Uliassi, June 2014

cool nautical mosaics are part of the signage of the renowned Uliassi restaurant

We discovered Uliassi by chance in the summer of 2008 I believe. 

I heard that Senigallia was one of the nicest beaches on the Adriatic coast, so we went with no plans and fell upon the world of Uliassi. 

view of the deck from our table

It was an gastronomic experience I will never forget.

This blog post documents my 4^th visit, which was very special.  Mostly because it was shared with family and friends and it was a beautiful summer day.

northern exposure natural sky lighting 

Catia Uliassi, the maître d’ was as gracious as ever, completing the ambiance of the restaurant.

The atmosphere is composed of a light filled dining room decorated in clean white furnishings and full of fresh Adriatic sea breeze.

ever so retro yellow granite tiles

decor details

We wanted to sit outside, but it was just too windy that day. 

Catia Uliassi

Catia suggested that we dine indoors or else we would have sand on our plates.

We started off with some Champagne and all ordered the complete tasting menu’s. 

Since Graziano and I have been there before we ordered the Uliassi Lab menu, while my uncle, aunt and Robin went for The CLASSIC menu.
Here’s the photos of our amazing lunch.
All the photo titles in CAPS are the actual description from the menu.

artistic wine menu

a new Champage experience, 

which was refreshing

mis en place

Deb pulled out her glasses to dissect the
SHELLFISH & AROMATIC HERBS
from an ALBANELLA JAR 

Graziano and I both agreed that the best plate on the LAB menu was this
RAW AMBERJACK "A LA PUTTANESCA" fantastico!

pure Verdicchio

part of Graziano's "GAME" from the LAB menu

RED SHRIMP, LAB menu

RIMINI FEST SKEWER

ALBANELLA JAR presentation

Ralph about to devour his
SMOKED SPAGHETTI, CLAMS &
GRILLED CHERRY TOMATOES

CUTTLEFISH TAGLIATELLA WITH
NORI SEAWEED PESTO
AND FRIED QUINOA 

"DRUNK" ANCONETANA'S 

MANTIS SHRIMPS with 3 sauces

the gentlemen conversing

I called this an oyster infused butter,
but I never got to ask what it really was,
never the less it was great, like a taste of the sea

 roasted Monkfish I believe

our first Verdicchio, which was a little too mature 

for the start of the lunch, really nice though

inspecting the bird's head 

which was part of the 
GAME of the "LAB Menu"

couldn't go without the local frog's legs and snails!
Kind of Frenchy I would say. Yes, I did eat it

outside on the deck for desert

desert, CARROT WATER ICE,
ORANGE & LEMON

TIRAMI...SU

last but not least, my desert...BUFFALO CHEESE ICE CREAM 

AND IDROMELE MERENGUE complete with edible flowers

atmosphere on the outside

the Italian colored fishing nets on the coast of Senigallia

piccolo pasticieria

my perfectly cooked al dente
FUSILLONI PASTA, SEA URCHINS, CHICORY & SORREL
sea version of the Uliassi LAB menu

our second bottle of Verdicchio perfectly chilled

POTATO PUREE,ROASTED EEL,
ROOTS & BLACK TRUFFLE

the coolest little expanding warm washcloths for cleaning your hands
after the SHELLFISH dissecting.
Girls do I need to say what these look like?

The Uliassi Signature Foie Gras Wafer is one of the many reasons why I keep returning to this restaurant

the complimentary aperitif, a delicate Kir Royal
with mio amore foie gras wafer & friends

Uliassi lounge deck

Osteria Dodici Rondini, April 2014

Whenever we just want to relax and have a great dinner out with no stress we go to Dodici Rondini

(12 Swallows) in Foligno.

The subtitle of Dodici Rondini is MANGIARE BERE PENSARE, gotta love it!

A simple with an attention to atmosphere restaurant, where I am sure to always have a home-cooked style dinner and enjoy the wine, music and local scene.

Damiano, the owner of Dodici Rondini is really passionate about wine and good local food.

In fact we often find ourselves at the same wine events (trade shows) tasting new wines for our venues.

Graziano's Chianina Burger

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chianina

mis en place

Outside from the newly restored Piazza

Damiano, Proprietor & wine aficionado

While we don’t always have the same taste in wines, one thing we do have in common is that we like things to be as natural as possible.  

Let’s just say he likes the more “rustic” or rough around the edges, stinky wines, while I like the more pleasing on the nose and softer styles.

But this is what makes each wine list and establishment unique right?

cute label, but...

fresh seasonal artichokes

one of my favorite things is

Pane Burro & Alici 

(bread, butter,French, salted from Normandy & Spanish anchovies)

interesting ceramics with even more interesting toppings

sgombro on its own plate!

the musicians

late night local entertainment

for more info                                       http://www.osteriadodicirondini.it

La Fiorentina

Da Muzzicone, Castiglion Fiorentino, Arezzo

Just came across these photo's from May 2013 and thought that it was necessary to dedicate post to La Fiorentina (Tuscan Porterhouse T-Bone Steak)

If the restaurant is a serious place the waiter will come show you the cut of meat
and ask for your approval, and if it's big enough...and it always is!

A couple times a year I get this incredible craving for a great steak. 

Living in the landlocked region of Umbria the specialty is pork, but in Tuscany the specialty is cow, and what a cow it is…or was.

Graziano introduced me to La Fiorentina (Florentine t-bone steak) in about 2006 and ever since then it has been worked into my diet a couple times a year.  I love to make a day of it and drive out to Tuscany for lunch, never on a Friday though, Friday is for fish.

a little antipasti plate

One of the first places I believe that I ever ate La Fiorentina was at a classic restaurant in Castiglion Fiorentino called Da Muzzicone.  

hot spot

On Sunday afternoons it’s packed with happy Italian families enjoying a wonderful lunch at huge long tables filled with tons of food and the pink Fiorentina.

In Tuscany the Fiorentina usually comes from the beautiful white Chianina cow.  It’s cooked on a wood or charcoal burning grill until rare served immediately. 

our steaks in grilling line up

The traditional Fiorentina is served quite rare and I love it!  The meat when good is aged to perfection, and there is no blood on the plate.  The best t-bones come with the filet, which is the smaller part of meat on one side of the t-bone. 

grilled to perfection!

The usual condiment is coarse sea salt and extra virgin olive oil and sometimes some rosemary. 

this Morellino was quite good

everyone was so inspired, and the kids were still hungry
so we ordered a tagliata al rosmarino e pepe verde

My favorite wine pairing is a serious Chianti Classico Riserva or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Brunello’s good too, but I prefer an easy drinking wine with this plate.

our table

On this occasion we brought our friends from Virginia who were living in Umbria. 

desert, cantucci & vin santo

They really enjoyed it and so did we.  Great meal, great company, great memories.