June 4-5 Torino (Turin)

-

 

DAY 1

The wide, grid streets reminded of New York City. The drivers were also much calmer. Lots of dogs on the street and by the table at streetside cafes. Also I was scared by a gecko/lizard falling from the sky.



Our main stop of the day was Porta Palazzo, which has over a thousand stalls according to the internet. There was produce, meat, cheese, bread, pots, luggage, and more. It looked like there was a variety of people from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. There was also an indoor area that was food hall-esque. Here we had a tasty assortment of meat and beer to go along with it. There was also a piano for me to practice and a cool art gallery inside this old wine bunker (?).

Comic exhibit inside this brick bunker

TRATTORIA PIEDMONTESE
  • Antipasto misto
    • Flan - eggs blended with vegetables (zucchini perhaps?). Soft and jiggly.
    • Frittata - sturdier eggs with caramelized crust
    • Tomino with red sauce - sauce was sweet, sour, spicy. Well-balanced.
    • Veal tongue with green sauce - parsley base for sauce. Tender tongue.
    • Vitello tonato - less strong tuna flavor than version from Osteria dell'Acquabella, sauce was also smoother.
    • Pepper with bagna cauda - sauce has anchovies, garlic, and maybe some nuts. Flavor was savory but not too strong
  • Mains - seems like acidity / vinegar is a trend
    • Tripe with beans - acidic base, but not too much tomato. Tender.
    • Rabbit braised in red wine with potatoes. Also acidic.
  • Dessert - il bunet. Two layers - one more pudding/mousse, the other more cake. Chocolate flavor is not too strong. Almond flavor in the cake layer. Caramel on top.
Picture from the internet. Doesn't include the tongue.




FRIENDLY CATS AT THE AIRBNB


All three cats seemed to really like my backpack

DAY 2
CAR MUSEUM - the main floor had cars from the 1890s through the innovative ideas of today. Naturally many Italian cars, but also the French played a big role in the early days. I learned that Fiat actually has a long history in car manufacturing.



TRATTORIA FORCHETTA E SCARPETTA
  • Taglioni with boar ragu - not too much tomato. slightly vinegary.
  • "Drunken" risottino - cooked in red wine. also slightly acidic, naturally.
  • Steak with sauce of blue cheese and endive - bitterness of endive cut saltiness of creamy cheese sauce
  • Torta di noci - hazelnut cake
  • Name that begins with a z - sponge cake with red liqueur and cream, finished with some cocoa powder. Somewhat similar to tiramisu.

I didn't get a chance to go to the classic Piedmontese piolas. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marseille / Les Calanques (Sept 8-9, 2025)

-
Image
Some city, some mountain, some country… time for some beach! With limited time, Nice / Cannes would have been too far; Les Calanques are about an hour from Marseille via public transit. Les Calanques are a two for one deal - go for a hike and then for a swim. The hike to beach ratio however was greater than I expected. It was about an hour hike from the bus stop and some of the rocks were a bit slippery in regular shoes. But great views in and out of the water! After swimming in fresh water all summer, I forgot how salty the ocean / sea can be. Best part was that you could watch fish swim around, just a few strokes out from the shore! There were dozens of types - tiny ones smaller than your pinky and larger ones that would fill up a dinner plate; white with a black band, striped, silvery, black and yellow, or just plain yellow; elongated or more diamond shaped. My favorite was watching a pair of small fish feeding at the bottom of - a brown / white striped catfish looking one would kic...
Read more

BPS 2025 - LA + SF (Feb 15-22, 2025)

-
Image
I took a trip to LA for the BPS conference and made a short visit to SF / Berkeley as well. I enjoyed the warmth, sunshine, greenery, lemon trees – plus all the good food! DAY 1 (2/15) – Little Tokyo, West Hollywood, Waymos, food delivery carts (Sloane) House-made udon noodles in uni cream sauce at Marugame Monzo First time having Japanese style mochi from a confectionary! So much better than supermarket stuff We had dinner in West Hollywood with other members of the Bphys program. It was a very California experience - riding in a Tesla for the first time, spotting Waymos and food delivery robots, and walking into a super overpriced grocery store with meh products and Wolfgang Puck's name on the sign. DAY 2 (2/16) – Tacos, fruit carts, Fashion District, presenting our poster, Ktown After visiting San Diego last year, I was super excited to come back to SoCal for the tacos. The ideal taco has sauces that are well-balanced with the meat, a variety of textures, and fresh tortillas. Th...
Read more

Paris (Aug 31-Sept 2, 2025)

-
Image
DAY 1 Crazy how 6 hours is the flight time for both NY to SF and NY to Paris! First culture shocks upon landing were the indoor smoking (in designated areas ofc), the lack of AC, and the close quarters - specifically in the four seaters on the subway. And the hills and the classical music in the subway station instead of the usual elevator jazz. The area near my hotel (Montmartre) also reminded me of Milan in terms of architecture and street layout, though this was less so in the rest of the city. Also somehow Paris is in full blown autumn mode, while Chicago might arguably still be in summer mode, especially with the festivals still. On our way to the hotel, we stopped by a boulangerie that was focused only on the food, no bells and whistles, so that we didn’t even notice it’s English name (Urban Bakery) until after. Cardamom croissant snail was delicious! After dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we visited Notre Dame. It was our first stop since it has been closed for the past five...
Read more