Priocca D’Alba, Piemonte
It was as close to a grande bouffe as I have had in years; a 4-hour dinner composed of a series of small plates, and then some BIG plates – 12 of them presented serially, to be exact – and many bottles of regional wine.
The setting: Ristorante il Centro in the tiny hamlet of Priocca D’Alba, run by Enrico Cordero and his family. A restaurant from yesteryear, where they replace your silverware between courses and bring different sized glasses for every wine throughout the course of the dinner.
To give you an idea of what they eat, and how they eat, in Piedmont these days, here is a brief commentary on the highlights of our meal:
It’s not much to look at, but when you pull apart this
chunk of braised veal cheek, it reveals a series of brisket-like meat threads,
which melt in the mouth; perfectly sweetened with seasonal fresh figs and acidified
with what tastes like balsamic vinegar.
A serving of braised veal cheek, which was better than any barbecued pork, or barbecued brisket, that I have had this year; the four-hour, slow-cooked, cheek of veal, sweetened with seasonal figs, and served atop a bed of pureed white sweet potato, easily pulls apart with a fork, separating into delicious, delicate threads.
You want original, tasty, local? THIS is the dish. Owner Enrico Cordero said: “This dish is so complicated that we can only put it on the menu for a month each year – it’s too much work!”
Porcini soup, garnished with a tablespoon of fried chicken liver snippets; this velour-textured, slurp du jour was the color of chestnuts, and as silky and satin-y as high-gloss house paint. The soup was scented with uber-fresh porcini, which diners can smell as the dish leaves the kitchen, long before the server ever gets it to the table.
If I were as rich as this soup, I could justify eating at il Centro seven nights a week. In fact, if I were as rich as this soup, I could afford the gall bladder surgery required from eating it seven nights a week.
Il Centro owner Enrico Cordero shaves white truffles atop
anything you wish to have blanketed by them – tagliatelle, fried eggs, or
porcini soup.
Tajarin is the Piemontese word for thin strands of tagliatelle. A mound of these homemade noodles is served, barely buttered, and then, at tableside, covered with a cascade of freshly shaved, heavenly scented, white truffles. Oh boy.
Other highlights of the meal in pictures:
A delicate puff pastry shell filled with a forcemeat of
leeks, some more leeks and probably even some more leeks, served with a green
shmear of pureed —what else? -- leeks. Major yum.
Tiny, tender, melt-in-your-mouth raviolis filled with a
forcemeat of the finely chopped caps of fresh porcini, potato, and fresh
burrata, crowned with a slice of crisply fried, local speck.
A simmering, saucy stew of rabbit-y parts, including
delicate, delicious homemade rabbit meatballs – first time I’ve even heard of
such a presentation.
A delicious grape gelato, made from one specific local
grape.
A tongue-clacking combination – rich chocolate crème atop
a thin, crackly giandujia (crushed hazelnut) wafer.
Napaman's recommendation:
Should you find yourself in Piemonte anytime soon, make plans to eat at Ristorante il Centro, Via Umberto I, No. 5., Prioccca D’Alba. Tel: 0173-616112.
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