Dining in Vicenza - Righetti Self-Service

On this trip I had noticed more of an emphasis on restaurants that have "everything".

If that is a new trend, then the development of a restaurant like Righetti makes more sense, but its web page says it has been around for thirty years. Also, that it has a web page, in English, is pretty different too. Everything about Righetti surprised me.

It is cafeteria style dining. There are counters for different types of food, usually with three or so selections. That makes it very easy to customize the meal, and provides a lot of variety.

This seems like it could be ideal for traveling parties or diverse groups with different tastes, but I am still at the point where it is more that I thought it was interesting than that I liked it. This is somewhat unfair, based on a really bad reaction I had to the meatballs that was probably not the restaurant's fault. The polenta was good.

Still, one of the main things I remember before I had to run and find the bathroom (that was awful) was seeing a big drawer of rolls with tongs where you could fill your own bread basket. The concept was cool, but there were mainly the hard white rolls. I could see one multigrain roll that looked like it would be softer and taste better, but it was buried under so many of the white rolls that there was no way of getting to it -- an interesting idea with poor execution.

I don't think that's not a reason to go to Righetti. The location is convenient, right in the Piazza Duomo. There is outdoor dining and several different rooms inside, allowing for smaller groups to maintain some intimacy.

It is also very popular. At lunchtime the place was swarming, but it cleared out very quickly as the lunch hour ended.

Our cousins paid, so I am not sure what the surprise at the end of dining referred to on the web page is. I know that you don't pay until after you are done. That can be convenient in that you only have to pay once even if you keep deciding to add things, but it does seem to leave the restaurant open to being stiffed. They've stayed in business for thirty years, so it must work out.

Piazza del Duomo, 3, 36100 Vicenza VI, Italy
+39 0444 543135

http://www.selfrighetti.it/inglese/Righetti.html

Dining in Vicenza - they have everything

We went to three restaurants where I was told this, though I only know the names of two.

I kind of wonder of this is a newer thing, to have a restaurant that serves pizza and pasta and meat. I think it may speak to a recognized need to have casual dining that is not a bar or a pizzeria only. Making the pizza toppings available on a regular crust or on bruschetta also seems new, but was pretty common.

I still only have pictures of family there.

Fantasy - Spaghetterria, Bruschetteria, Pizzeria 
Via Torino, 8, 36077 Altavilla Vicentina VI, Italy
+39 0444 370480

 This is my favorite, and I know it because we went there twice.

We went there twice because it is the most conveniently located -- we can walk from one aunt's apartment to there. Because of its proximity and variety of choices, three sets of cousins are there together almost every weekend.

The pictures here do show a little, in that you have a outside dining area that is still covered, and with a large window looking in. This was helpful for the restaurant staff, keeping them able to see us, and allowed one cousin and the owner to gesture at each other. (Some familiarity has developed there.)

I have in my notes that they had free peanuts, but now I mainly remember the bread sticks. I think it was that we ate inside the first night and outside the second time, and the peanuts were inside. You could take them outside, but you have to remember to do so, so look out for peanuts.

They have many good options, but I am going to recommend the gnocchi al quattro formaggio. My mother had it both times.  (And I had it once, but I had a bruschetta delicata the first time.)

I really enjoyed Fantasy. In the States we would not use that name for that kind of restaurant -- it gets used more with "adult" video stores -- but it was good food, prices seemed reasonable, and even some of the closer restaurants still require going up into the hills, making Fantasy's location one of its draw.

https://www.tripadvisor.it/ShowUserReviews-g194669-d3754763-r241400360-Fantasy-Altavilla_Vicentina_Province_of_Vicenza_Veneto.html


Bulldog's Holland Pub
Via Tovo 21, Altavilla Vicentina, 36077 Altavilla Vicentina, Italy
+39 330 485 214

 

Speaking of location, both Fantasy and Bulldog's are in Altavilla, but Bulldog's feels farther, and higher up. I will say that I have not spent enough time to have a feeling for where the different neighborhoods are in relation to each other.

When you enter, there is initially a traditional pub layout, but you can go out and down to a patio with lots of tables, covered by an awning, and with a view over the city on the other side.

I think the selection of beer is wider here, which is not unreasonable for a pub. I am not sure why it is Holland, but they do have more sandwiches than most places, some like subs and I think even hamburgers.

There were two things that were interesting about it. One is that the menu (which is huge) has code numbers for everything, and it is preferable to give the wait staff the number instead of the name. This can be a convenience for guests who don't speak a lot of Italian.

In addition, the food (possibly not every dish, but a lot of them) came with little flags in them. I think the flags were supposed to indicate country of origin, though I question the accuracy. The pizza with the zucchini and the quesadilla both had British flags. My salami and pepperoni pizza had an American flag. I do not remember my mother's tagliatelle Bolognese having a flag, so maybe only the "foreign" food gets flags, but I am not sure I understand the system. Also, the pizzas are square.

We had a great time there, and there are ways in which dining at Bulldog's is more of an experience than Fantasy, though there is nothing wrong with just dining.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g194669-d2691389-Reviews-Bulldog_s_Holland_Pub-Altavilla_Vicentina_Province_of_Vicenza_Veneto.html

Antica Osteria Dalla Croce

I can't find a web site for Antica Osteria Dalle Croce, but there are several positive reviews on Google and Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g668522-d3163660-i193228622-Antica_Osteria_dalla_Croce-Arcugnano_Province_of_Vicenza_Veneto.html.

It is a little out of the way from Vicenza. Not only is it about 11 kilometers away, but the route we took wound back and forth and climbed upward. It was a beautiful driver, but perhaps better for experienced drivers.

This is Lago di Fimon. The restaurant overlooks it in a way, but in a way you don't see it.

There are so many flowers, herbs, and shrubs that unless you go to the wall it is easy to not know that there is anything outside of the garden. The restaurant is known for using local food, and that includes growing their own herbs, and possibly some of the vegetables. Still, much of the flora is there not to be eaten, but to be seen and smelled.

It is a gorgeous place to eat, and as night fell and the lights were lit it was simply enchanting.

The food was very good, but the atmosphere was unforgettable.

It did require going down several steps to get to the garden, and I do not know if there is an accessible entrance. I would call first if there are concerns.

Antica Osteria dalla Croce
Via Santa Croce 93,  Lapio,
36057 Arcugnano, Italy
+39 0444 273088

Antica Osteria De Barco - Lavagno (VR)

Lavagno is a municipality about seven miles east of Verona. It was a convenient location for our next stop at Soave, and it was also just a wonderful place to have lunch.

You can eat indoors, and the web site highlights the windows that allow you to enjoy the view. On a late spring day, it is much more desirable to sit at the covered tables on the terrace.

This allows you to notice that there are charming pathways leading up and down.

It allows you to smell the herbs and the jasmine filling the air, and appreciate the local flowers.

It also allows you to enjoy the panoramic view. With multiple pictures (both with and without zoom) I still can't capture it.

The food was excellent. It looks like the menu may be updated seasonally. I do not see everything we had currently listed, but I did have the Gnocchetto di rapa rossa con ragù di colombaccio and it was delicious.

This is a wonderful place to eat if you are in the area, and it would not be unreasonable to take a detour for it as well.

http://www.anticaostariadebarco.it/

https://www.facebook.com/anticaostariadebarco/

Dining in Vicenza

I have never spent too much time on the food in Italy. That is partly because I know that Vicenza is not a big tourist destination, and a lot of the meals that we have are in homes anyway.

On previous trips, we stayed with my aunt - generally eating lunch and breakfast with her - and would have dinner with various aunts and uncles, usually their cooking. Once per trip we would go out, and it was usually a restaurant outside of town, unless it was a pizzeria. (And then they would always say that the pizza was not as good as if you went out of town.)

This time was different. Staying in the hotel, we were on our own for breakfast. The first day I got some things in the hotel store, but after that we stopped at a grocery store. I bought a loaf of bread, some prosciutto, a bag of oranges, and a few bananas, along with some bottled water, and we made our meals out of that.

We ate at houses a few times, but we went out a lot more. It still never occurred to me to take pictures of our food, though at some I took pictures of our family. On the Sunday before we went home (on a Tuesday), lunch and dinner both happened at absolutely gorgeous places with views, so I did take pictures, still not of the food. That's when I started to think maybe I should write about the restaurants.

Those both had "antica osteria" in their names, which gets translated to old taverns. The root word seems to be more like "hostel" perhaps focusing on board being provided as well, like the old public houses.

I am not sure how accurate that is for these places. The one looks like it could have started as a tavern, but the other seemed more like a converted house. Did they start out focusing on rooms and ale? I don't know.

For the next two posts, I will write about them, with lots of pictures of the place and what I remember about the food. For the other restaurants, I know the names of three of them, plus one gelato place. I may treat them all together or separate them out, depending on what information I can find.

I can try to come up with some other tips or observations, but for now I want to mention some of the places whose names I didn't get.

I had a really good Tyrolean salad in a bar one afternoon. That seems similar to our chef salad, with various protein sources in with the greens, but not tossed so much, so each type of food was somewhat distinct. That was nice because my mother said she wasn't hungry, but was wrong, and I could easily get her to try some of this or some of that. The bread was also quite good.

At a cafe in downtown they did not have the thing we ordered, but they ended up bringing us couscous with chicken and vegetables (mainly green beans). That was also good, and I might try making it here some time.

You can get good meals at pubs and cafes, but it is more likely to be a single course. If it is an actual restaurant, there will probably be primi piatti and secondi piatti - first and second courses, with it being typical to order from both sides of the menu, but not strictly required.

We went to at least one restaurant that appeared to change the menu seasonally, based on the featuring of asparagus in almost every dish, and its availability at roadside stands. Apparently asparagus and cherries are both in season around the end of May. It would be interesting to see how their menu changes over the year, but that was also the most expensive place we went to. (I know as the guests we weren't supposed to notice, but that was the only place I felt guilty.)

The other thing that is worth mentioning is that while I can only tell you the name of one gelateria, we had gelato many times. That's one great thing about being in Italy in warm weather: gelato is mandatory.

Soave

Like Marostica, Soave has an upper castle with walls extending down.

Not that it is really possible to capture that with anything but aerial photography, but you get a great view of Soave on the way from the Verona Airport to Vicenza. The first time I saw Soave I thought it was Marostica, but my uncle told me it was Soave, and they were famous for their vineyards. The internet tells me that their wine is arguably the most famous white wine in Italy.

Perhaps because of that, there is less of a tourist feeling there than in Marostica. There are shops below, but they are mixed with homes and civic buildings and people going about their business.

Still, from almost every vantage point, you can see those magnificent walls, lovingly embracing the hill and encircling the community.

http://www.tourism.verona.it/en/enjoy/history-heritage/castles-and-fortresses/castle-of-soave

Marostica at Cherry Festival Time

I  have written about Marostica before. The last time I was there was on that trip before I learned the joy of owning a digital camera.

http://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2015/06/italy-marostica.html 

It is nice to be able to include some pictures of the upper and lower castles.

Some things were new to me for this trip. I remember the life-size chessboard, but not the smaller but still pretty large one.

I also do not remember some of the displays and cutouts that are now there, though we had some fun with them.

There were two main things that were different about this visit. One is that we did more looking among the shops. I am not sure if the shops were there before, or if we just didn't browse. (We were there pretty early in the morning that last time.) There were boutiques, bakeries, butcher shops, and furnishings. There were some that seemed to primarily have souvenirs, but that was not the overall focus.

 My favorite was Sizi (Prêt a porter), which had beautiful clothes at reasonable prices. The window display was attractive, but we also noticed the shop because she called us in to give us cherries.
That was the other big difference. It was the Cherry Festival. (Last time I went in October, 2006.)

There were many fruit stands on the way to Marostica as well, much like summer here, but in the square itself you had people selling cherries, jams, merchandise with cherry designs, and many shops incorporated the cherries into their displays and giveaways.

One of the specialties is cherries preserved in grappa, a grape brandy that nearby town Bassano is famous for. (There is also a Sizi in Bassano, but I am not sure if they are connected.)

We brought back a cherry bread. The girls in the shop was very excited that this loaf was traveling to America.

I enjoyed my visit to Marostica before, but everything seemed more vibrant this time. I am glad I got to go again.

http://sporktogo.blogspot.com/2015/06/italy-marostica.html