Minus one at 10am. Damp and cold and grey. Two years ago today the story of Jonathan, Carmine Superiore's favourite seagull, came to a sad end.
To a tiny gem of a restaurant on Brissago's waterfront, Ristorante Graziella, for lunch.
An interesting starter salad including an orange-based dressing, grape halves and pumpkin seeds made a change from the usual four-leaves-and-an-olive, and the fish was sumptuous, caught as it had been in the Lago di Lugano not long before it was on the plate. The alternative main course was a stroganoff that melted in the mouth and tasted somehow familiar, like home-cooking back home. Pudding choices included - did my eyes deceive me? - apple crumble served with homemade ice-cream that had both Mama and B-in-her-best-dress jumping up and down.
Swiss co-owner Bea Graenicher served with elegance, switching effortlessly from Italian to German to English while scoring ten out of ten for common sense when she produced a bib to protect B's best dress. The mystery of the apple crumble was solved with the news that the powerhouse in the kitchen was English cook and co-owner Barry Kingman.
One small criticism is that the decor is slightly lacking in character, slightly too clean-cut. Think about the eminently forgettable faces of the agents who flank the US president and you'll know what I mean. We could also have done with some music to make our conversation a little less public, and to partially camouflage the chidren's rising rambunctiousness towards the end of the meal.
However...
Our guest, himself a chef of some repute and many, many years experience, tells us that he has been a patron of Ristorante Graziella since it opened seven years ago and has never eaten badly here. And if you care about food more than you care about decor, that's quite a recommendation.
Ristorante Graziella
Lungolago, 6614 Brissago
Tel. 091 780 93 19 : 079 516 35 88
Open daily, closed Wednesday. Saturdays open from 6pm onwards.
Seats only 14, so reservations strongly recommended.
Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Saturday, 3 January 2009
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Two days ago : Orta and Sizzano
To Lago d'Orta and the beautiful borgo vecchio of Orta San Giulio, with its frescoed meeting-house. Amid its stone roofs and medieval alleyways we felt very much at home. And the pretty boats tied up on the hard were perfect for tourist shots.
The inevitable pizza was consumed at Ristorante Venus (get there before midday), with a view of the beautiful island of San Giulio and its 6th-century basilica.
We didn't take the boat across - more pressing matters to attend to, including, for the six children in our charge, gelato at Arte del Gelato, on via Olina (homemade, so they say, delicious whatever).
The important business of the day was, though, cheese- and wine-shopping in the slightly-more-distant Valsesia region. Cheese from the Caseificio Franco Paltrinieri in Prato Sesia : unprepossessing premises right next to the dairy, but magnificent gorgonzola and a toma di Valsesia that will make your mouth water (choose between pasteurised and unpasteurised, old and young).
At Lorenzo Zanetta in Sizzano, we acquired a quantity of their Rosso Colline Novarese, a satisfying bonarda-nebbiolo mix. €1.50 for a litre. No 5-litre containers allowed. We staggered away (and later up the hill) with 95 litres - a stock of table wine to last about 7 months and some for a friend.
We also came home with one cold, one migraine and a case of mild heat exhaustion.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
The great nappy-change mystery
The Lago Maggiore tourist season is in full swing. On every Cannobio street corner, German or Dutch is being spoken. The bouncy castle wobbles with exuberant children. The lake is dotted with the flotsam and jetsam of pedaloes, canoes and novice water-skiers. Families take an evening stroll along the lungolago, and (only) when it's dark, board the Disneyland-style trenino for a quick ride around town, bells ringing, headlights flashing.
Having guests to entertain, we spill out of our mostly silent hilltop citadel to the Albergo-Ristorante-Pizzeria Giardino. The large restaurant is at this time of year crammed with families baying for pizza. Here, you will get one of the best pizzas in town, but without the lungolago view - it's situated on the main drag, and with all the windows open it can get a bit noisy. But the place is great for kids - and for parents. There's a clean baby-changing unit, high-chairs are available and the pizzaiolo is happy to serve half pizzas if you ask nicely.
I like this place for all these reasons. Also, because the Albergo-Ristorante-Pizzeria Giardino is the only place in Cannobio I've found with a baby-changing unit. For the last four years I've grappled with this problem. What do I do when AJ drops a bomb half-way through my shopping trip, or when B makes me a fragrant present while waiting for my hairdressing appointment? I've changed nappies on unisex-toilet floors (yuk), on park benches, on the back seat of the car, and in all seasons. I've done it on scanty bits of grass in car parks, and down on the lawn at the lido. Even the doctor's very smart surgery doesn't have a dedicated baby-changing area, and the overworked receptionist has on occasions been prevailed upon to do something makeshift with a consulting-room couch.
And yet, particularly at this time of year, there are babies everywhere you look.
Do they not do what my babies do? Do other mothers have some secret Super-Mama system for changing nappies hygienically and invisibly without need for facilities? Do they sprout wings and transport themselves and their babies back to their tents, apartments, hotel rooms for a speed-of-light wash and brush-up?
Strikes me there is a marketing opportunity here, Signor Assessore responsible for tourism.
How about a scheme to increase the family-friendly credentials of the various bars and restaurants around town? Those with the features families need (baby-changing unit, children's portions and high chairs) get a nice big colourful 'Family-Friendly' sticker for the window.
Some may even be encouraged to upgrade their facilities. And at the very least, the not-so-super Mamas will know at a glance where to go for pizza and a quick nappy-change...
Having guests to entertain, we spill out of our mostly silent hilltop citadel to the Albergo-Ristorante-Pizzeria Giardino. The large restaurant is at this time of year crammed with families baying for pizza. Here, you will get one of the best pizzas in town, but without the lungolago view - it's situated on the main drag, and with all the windows open it can get a bit noisy. But the place is great for kids - and for parents. There's a clean baby-changing unit, high-chairs are available and the pizzaiolo is happy to serve half pizzas if you ask nicely.
I like this place for all these reasons. Also, because the Albergo-Ristorante-Pizzeria Giardino is the only place in Cannobio I've found with a baby-changing unit. For the last four years I've grappled with this problem. What do I do when AJ drops a bomb half-way through my shopping trip, or when B makes me a fragrant present while waiting for my hairdressing appointment? I've changed nappies on unisex-toilet floors (yuk), on park benches, on the back seat of the car, and in all seasons. I've done it on scanty bits of grass in car parks, and down on the lawn at the lido. Even the doctor's very smart surgery doesn't have a dedicated baby-changing area, and the overworked receptionist has on occasions been prevailed upon to do something makeshift with a consulting-room couch.
And yet, particularly at this time of year, there are babies everywhere you look.
Do they not do what my babies do? Do other mothers have some secret Super-Mama system for changing nappies hygienically and invisibly without need for facilities? Do they sprout wings and transport themselves and their babies back to their tents, apartments, hotel rooms for a speed-of-light wash and brush-up?
Strikes me there is a marketing opportunity here, Signor Assessore responsible for tourism.
How about a scheme to increase the family-friendly credentials of the various bars and restaurants around town? Those with the features families need (baby-changing unit, children's portions and high chairs) get a nice big colourful 'Family-Friendly' sticker for the window.
Some may even be encouraged to upgrade their facilities. And at the very least, the not-so-super Mamas will know at a glance where to go for pizza and a quick nappy-change...
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Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Saturday, 3 January 2009
Ristorante Graziella, Brissago
Minus one at 10am. Damp and cold and grey. Two years ago today the story of Jonathan, Carmine Superiore's favourite seagull, came to a sad end.
To a tiny gem of a restaurant on Brissago's waterfront, Ristorante Graziella, for lunch.
An interesting starter salad including an orange-based dressing, grape halves and pumpkin seeds made a change from the usual four-leaves-and-an-olive, and the fish was sumptuous, caught as it had been in the Lago di Lugano not long before it was on the plate. The alternative main course was a stroganoff that melted in the mouth and tasted somehow familiar, like home-cooking back home. Pudding choices included - did my eyes deceive me? - apple crumble served with homemade ice-cream that had both Mama and B-in-her-best-dress jumping up and down.
Swiss co-owner Bea Graenicher served with elegance, switching effortlessly from Italian to German to English while scoring ten out of ten for common sense when she produced a bib to protect B's best dress. The mystery of the apple crumble was solved with the news that the powerhouse in the kitchen was English cook and co-owner Barry Kingman.
One small criticism is that the decor is slightly lacking in character, slightly too clean-cut. Think about the eminently forgettable faces of the agents who flank the US president and you'll know what I mean. We could also have done with some music to make our conversation a little less public, and to partially camouflage the chidren's rising rambunctiousness towards the end of the meal.
However...
Our guest, himself a chef of some repute and many, many years experience, tells us that he has been a patron of Ristorante Graziella since it opened seven years ago and has never eaten badly here. And if you care about food more than you care about decor, that's quite a recommendation.
Ristorante Graziella
Lungolago, 6614 Brissago
Tel. 091 780 93 19 : 079 516 35 88
Open daily, closed Wednesday. Saturdays open from 6pm onwards.
Seats only 14, so reservations strongly recommended.
To a tiny gem of a restaurant on Brissago's waterfront, Ristorante Graziella, for lunch.
An interesting starter salad including an orange-based dressing, grape halves and pumpkin seeds made a change from the usual four-leaves-and-an-olive, and the fish was sumptuous, caught as it had been in the Lago di Lugano not long before it was on the plate. The alternative main course was a stroganoff that melted in the mouth and tasted somehow familiar, like home-cooking back home. Pudding choices included - did my eyes deceive me? - apple crumble served with homemade ice-cream that had both Mama and B-in-her-best-dress jumping up and down.
Swiss co-owner Bea Graenicher served with elegance, switching effortlessly from Italian to German to English while scoring ten out of ten for common sense when she produced a bib to protect B's best dress. The mystery of the apple crumble was solved with the news that the powerhouse in the kitchen was English cook and co-owner Barry Kingman.
One small criticism is that the decor is slightly lacking in character, slightly too clean-cut. Think about the eminently forgettable faces of the agents who flank the US president and you'll know what I mean. We could also have done with some music to make our conversation a little less public, and to partially camouflage the chidren's rising rambunctiousness towards the end of the meal.
However...
Our guest, himself a chef of some repute and many, many years experience, tells us that he has been a patron of Ristorante Graziella since it opened seven years ago and has never eaten badly here. And if you care about food more than you care about decor, that's quite a recommendation.
Ristorante Graziella
Lungolago, 6614 Brissago
Tel. 091 780 93 19 : 079 516 35 88
Open daily, closed Wednesday. Saturdays open from 6pm onwards.
Seats only 14, so reservations strongly recommended.
Saturday, 2 August 2008
Two days ago : Orta and Sizzano
To Lago d'Orta and the beautiful borgo vecchio of Orta San Giulio, with its frescoed meeting-house. Amid its stone roofs and medieval alleyways we felt very much at home. And the pretty boats tied up on the hard were perfect for tourist shots.
The inevitable pizza was consumed at Ristorante Venus (get there before midday), with a view of the beautiful island of San Giulio and its 6th-century basilica.
We didn't take the boat across - more pressing matters to attend to, including, for the six children in our charge, gelato at Arte del Gelato, on via Olina (homemade, so they say, delicious whatever).
The important business of the day was, though, cheese- and wine-shopping in the slightly-more-distant Valsesia region. Cheese from the Caseificio Franco Paltrinieri in Prato Sesia : unprepossessing premises right next to the dairy, but magnificent gorgonzola and a toma di Valsesia that will make your mouth water (choose between pasteurised and unpasteurised, old and young).
At Lorenzo Zanetta in Sizzano, we acquired a quantity of their Rosso Colline Novarese, a satisfying bonarda-nebbiolo mix. €1.50 for a litre. No 5-litre containers allowed. We staggered away (and later up the hill) with 95 litres - a stock of table wine to last about 7 months and some for a friend.
We also came home with one cold, one migraine and a case of mild heat exhaustion.
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
The great nappy-change mystery
The Lago Maggiore tourist season is in full swing. On every Cannobio street corner, German or Dutch is being spoken. The bouncy castle wobbles with exuberant children. The lake is dotted with the flotsam and jetsam of pedaloes, canoes and novice water-skiers. Families take an evening stroll along the lungolago, and (only) when it's dark, board the Disneyland-style trenino for a quick ride around town, bells ringing, headlights flashing.
Having guests to entertain, we spill out of our mostly silent hilltop citadel to the Albergo-Ristorante-Pizzeria Giardino. The large restaurant is at this time of year crammed with families baying for pizza. Here, you will get one of the best pizzas in town, but without the lungolago view - it's situated on the main drag, and with all the windows open it can get a bit noisy. But the place is great for kids - and for parents. There's a clean baby-changing unit, high-chairs are available and the pizzaiolo is happy to serve half pizzas if you ask nicely.
I like this place for all these reasons. Also, because the Albergo-Ristorante-Pizzeria Giardino is the only place in Cannobio I've found with a baby-changing unit. For the last four years I've grappled with this problem. What do I do when AJ drops a bomb half-way through my shopping trip, or when B makes me a fragrant present while waiting for my hairdressing appointment? I've changed nappies on unisex-toilet floors (yuk), on park benches, on the back seat of the car, and in all seasons. I've done it on scanty bits of grass in car parks, and down on the lawn at the lido. Even the doctor's very smart surgery doesn't have a dedicated baby-changing area, and the overworked receptionist has on occasions been prevailed upon to do something makeshift with a consulting-room couch.
And yet, particularly at this time of year, there are babies everywhere you look.
Do they not do what my babies do? Do other mothers have some secret Super-Mama system for changing nappies hygienically and invisibly without need for facilities? Do they sprout wings and transport themselves and their babies back to their tents, apartments, hotel rooms for a speed-of-light wash and brush-up?
Strikes me there is a marketing opportunity here, Signor Assessore responsible for tourism.
How about a scheme to increase the family-friendly credentials of the various bars and restaurants around town? Those with the features families need (baby-changing unit, children's portions and high chairs) get a nice big colourful 'Family-Friendly' sticker for the window.
Some may even be encouraged to upgrade their facilities. And at the very least, the not-so-super Mamas will know at a glance where to go for pizza and a quick nappy-change...
Having guests to entertain, we spill out of our mostly silent hilltop citadel to the Albergo-Ristorante-Pizzeria Giardino. The large restaurant is at this time of year crammed with families baying for pizza. Here, you will get one of the best pizzas in town, but without the lungolago view - it's situated on the main drag, and with all the windows open it can get a bit noisy. But the place is great for kids - and for parents. There's a clean baby-changing unit, high-chairs are available and the pizzaiolo is happy to serve half pizzas if you ask nicely.
I like this place for all these reasons. Also, because the Albergo-Ristorante-Pizzeria Giardino is the only place in Cannobio I've found with a baby-changing unit. For the last four years I've grappled with this problem. What do I do when AJ drops a bomb half-way through my shopping trip, or when B makes me a fragrant present while waiting for my hairdressing appointment? I've changed nappies on unisex-toilet floors (yuk), on park benches, on the back seat of the car, and in all seasons. I've done it on scanty bits of grass in car parks, and down on the lawn at the lido. Even the doctor's very smart surgery doesn't have a dedicated baby-changing area, and the overworked receptionist has on occasions been prevailed upon to do something makeshift with a consulting-room couch.
And yet, particularly at this time of year, there are babies everywhere you look.
Do they not do what my babies do? Do other mothers have some secret Super-Mama system for changing nappies hygienically and invisibly without need for facilities? Do they sprout wings and transport themselves and their babies back to their tents, apartments, hotel rooms for a speed-of-light wash and brush-up?
Strikes me there is a marketing opportunity here, Signor Assessore responsible for tourism.
How about a scheme to increase the family-friendly credentials of the various bars and restaurants around town? Those with the features families need (baby-changing unit, children's portions and high chairs) get a nice big colourful 'Family-Friendly' sticker for the window.
Some may even be encouraged to upgrade their facilities. And at the very least, the not-so-super Mamas will know at a glance where to go for pizza and a quick nappy-change...
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