Last year we accidentally happened upon the Palio di Asini in Alba on a return trip from Switzerland, and so when some friends suggested we return with them to visit the Truffle Fair we accepted with allacrity!
We decided to have one night in the place we found last year before joining our friends.......
the hotel Vecchio Tre Stelle......... which is really a restaurant with rooms!!!
And...yes.. again we did progress to a shared dessert, hazelnut cake.... the area is famous for hazelnuts and white truffles.... so how could we not!!
But probably would not have ordered it had we known what would accompany our coffee....
And as we were in Italy we did feel we needed to finish with a Grappa.....
The dinner definitely did not disappoint ............
but we were amused by the English on the menu.... we had one Italian menu and one English one in order to understand!
Breakfast there is also superb......
and yes......we were responsible for the two missing pieces......
However this year we did not have a beautiful view over the vineyards from our bedroom window as it was raining..
But this did not deter the marathon runners outside our window!
They veered off after the hotel to run through the vines....
and ended up in Alba......
and we were happy to be there as the winners arrived!
Then we discovered that the Truffle Fair was only open at weekends so decided to check it out before our friends arrived......
We were rather astounded by the price per kilo of the white truffles..... top end here at 600 euros per hg is $750 for a quarter pound.... i.e. $3000 per pound!!
and one of those was 164 grams and the cost was exorbitant..... this is equal to $1250!!!
And one stand, unbelievably, had already sold out when we arrived mid morning......
but there were still plenty of black truffles....... at a much more reasonable price!
And if you weren't sure of what you were buying then you could have one of the judges authenticate it!
We can also recommend another restaurant in Alba.. La Piola.... our second time to go there also!
It is very easy to find, right next to the Duomo.....
The choice for the day is on a blackboard...
and we decided to try the Cardi.... cardoons, never having had them before! With a hazelnut mousse... excellent! Now trying to find a recipe......
The restaurant has lots of different plates....
which are very colorful .....
We decided to have one night in the place we found last year before joining our friends.......
the hotel Vecchio Tre Stelle......... which is really a restaurant with rooms!!!
The food is excellent!
The mushroom menu was absolutely superb!!!!
And...yes.. again we did progress to a shared dessert, hazelnut cake.... the area is famous for hazelnuts and white truffles.... so how could we not!!
But probably would not have ordered it had we known what would accompany our coffee....
The dinner definitely did not disappoint ............
but we were amused by the English on the menu.... we had one Italian menu and one English one in order to understand!
Breakfast there is also superb......
and yes......we were responsible for the two missing pieces......
However this year we did not have a beautiful view over the vineyards from our bedroom window as it was raining..
But this did not deter the marathon runners outside our window!
They veered off after the hotel to run through the vines....
and ended up in Alba......
Where they were greeted by cheerleaders!..
and we were happy to be there as the winners arrived!
Then we discovered that the Truffle Fair was only open at weekends so decided to check it out before our friends arrived......
and one of those was 164 grams and the cost was exorbitant..... this is equal to $1250!!!
And one stand, unbelievably, had already sold out when we arrived mid morning......
We can also recommend another restaurant in Alba.. La Piola.... our second time to go there also!
It is very easy to find, right next to the Duomo.....
The choice for the day is on a blackboard...
and we decided to try the Cardi.... cardoons, never having had them before! With a hazelnut mousse... excellent! Now trying to find a recipe......
The restaurant has lots of different plates....
No comments:
Post a Comment