June 7 Sondrio - Alpine Italy - 20 deg Fine
Who would have thought in our own backyard there was such an amazing restaurant. Perched up on the side of a mountain in a village called Sassella lies Ristorante Torre Della Sassella. Blessed with commanding views over the valley, this restored building of unknown origin (to us) was renovated 10 years ago to become an iconic restaurant.
The four level restaurant, shaped like a tower, is made completely of stone, and is probably centuries old. This information was difficult to get as not one word of English is spoken there and even Mark, whose Italian is quite good, was struggling to understand.
You know you are somewhere special when even the mineral water gets decanted into a crystal jug. With the menu completely in Italian we just went with the key words we knew and hoped for the best .
My pick of the dishes was Risotto Carnarnoli con Bollicini Rose Cantadi Castaldi - this transformed to a perfectly executed risotto with a serving of parmesan ice cream and a rose jelly with fresh raspberry in the middle - all served on a segmented Villerory and Boch dinner plate.
Difficult to describe how exquisite this dish was - the adding of the parmesan ice cream to the hot risotto made it creamy and rich beyond description - and finishing with the occasional mouthful with the rose jelly and fresh raspberry cleared the palate for some more cheesey risotto.
The other risotto ordered - equally divine - Risotto Nero Integrace con Ragout di Cappesante , Gamberi e Asparagi. This translated as a squid ink risotto with a ragout of scampi and asparagus. The rice was cooked to perfection in both cases and rich sauce accompaniments also were perfect.
The meal was accompanied with a 2001 bottle of Masi Costasera Amorone Classico - a classic wine from Valpolocella grapes semi dried on a bamboo rack from Costasera region - perfect !
The whole experience left you feeling like you had stepped back in time with the ancient surroundings - the attention to detail was just amazing - the very finest of china and crystal. If you are ever in this part of the world, you must go to this restaurant a visit. You will not be disappointed.
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