superlatives

before beginning ihoc i had never read a blog in my life.  and even after i began chronicling my story, i still avoided reading other blogs for fear that being influenced by others’ ideas would somehow make mine less original or unique.  but now, a year and a half after sharing my days with you, i have certainly read my fair share of others’ blogs, mostly food related, and have developed preferences.  one thing that always bothers me about food writing is the tendency towards superlatives.  how can every single dish and every single bite be pure poetry?  i just get easily bored reading about people’s dinners, and how magical and sumptuous they always are.  i know, pot calling the kettle black.

and so with that out of the way, i bring you the BEST lunch, at our new FAVORITE restaurant in the whole WORLD: osteria cassia vetus. 

the recommendation came from madame ulla, our gracious hostess at locanda casanuova, pictured below.  yet another stunning agriturismo perched on a hill overlooking heaven.  they grow and produce all organic olive oil and wine, and it was our home for the last three days.

a windy mountain drive in our sweet ass rental fiat landed us at the edge of a cliff on the wrong side of a river.  a thirty minute correction landed us at the osteria.  the first level hosts what, in my personal opinion, any top notch restaurant should have:  an artisanal, organic, exquisitely sourced gelateria whose owner takes his product so seriously that he invented a registered trademarked honey just to sweeten it exactly right.  the sweetener is completely natural, unlike the industrial sugar used in most “natural” gelatos, and it is only found in this one spot in the whole world.  yep.
our server, giancarlo, was electrifying.  his knowledge of ingredients and sources was unmatched so far on our trip (describing how our black cabbage crostini will be better next month as the cool air sweetens the leaves), and his kindness and sense of humor was as memorable as the food.  humor, a necessary component for all good times, can also be seen in the un americano a roma poster hanging in the corner.

the food was almost too good. the wine—biodynamic and local—cost seven euros, and after asking giancarlo to pose for a picture with me, he gifted us a bottle for the road.

and the gelato.  two scoops for me, per usual.  first scoop—my barometer for all gelaterias—pistachio.  of course, crafted from only the highest quality sicilian pistachios.  scoop the second—on giancarlo’s welcomed insistence—was a flavor only available for this exact twenty day window each year.  the last throws of their backyard fig tree, cooked three separate times in the oven and turned into a creamy frozen bliss pile.  pictured below is actually what’s left of her dairy free chocolate (which i too finished) as my dairy rich gelato was gone bruce lee fast—too fast for film.  

so what more can i say?  the best lunch, with the best server, at the best restaurant, in the best country, in the (known to me) world.  if it’s even possible to put a cherry on top of this lunch, giancarlo introduced me to a wonderful word that i believe will be the future name of our farm’s restaurant.  he was telling a story, and referred to his orto.  a kitchen vegetable garden.  small.  intimate.  personal.  for the home only.