Monterosso al Mare

After a four-hour train ride from Rome, we arrived at one one of the most beautiful places imaginable -- a place where lemons grow as big as grapefruit, and the sounds of violins and the smell of the sea greet you. We were to spend four nights in the Cinque Terre area of Liguria, a stretch of coastline famous for its pesto, focaccia, seafood, and trofie pasta. We definitely wanted to make sure we tried as much of it as possible. Our first two nights were in Monterosso al Mare, and not only was it some of the best food of our entire trip, it was also our favorite village in Cinque Terre. 

Our first taste of Liguria was at a small stand right at the exit of the train station, Il Massimo della Focaccia. What appeared to be so simple actually turned out be extraordinary. I have never even liked focaccia bread. This certainly wasn't the focaccia bread I have been fed in the past. It seems odd that the focaccia in the U.S. is nowhere near the same thing as it is in Italy. I had plenty of it in Italy and, while it varied a little, most of of it was incredible and not at all heavy or bread-like. It is light and airy and has a nice bit of olive oil on it to make it moist and crisp at the same time. This version at Il Massimo almost seemed like it was deep fried, but it was the only one that I had like it. There will be many more focaccia photos in future blog posts. I even tried to make a proper one last night, and it turned out close, but I will try again. The pesto on this was also made in Monterosso, and it was seriously amazing. We washed it all down with a can of Italian beer and headed to the beach. 

We were lucky to stay in a great bed and breakfast that not only served up some focaccia and eggs in the morning, but also pointed us in the right direction of good dinners in the area. Our first night in Monterosso, we dined by the sea at Ristorante Belvedere.

I ordered the stuffed mussels, another signature dish of the area -- mussels cooked and chopped with breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley and lovingly put back together in the shell and bathed in a tomato sauce. I was not even quite sure how they did it. It was phenomenal, and my Italian vocabulary couldn't even find the words to express my gratification.  

Regan ordered an octopus salad. We are huge fans of this cephalopod. She usually prefers it grilled and charred, but this was a nice and light boiled version with tomatoes, olives, and potatoes. Not quite as great as the dish we had in Rome, but still worthy of a molto bene.

The next evening, we visited the restaurant that was right up the street from Belvedere, Il Castello, another outdoor seaside space that had practically the same menu.

The special of the day was branzino (sea bass) marinated in lemons. I definitely had to try that. It turned out to be possibly my favorite dish of the entire trip. It is hard to say (there was a lot of great food), but I am partial to fish, and this was about as good as it gets. I even ate the lemon slices and danced with the plate on my head.

Regan had the most popular dish of Liguria, trofie pasta with pesto. It is popular for good reason. This pasta and pesto combination is what makes life worth living. It's a good thing there are so many stairs and hill in Cinque Terre, because otherwise it would be a village of chubby sloths eating spoonfuls of pesto pasta morning, noon, and night.

We finished off the dinner with Regan's most hated dessert -- the absolutetely dreadful tiramisu! How someone hates such a fine treat I will never understand. Since we were in Italy, I thought I could persuade her to enjoy it and maybe she would love it. I am not much of a sweets lover, but when placed in front of me, I have a hard time resisting. This tiramisu did not convert Regan, but I think she enjoyed it, and if she didn't, now I know what to order if I don't feel like sharing!

We returned to Monterosso for lunch the day after we left for another village. The restaurant (Trattoria da Oscar) that supposedly has some of the best pesto and trofie pasta in Monterosso had been closed the night before. I wanted to try the pesto, but it was so hot and we just needed something light in the midday sun. We shared a plate of tuna carpaccio that came with a bag of crusty bread that could have fed a small tribe. This was so delicious and a perfect ending to our days in Monterosso: red onion, tomato, olive oil, and some excellent paper thin tuna, very similar to cold smoked salmon, but without the excessive salt.

The next couple days we stayed in Riomaggiore and had more focaccia, more pasta, and more fish. Don't worry, we also had barrels of gelato on the trip, which we practically indulged in everyday! I will save all of those for its own blog. Ciao for now!