Osteria L'Angolo Nascosto, San Pieto in Cerro

This place, recommended by the Locanda as good and the only place to eat that was reasonably close, was, indeed, a nice Osteria.  The family was very welcoming and, despite not speaking a bit of English, helped me navigate a delicious meal.

Ambiance was very homey and the other diners, all local families, seemed very comfortable here.  My wine tonight would be a local wine, a Terre della Tosa, Burris Io Superiore, La Tosa 2010.  The wine was a blend of 61% Barbera and 39% Bondarda.  It was a crisp red wine and, surprisingly, matched my meal, which was mostly the house specialty of fish.

After a few false starts I convinced the owner that I would like for the Chef, whom he later brought out to introduce to me, to prepare for me the dishes he thought would be best this evening.  I was hoping for the freshest ingredients.  The meal was good, if not particularly fresh, so my strategy worked, in part.

My Antipasti was a large plate filled with fried oysters and clams, steamed shrimp and calamari, and pan-fried river fish (the fresh part).  All were nicely done and tender.  The best was the calamari on a bed of fried potatoes…this was very nicely spiced and very tasty…the firm calamari with the slightly spicy potatoes made for an excellent taste and texture blend.

My “Primi” was very nicely done spaghetti with white fish, eggplant…the pasta was nicely done, the fish was tender and the eggplant was firm making the combination very tasty.  The cheese was the local “Granna” and was excellent.

My “Secondi” was a very nicely cooked and spiced Sea Bream, a fish which appears to be a trout but whose meat is not quite so sweet. 

The cheese serving was, again, Granna but this time with Colerobi, which was supplemented with an excellent Gorgonzola.  With this I had an espresso and rested, watching the other tables enjoy their dinner.  I love listening to the melodic tones of the Italian speech.