dinner at Lorto

It's the last post from Italy, and as I am writing this days ahead of time, I hope that by the time it posts I am also blogging from Ireland.  We shall see!  But it feels a little sad to let go of the Italy vacation and consign it to fond memory.  Alas.  Ah well.

So then, let's go out with a bang.  Or, rather, a meal.  The most refined of all our meals in Italy, in this case, a tasting dinner at Lorto at our hotel, the Nordelaia.

I was so looking forward to this meal.  We had had a full day in between it and our big meal at Filario, so we were up for another big meal.  Happily, the portions made more sense for a tasting meal, and while we were full, we didn't have difficult nights of sleep from it all.  But we sure did eat well.  The most interesting thing I had in Italy was a dessert course.  The service was exceptionally polished.  The setting was gorgeous.  It was a serene experience, and if Conrad, Van, and I didn't chat as much as we might, it's because we truly were drinking it all in.

The three of us got into our pretty outfits for one last time in Italy,

paused to admire the Piedmont sunset,

and then strolled over to the restaurant building for a drink before dinner.  We each tried a different gin - their selection was remarkable - and I enjoyed a local choice

paired with some tonic. 

That started off the evening right for us before we headed upstairs to the dining room.

The menu offered three tasting menus:  vegetarian, seafood, and chef's choice.  We opted for that last one because it was vacation and why not?  And they did right by us, though it was a dinner heavy on seafood, leaving us wishing a tiny bit that they had swapped out one or two of the seafood options for the vegetarian for the sake of the variety.  Still, we soldiered on, if you can even say that.

That pristine kitchen

sent out one excellent thing after another:

An amuse of a delicious broth that I cannot remember more about.

Lightly sweet and savoury fried treats like doughnut holes.

An amuse of a piece of sashimi grade fish on a "crumpet" and carrot tartare.

A glorious tartare of San Marzano tomato with a pistachio gazpacho.  This was the first real course, and it was a winner.

Baby octopus.  So pretty.

Dry aged fish crudo with a hazelnut gazpacho.  Van, I should add, does not care for raw fish or for some other seafood, but he will try it.  And he liked this one.  I loved this dish.

Plin, a filled pasta whose sauce included sea urchin.

A risotto that was a bit too intensely flavoured for Conrad and Van.

Dry aged fish with two sauces that included a fish head caramel. 

Loved the sauce!  Even better - and I have never had this experience at a restaurant - they served it with little rolls and told us that the intention was to use the bread to mop up the sauces. 

I mean we all do that, so thank you for the blessing!

Melon sorbet with tomato water.  A palate cleanser that kind of blew my mind.  What a pairing!

A dessert of sea buckthorn gelato (or was it sorbet?) and samphire with that I swear they said was white chocolate. 

OK, this was so cool.  First off, damn beautiful to look at.  But the flavours were so interesting.  The sea buckthorn was tart and a bit bitter.  Other parts balanced that with sweetness and creaminess, but there was also a hint of salt and the sea in there.  The most intriguing dish I had in Italy.

And, of course, some sweet treats at the end.

We slowly went through a bottle of a 1998 Nebbiolo after a good read of the extensive wine list and some consultation.  I am pretty sure I had an amaro one more time as well.  I don't recall having coffee.  It doesn't matter.  This was such a beautiful meal to share with Conrad and Van and cap our last night in Piedmont with.  A delight, through and through.

a birthday

I am writing this on the morning of Saturday, August 18.  I have decaf brewed and a piping hot mug of it beside me.  Conrad is still in bed.  It is now exactly three weeks since my 54th.  Long past due for a post, and a long post with a lot of photos to come.  Bear with me!

I woke up before everyone else on that Saturday morning.  In truth, I didn't sleep well that weekend - too much indulgence, maybe the altitude.  The nice thing, though, is that waking up early meant that I had time to myself to wander into downtown Breckenridge,

grab a decaf latte at Starbucks, and then see a little of the place. 

A few photos, some steps, and then it was back to the AirBnB to join the others.  Courtney and Robert were awake when I got back, Conrad needed more time.  That Conrad!

Once everyone was awake, we headed into town, parking near Starbucks so that everyone could grab a coffee.  Food and beverage in our bellies, we headed to the nearby free gondola so that we could head up to the mountain ski resort village and look around. 

That was a cool ride, fairly smooth for someone like me who doesn't like dangling off of a cable. 

Although we could have taken chair lifts higher (and done various activities on the bare slopes), we were already at 10,000 feet above sea level,

and we had a food and wine festival to get to.

The festival was different than I expected.  Not bad different, but different.  I kind of thought there would be chefs and tastings and demonstrations of cooking, but no, none of those.  There was the dinner (and a brunch on Sunday that we skipped) plus a "lounge" with food for the VIP guests (the lounge was the entirety of a restaurant on the plaza).  Otherwise, it was like a farmer's market with nothing cordoned off. 

The wristbands prevented those who hadn't paid for the festival from tasting.  We could wander among the stalls and find things like the hematite bracelet I bought for Conrad or the candles I purchased and still taste wines and more.

The wines were not from single wineries.  In some cases, there were conglomerates that owned wineries worldwide, and so you might have NZ, CA, and Italian wines all at the same stall.  There were also importers and even a wine and spirits store in nearby Frisco represented.  Oh, and spirits producers!  Robert and I especially appreciated that one.  So we arrived for the VIP time, ate some lunch, and got to tasting.  After one pass round, we took a break, then went out for more, though Conrad and Courtney stayed in the coolness of the lounge.  All in all, we were there three hours.  I poured out much of what I tasted, not because it was awful but because there was a lot to taste.  And we drank a lot of water!  There were some good wines

and spirits,

though, and it was nice to try them.  We couldn't purchase liquor at the event, but I found the Breckenridge Gin

at the store in Frisco on the way home and brought it back to California.

Naptime for all,

and then it was the walk into town

for dinner at a place that looked promising.  It featured a raw bar, and I thought that would be welcome after a day of wines and such.  And, indeed, the oysters at The Carlin were excellent

as were the biscuits. 

The rest of the food was fine,

but something clearly happened in the kitchen - we were seated nearby, and it was an open kitchen, so we could watch things going on - that fouled up our entrees and led to quite a delay.  And the inevitable happened - people know they messed up, and they avoid coming to check on us because they don't want to hear questions or complaints.  It was still a nice birthday dinner, but the cooking was unfortunately uneven as was the service.  I'd go back for a martini and oysters, but I might try elsewhere for entrees.  Ah well.

Sunday came, and my birthday was over.  I once again got out on foot without everyone, grabbing my Starbucks, taking a photo or two. 

The drive home

was longer than the drive to Breckenridge due to an accident shutting down the interstate.  A fine day for a drive, but a long drive.  There were very welcome tacos at Pica's for us at the end of that one.

And then it was Monday.  I was 54 and 2 days old, and we were flying home from Denver. 

A super weekend with Courtney and Robert, a terrific birthday.  Now then, what shall I do next year?