanted to try the kidneys but haven’t yet and I definitely didn’t like the small grilled intestines,but no fish at all (we can have all the great fish we want in Stonington!)I leave it to John to go into more detail if he ever wakes up this am!

I think our plan is to leave tomorrow morning for Uspallata where Seven Years in Tibet was filmed. The scenery is supposed to be breath-taking. We will be able to get a good view of Cerro Aconcagua which is, as I mentioned ,22,840 feet high (Everest is 29,035 and Mt. McKinley 20,320 while Mt Blanc 15,771) and therefore, is the highest peak in both the western and southern hemispheres. So if the day is clear it should be quite awesome sight! We are hoping to find a quiet but nice estancia to stay at for 3-4 days and then we will head back to Buenos Aries for the long plane ride home.

March 8th: It is now 5 days later and we find ourselves at the Windsor Hotel in Cordoba, this hotel is not cozy. Our expansive room with matching windows overlooks a plaza and the facade of a typical neoclassical style church. We have learned a lot in the past days about the food here.

Our best meal was yesterday at a small restaurant in Oliva on highway 9 about 75 Kilometers from Cordoba. We had been driving for about 4 hours from Rosario through the Pampas. The Pampas is sort of like our agricultural Midwest. There is a huge farm machinery show going on at the moment called Feriagro Argentina. Check it out to get a feeling for mega-agriculture here. The exposition grounds seemed to take up a square mile and we passed trucks all day carrying every imaginable type of farm machinery. Anyway back to our best meal at “La Nonna”. It was a reminder that good food takes good product, a good cook, and a good waiter.

March 3rd: Today it has been raining. So we went to the Plaza Palermo Viejo. The “Lonely Planet” guide calls the suburb of Palermo ground zero for innovative cuisine in Buenos Aires. We found a comfortable white leather sofa in a restaurant aptly named Meridian 58 after its longitude. We began with a bottle of 2004 La Linda Malbec from Mendoza. We thought we would just have some wine and watch the rain and the people, but when a great looking dish went by we pounced. It turned out to be Chop Suey, a dish long abused in North America with celery and corn starch. Fortunately the stir fried vegetables and chicken were lightly seasoned by a deft hand with soy sauce, a sprinkling of sesame seeds, and a mound of radish sprouts: simple, light, elegant. An attractive dessert followed, see the photos, along with cappuccino and a San Juan brandy.

Tango Time

I (Debbie) was determined that we had to see The Tango before we left the country! So I convinced John to go to a Tango club where the Portenos go to dance…not a Las Vegas type show, but more like the local Friday night dance club where you get a floor side table for the night, food and drinks, Salsa and Tango lessons all for??? we are still not sure of the price. Oh, let me mention, this all happens after 9pm… that was the beginning of the Salsa lessons. All the men lined up on one side with all the women opposite and we started with 1-2-3. Very Basic…..Anyway, after a while we got the basic step and rhythm down, or at least I did; John proclaims he has two left feet. The Portenos and most Latin and South American peoples LOVE to dance and it is a JOY to watch. This is a serious part of their culture: from little three year olds on the floor (at 11pm) to older couples in their 80’s the floor was always crowded until they put “rock and roll” on, when everyone immediately got off the floor!! One did not have to have a partner either; men searched the crowd for any single woman who looked like she wanted to dance… and they all did, including me.. but the Tango was too complicated for us to attempt the group lesson and it was so crowded, I couldn’t see the instructor, so we just watched. The reason to go to a milonga (Tango Hall) was not to “pick up” someone, IT WAS TO DANCE —mostly the Tango. It was a bit strange to see 70 and 80 year old men asking 20 year old women to dance and we never saw anyone refuse an invitation! Then, there were the couples who REALLY knew all the intricate steps, turns and moves of the Tango. They flowed around the room in a circular pattern; the women following the mens’ lead as they guided them through the steps: if you want to see the real Tango being danced and can’t make it to Argentina, rent Tango Bar! We finally left the club at 2am and people were still coming in… no one but we Americans would be leaving before 6am!