MARIANI’S
April 17, 2005
NEWSLETTER
Audrey
Hepburn as Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961)
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OUR
FAVORITE MANSIONS: Palazzo
Belmonte by Edward Brivio
NEW
YORK CORNER: Lisca by
John Mariani
QUICK
BYTES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photography by Robert Pirillo
I
had not quite
expected to find a tropical-paradise
resort on the mainland of Southern Italy , two hours south of Naples
Principe Angelo Granito-Pignatelli di Belmonte's family built the palazzo (below) in the 17th century, to the delight of the kings ofSpain Italy 
The grounds of the resort wend their way through a series of terraces above the sea. A beautiful pool area beckons with its glazed terra-cotta tiles, cushioned chaises, large umbrellas and a long stretch of cool water. Rather than being overly manicured, the lush tropical gardens are left slightly overgrown and wild. Well-placed benches offer seclusion as well as beautiful views. Situated unobtrusively amidst tall pines and small lemon groves, the three-story villas have large terraces overlooking the trees and theMediterranean beyond.
The aim here was to keep everything as simple yet as luxurious as possible. The guestrooms in the palazzo, built around three sides of a quiet courtyard whose stone walls are hung with climbing vines, have an understated charm, at once inviting and relaxing. Our comfortable villa room, with a king-size bed, small seating area, and a gorgeous marble bathroom, had a cozy, carefree, almost cabana-like feel. Nothing here is intimidating or grandiose, unless you get a glance at the period rooms of the Prince's own private wing. Staying here is more like a weekend house-party, albeit a rather affluent one. The Prince wants his guests to feel at home. By the time you leave, you'll probably know most of the small staff.
Walk through the beautiful gardens, past swaying palms, ancient pines, flowering bougainvillea, hibiscus, oleander and jasmine, as well as orange and lemon trees, brings one to a small green door that opens onto wooden steps going down to the beach and the turquoise sea with its roaring surf. To the left, a long stretch of sand leads to the nearby town ofSan Marco
Quiet during the week, the main street ofSanta Maria
Right behind the palazzo, and just about straight up, is the medieval hill town of Castellabate. A small bus will take you up on a very leisurely and pleasant, if vertiginous, journey. The town’s labyrinth of narrow, elbow-width streets, called i rigoletti, opens out occasionally onto terraced piazzas with breathtaking views of the
countryside and the sea. There's a Cathedral and
next to it, the castle, built by the
abbott for defense against the Saracens.Paestum (left) Italy Magna
Graecia .
The food served at the Palazzo's restaurant (below) is pure Southern Italian, always simple, often sophisticated, and based on three or four perfect ingredients. I simply despair of ever finding such ingredients in theU.S. Italy Naples
When you dine here, look over the menu but put yourself in the hands of Piergiorgio Ferri, the very model of the Italian maître-d'--knowledgeable to his fingertips but never haughty, more than a little world-weary yet always smiling discreetly, accommodating but never servile. Every hotel management school should have a short video of Signore Ferri at work to show students how effortless their future labors should appear. At once restaurant manager, host, maître-d', and sommelier, he fulfills his many roles with an easy grace worthy of Castiglione's ideal courtier.
For starters, the Scottish smoked salmon did quite well, and the wafer-thin slices of bresaola (dry-cured beef) with Parmigiano and a bit of lemon juice, or prosciutto with ripe honeydew or figs, are as good as you'll find in the best trattorie all overItaly
For primi piatti, I recommend spaghetti con vongole—clams about the size of a small fingernail and full of the sweet flavor of the sea. Ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta come in a light, bright fresh cherry tomato sauce; gnocchi is lavished with gorgonzola and cream; the pasta e fagioli might make an Italian-American grandmother despair.![]]]]](rome4-226vg.jpg)
This is a land where meat is an interloper. Fish is king, as the small fleet of fishing boats piled up at the shore in town can attest, so for main courses we stuck to seafood. Spicy monkfish with garlic, pepper, olive oil and parsley was delicious, as were white-fleshed bream, grilled and simply dressed with lemon juice from the large local variety that grows right on the property; a mixed grill of fish brought the unexpected, a whole cuttlefish, perhaps a bit tough but still welcome, along with the rest of the usual local catch.
One morning at breakfast Signore Ferri announced that fresh triglie (red mullet) had just arrived and we would have them for our dinner, if we wished. We did. That evening, three small, grilled whole fish arrived on a bed of delicious broccoli di rabe barely bathed in a fresh tomato sauce. The freshest of fish and the broccoli, with just the slightest hint of bitterness, made for a perfect combination of flavors and textures.
(Starters run 10-12 Euros; Pastas 8-12 Euros; Main courses 13-15 Euros.)
The wine list avoids the obvious in favor of mostly regional producers. Delicious Fiano d'Avellino, a wonderful, rich Aspirino, and Greco di Tufo were all excellent whites, while a varietal Piedirosso was all fresh cherry fruit and delightful, and a full-bodied Aglianico, big and attention grabbing.
If Piergiorgio senses that you have more than a passing interest in wines, he may recommend a bottle of the ‘99 Quartodisole, a local wine. If so, jump at the offer. A blend of Piedirosso from the Campi Flegrei outside of Naples, and Aglianico that spends 12 months in barriques, it's a big, dark, mouth-filling red, with utterly delicious fruit, structure, and balance.
The Palazzo (39-0974-960-21) is open from May through October. Double room with sea view and terrace, 260-370 Euros per night, depending on low, middle or high season.
NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani
Lisca
660 Amsterdam Avenue
212-799-398
Lisca is one of those
marvelous surprises that make dining out in New York endlessly
fascinating. For
one thing it is on the upper West Side--way
upper--in a neighborhood fast becoming gentrified and in sore need of
good Italian restaurants like this.
It is a small place but its size seems ideal for the kind of true trattoria Lisca is. Owner Hadi Alavian (whose brother runs the excellent Sapore in SoHo) is one of the most ingenuous hosts in NYC, greeting you warmly, cordially, sweetly, and the size of the restaurant matter here too because Signore Alavian can be ever at your side to help with anything you like, and he's imbued his staff with the same sense of care.
I think I can always tell when a chef loves cooking his own food--which is not as common as you'd think. Paul Bocuse once told me that "if chefs ate their own food, we would all have a better cuisine." Amazing as it is to believe, most chefs do not eat their own food, except to taste new dishes; you are more likely to find a chef after service at a sushi bar or pizzeria than sitting down to a meal of his own creations.
But I suspect that Lisca's chef, Aldo Monosi, sits down with his kitchen crew or with Mr. Alavian and dines well from his own menu. It is a menu of such robust flavors that it's hard to imagine not wanting to grab a plate of Monosi's grilled baby octopus with black chick peas, or fried mushrooms dressed with herbs and olive oil. I would certainly order his pan-seared scallops with cauliflower purée and truffle oil (listed as an appetizer but almost big enough for a main course, and only $12) again and again, and I can't imagine tiring of his tartare of tuna with avocado and aromatic oil.
I'm convinced a plate of pasta per day keeps the doctor away--and, contrary to idiotic belief among many Americans, it does not pack on the pounds, as is evident to anyone who has been to Italy and seen the strikingly slim people. So I happily dig into Monosi's rigatoni with hot and sweet sausage, green peas and a creamy tomato sauce. His risotto is excellent, with porcini and black truffles, and if you haven't ordered lasagna in a while, do so at Lisca: it is marvelous, sauced with a veal ragù.
Stay simple with the main courses, for you can't do better than his pan-seared halibut with leek purée and a pesto sauce, sidled with sautéed broccoli di rabe. Grilled shrimp, lobster, scallops, cuttlefish and octopus is an absolute delight and well worth sharing at a table for two. Osso buco alla milanese is textbook perfect, sweetly braised and served with risotto colored with saffron. And here is where you'll find the only authentic cacciucco--a Tuscan seafood stew--in America, done with five species of seafood in a lusty, spicy broth.
Desserts go a bit beyond the usual, and I would certainly share one of the housemade fruit tarts or chocolate sweets, perhaps with a glass of Moscato d'Asti. The wine list is commendable for its lack of pretense and its good prices.
Lisca's appetizers run $9-$12, pastas $10-$16, and entrees $15-$24.
Principe Angelo Granito-Pignatelli di Belmonte's family built the palazzo (below) in the 17th century, to the delight of the kings of
The grounds of the resort wend their way through a series of terraces above the sea. A beautiful pool area beckons with its glazed terra-cotta tiles, cushioned chaises, large umbrellas and a long stretch of cool water. Rather than being overly manicured, the lush tropical gardens are left slightly overgrown and wild. Well-placed benches offer seclusion as well as beautiful views. Situated unobtrusively amidst tall pines and small lemon groves, the three-story villas have large terraces overlooking the trees and the
The aim here was to keep everything as simple yet as luxurious as possible. The guestrooms in the palazzo, built around three sides of a quiet courtyard whose stone walls are hung with climbing vines, have an understated charm, at once inviting and relaxing. Our comfortable villa room, with a king-size bed, small seating area, and a gorgeous marble bathroom, had a cozy, carefree, almost cabana-like feel. Nothing here is intimidating or grandiose, unless you get a glance at the period rooms of the Prince's own private wing. Staying here is more like a weekend house-party, albeit a rather affluent one. The Prince wants his guests to feel at home. By the time you leave, you'll probably know most of the small staff.
Walk through the beautiful gardens, past swaying palms, ancient pines, flowering bougainvillea, hibiscus, oleander and jasmine, as well as orange and lemon trees, brings one to a small green door that opens onto wooden steps going down to the beach and the turquoise sea with its roaring surf. To the left, a long stretch of sand leads to the nearby town of
Quiet during the week, the main street of
Right behind the palazzo, and just about straight up, is the medieval hill town of Castellabate. A small bus will take you up on a very leisurely and pleasant, if vertiginous, journey. The town’s labyrinth of narrow, elbow-width streets, called i rigoletti, opens out occasionally onto terraced piazzas with breathtaking views of the
countryside and the sea. There's a Cathedral and
next to it, the castle, built by the
abbott for defense against the Saracens.The food served at the Palazzo's restaurant (below) is pure Southern Italian, always simple, often sophisticated, and based on three or four perfect ingredients. I simply despair of ever finding such ingredients in the
When you dine here, look over the menu but put yourself in the hands of Piergiorgio Ferri, the very model of the Italian maître-d'--knowledgeable to his fingertips but never haughty, more than a little world-weary yet always smiling discreetly, accommodating but never servile. Every hotel management school should have a short video of Signore Ferri at work to show students how effortless their future labors should appear. At once restaurant manager, host, maître-d', and sommelier, he fulfills his many roles with an easy grace worthy of Castiglione's ideal courtier.
For starters, the Scottish smoked salmon did quite well, and the wafer-thin slices of bresaola (dry-cured beef) with Parmigiano and a bit of lemon juice, or prosciutto with ripe honeydew or figs, are as good as you'll find in the best trattorie all over
For primi piatti, I recommend spaghetti con vongole—clams about the size of a small fingernail and full of the sweet flavor of the sea. Ravioli filled with spinach and ricotta come in a light, bright fresh cherry tomato sauce; gnocchi is lavished with gorgonzola and cream; the pasta e fagioli might make an Italian-American grandmother despair.
This is a land where meat is an interloper. Fish is king, as the small fleet of fishing boats piled up at the shore in town can attest, so for main courses we stuck to seafood. Spicy monkfish with garlic, pepper, olive oil and parsley was delicious, as were white-fleshed bream, grilled and simply dressed with lemon juice from the large local variety that grows right on the property; a mixed grill of fish brought the unexpected, a whole cuttlefish, perhaps a bit tough but still welcome, along with the rest of the usual local catch.
One morning at breakfast Signore Ferri announced that fresh triglie (red mullet) had just arrived and we would have them for our dinner, if we wished. We did. That evening, three small, grilled whole fish arrived on a bed of delicious broccoli di rabe barely bathed in a fresh tomato sauce. The freshest of fish and the broccoli, with just the slightest hint of bitterness, made for a perfect combination of flavors and textures.
(Starters run 10-12 Euros; Pastas 8-12 Euros; Main courses 13-15 Euros.)
The wine list avoids the obvious in favor of mostly regional producers. Delicious Fiano d'Avellino, a wonderful, rich Aspirino, and Greco di Tufo were all excellent whites, while a varietal Piedirosso was all fresh cherry fruit and delightful, and a full-bodied Aglianico, big and attention grabbing.
If Piergiorgio senses that you have more than a passing interest in wines, he may recommend a bottle of the ‘99 Quartodisole, a local wine. If so, jump at the offer. A blend of Piedirosso from the Campi Flegrei outside of Naples, and Aglianico that spends 12 months in barriques, it's a big, dark, mouth-filling red, with utterly delicious fruit, structure, and balance.
The Palazzo (39-0974-960-21) is open from May through October. Double room with sea view and terrace, 260-370 Euros per night, depending on low, middle or high season.
NEW YORK CORNER
by John Mariani
Lisca
660 Amsterdam Avenue
212-799-398
Lisca is one of those
marvelous surprises that make dining out in New York endlessly
fascinating. For
one thing it is on the upper West Side--way
upper--in a neighborhood fast becoming gentrified and in sore need of
good Italian restaurants like this. It is a small place but its size seems ideal for the kind of true trattoria Lisca is. Owner Hadi Alavian (whose brother runs the excellent Sapore in SoHo) is one of the most ingenuous hosts in NYC, greeting you warmly, cordially, sweetly, and the size of the restaurant matter here too because Signore Alavian can be ever at your side to help with anything you like, and he's imbued his staff with the same sense of care.
I think I can always tell when a chef loves cooking his own food--which is not as common as you'd think. Paul Bocuse once told me that "if chefs ate their own food, we would all have a better cuisine." Amazing as it is to believe, most chefs do not eat their own food, except to taste new dishes; you are more likely to find a chef after service at a sushi bar or pizzeria than sitting down to a meal of his own creations.
But I suspect that Lisca's chef, Aldo Monosi, sits down with his kitchen crew or with Mr. Alavian and dines well from his own menu. It is a menu of such robust flavors that it's hard to imagine not wanting to grab a plate of Monosi's grilled baby octopus with black chick peas, or fried mushrooms dressed with herbs and olive oil. I would certainly order his pan-seared scallops with cauliflower purée and truffle oil (listed as an appetizer but almost big enough for a main course, and only $12) again and again, and I can't imagine tiring of his tartare of tuna with avocado and aromatic oil.
I'm convinced a plate of pasta per day keeps the doctor away--and, contrary to idiotic belief among many Americans, it does not pack on the pounds, as is evident to anyone who has been to Italy and seen the strikingly slim people. So I happily dig into Monosi's rigatoni with hot and sweet sausage, green peas and a creamy tomato sauce. His risotto is excellent, with porcini and black truffles, and if you haven't ordered lasagna in a while, do so at Lisca: it is marvelous, sauced with a veal ragù.
Stay simple with the main courses, for you can't do better than his pan-seared halibut with leek purée and a pesto sauce, sidled with sautéed broccoli di rabe. Grilled shrimp, lobster, scallops, cuttlefish and octopus is an absolute delight and well worth sharing at a table for two. Osso buco alla milanese is textbook perfect, sweetly braised and served with risotto colored with saffron. And here is where you'll find the only authentic cacciucco--a Tuscan seafood stew--in America, done with five species of seafood in a lusty, spicy broth.
Desserts go a bit beyond the usual, and I would certainly share one of the housemade fruit tarts or chocolate sweets, perhaps with a glass of Moscato d'Asti. The wine list is commendable for its lack of pretense and its good prices.
Lisca's appetizers run $9-$12, pastas $10-$16, and entrees $15-$24.
WE HEAR THAT RUSSELL CROWE BRINGS ONE ON LOCATION, MATE
Ad for an inflatable pub:
"If you are still trying to make plans for New Year's Eve, look no further. Call up Airquee Ltd. over in the UK, the inventors of the inflatable church, and have them set up a fully functional inflatable pub right in your backyard! This thing is bloody fantastic!"
Inflatable Pub Specs:
- 40ft long, 19ft wide and 22ft high
- Fully working pub with room for a bar and 30 customers
- 23,000 pounds
- Can be erected in 10 minutes with 2 small blowers
- An internal aluminium frame can be used to support additional lighting, sound systems and double as a safety barrier.
THAT'S FUNNY, BIG MIXING BOWLS REMIND US OF NIGELLA, TOO.
How did you obsession with your
mixing bowls begin?
"With my enormous crush on Nigella Lawson. I became transfixed when I watched her on the Style Channel two years ago. I'm a happily gay man but found myself with this wild crush on her. She does this thing where she licks her fingers when she's eating. . . and she's curvy and gorgeous, and she snacks in the middle of the night, [and she has a] a set of four stacking mixing bowls. They come in a vanilla ice-cream color or an amazing blue, which is what I have."--From an interview with author/textile designer Alexander Stadler in Philadelphia Magazine (March 2005).
"With my enormous crush on Nigella Lawson. I became transfixed when I watched her on the Style Channel two years ago. I'm a happily gay man but found myself with this wild crush on her. She does this thing where she licks her fingers when she's eating. . . and she's curvy and gorgeous, and she snacks in the middle of the night, [and she has a] a set of four stacking mixing bowls. They come in a vanilla ice-cream color or an amazing blue, which is what I have."--From an interview with author/textile designer Alexander Stadler in Philadelphia Magazine (March 2005).
LET ME TAKE YOU ON A SEA CRUISE
Dear Subscriber,
I
will be hosting a
very special
and, I think unique, cruise event this summer from June 4-16 on
the S. S.
Crystal Serenity. I
have chosen some of my favorite
places in the whole world to visit and dine at, including Alain
Ducasse’s illustrious three-star Louis
XV restaurant in 
My wife Galina, co-author with me of The Italian American Cookbook (which we’ll sign copies of), will also be giving an exclusive cooking lesson onboard I know you will enjoy.
Between relaxing and enjoying yourselves onboard and coming with us to the loveliest sites and restaurants in the
-- John Mariani
QUICK BYTES
To all my friends in the public relations community: With regard to Mother's Day celebrations (as well as Father's Day, St. Valentine's Day, etc.), the volume of announcements I receive has made it impossible to list every one in the Virtual Gourmet. Therefore, I shall endeavor to include as many of those that seem to have the most interesting, singular events, rather than those that offer merely a special price for the day, e.g., Mother's Day brunch.
* Two
* On May 3, The Ritz-Carlton,
*
On May 5 the
21-year-old Greenwich, CT,
restaurant Jean-Louis will be
re-born with a complete re-design as restaurant and art gallery.
Couture-clad
models wearing local designs will greet guests with hors d’oeuvres, wine and champagne. Call
203- 622-8450.
*
On May 18
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher:
John Mariani. Contributing Writers: Robert Mariani, Naomi
Kooker, Kirsten Skogerson, Edward Brivio, Mort
Hochstein, Lucy Gordan, Suzanne Wright. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery, Bobby Pirillo. Technical
Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.
Any of John Mariani's books below
may be ordered from amazon.com by clicking on the cover image.
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copyright John Mariani 2005