In a recent post on the wines of Piemonte I wrote: you will be hard pressed to eat better in Italy - in the world maybe - than in Piedmont. The typical dishes of the local osterias like vitello tonnato and agnolotti del plin have been honed to exacting precision over the centuries. Tajarin al sugo, for example, is really not open to interpretation--the point is to do it well!

Even bagna cauda, which seems nothing more than a simple relish tray, is a thing of profound culinary pleasure. On my first night here in Alba, I walked straight to the Ceretto-owned Osteria La Piola where I had hoped to satisfy my year-long craving for carne cruda, the Piemontese specialty of chopped raw veal. On this particular night, the restaurant was paying homage to bagna cauda, a dish that is normally taken at home among friends given its communal nature of dipping vegetables in a cauldron of hot oil and anchovy. Raviolo in brodo was promised at the end so I thought I could suffer through a platter of raw vegetables. Yet when I crunched into that last cardoon and the last piece of bread sopped up the last bit of oil--I wanted more!

Sunday was a day of snow in the Langhe. At least a foot had fallen by morning and all of my winery visits were postponed. Without wi-fi or even a magazine to read I ventured out onto the streets of Alba in search of an English language newspaper. What I found instead was a translated copy of Nonna Genia, the classic work of Luciano de Giacomi and Beppe Lodi on the cooking of the Langhe region. With a bottle of Barbera and a slice of bakery pizza I read the book cover to cover that afternoon before going back in the snow to find a plate of tajarin.

From Nona Genia:
"In the culinary world tradition is not accorded the same respect it enjoys in other arts. We have great museums proudly showcasing their masterpieces from every era of human endeavour, acclaimed orchestras performing classical music throughout the world and collectors avidly competing for old masters, thereby driving up their value.

But in the culinary world, value is placed not so much on tradition as on the new. Today's culinary culture has adopted the mentality of the fashion world, where "tradition" is almost an embarrassing word."

Without Jesse here, I'm indulging all my guilty pleasures: sleeping late, Kojak on Hulu, vinofilic lunches and Nutella at every meal...and often in between. Up at the crack of 11:30am, I walked to the Farmers Market and found it loaded with fruit! Beautiful cherries, strawberries, citrus and tree fruit--the latter still a skosh hard, but by tomorrow they'll be ready for fruit salad. Lunched on the patio at Lafitte-what a nice way to spend the afternoon. The service was my favorite type, gracious and natural, thanks Deborah. The pheasant rillette is killer and six hours later, I'm still thinking about the soup. I love that they have Villa Sparina splits on the list--perfect for the single soul who wants to linger. The people watching rating is high--Embarcadero is the quintessential strolling spot and those skaters are extremely well-behaved--really, they are.
After my afternoon nap (again with the guilty pleasures) dinner is green salad and Mt Difficulty Roaring Meg Riesling--floral, fresh pink apple and quartzy mineral. Chuck Hayward has opened my eyes to New Zealand wines.

We're so restless for Sons and Daughters to open! Every day I walk past their door, watching the progress and wondering how it's going. A couple of weeks ago, flowers went into the planters. One night, walking home in the dark, we got a little sneak peak of the interior when the windows were uncovered (since then the plastic stuff was replaced with new roller shades and a new sign) and it looks great. Warm light, clean lines, hardwood floors and little tiny table tops. I can't wait to see the menu. Now the website has a new photo...folks are working in the evening...it's all coming together. Bush at Powell.