Just passed into my 57th year in grand style at a fantastic restaurant near Montemonaco in the Sibillini mountains. It is called Il Tiglio and has a masterful chef, Enrico Mazzaroni, who has trained with the best Parisian chefs and has brought the best of French cooking and married it with the wonderful fresh ingredients from our Appenine mountains, like white and black truffles, new potatoes, and other fresh produce and meats cured in house. I always have said, for everyday eating, italian food can't be beat for freshness, simple goodness etc., but if you tell me I am going to die tomorrow, I am off to the best french restaurant I can find. Now I have found Enrico who does this marvelous mix of the two and tops off the great kitchen work with a marvelous wait staff and a room captain/sommelier who has put together the most impressive wine list I have seen in our region, full of nice choices from our province, our region, most other regions of Italy and international entries. Because it was my birthday and I talked with Enrico before coming, he was nice enough to let me bring in one of our Cabernet Sauvignon wines from 2010 and I shared a glass with him and the sommelier, who is a big fan of C.S. and hopefully now will search us out and be enthused enough to add PS Winery to their list. Here is their link for more information - http://www.iltiglioagriturismo.it/ristorante-il-tiglio.html
I started out with a white truffle appetizer covered with a candy shell, which just exploded with flavor when I bit into it and had a wonderful persistence afterwards and I told the waiter I just wanted 20 of those and I would be in paradise, no need for the full menu (they wouldn't let me). It was nested in a plate with big stones and blended in, so be sure and pick the right one to put in your mouth. Sorry, no photo, I was too avaricious.
And now....the photos of the other plates:
Our C.S. showing itself off on an elegant table
Carrots with curry sauce with a foam of anchovy
Carpaccio with strawberries and roasted red pepper and a poached cherry tomato
Il tiglio salad with house made cured lonzino, fresh greens from the garden and a parsley sauce
Smoked potato pure , under the sponge is a wonderful elk"meatball" and upper left, truffled caviar
egg, rice cracker and stuff I have forgotten, sorry haha
fois gras with blackberry sorbet
new potato with a "rock" shell, goat cheese base and olive sauce
I call this one fois gras Pac man accompanied by a locally produced soda, INCREDIBLE!
Home made pasta with rabbit and a jelly made of red wine
Perfectly cooked pigeon and fois gras and reduction sauce
Reeses peanut butter cup: peanut butter, then milk chocolate, then dark chocolate spread out on oven safe paper placed on the table, topped with whipped cream and frozen with liquid nitrogen. Great way to top off a great meal!
Forgot, one more think a wonderful home made crispy doughnut on a tree branch and the "nut" on the "ground" is a beautifully made chocolate truffle.
The most amazing thing about the menu is the price, just 45 euros for this masterpiece, with a smaller menu for 33 or a vegetarian menu for about that price as well. Did I say they had a great wine list?! This meal at a starred restaurant in Florence would run you 360 euros for the food alone. After the 2nd plate, I was already thinking about when I could come back!
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