Il Tempo & Osteria Il Gallo nel Pozzo…Again!

  We always look forward to coming back to our favorite places here to enjoy a nice lunch or dinner…as well as discovering new places along our drives about the area.

IL TEMPO

  One of our favorite stops for lunch, Il Tempo, was just as charming and yummy as before. Of course, it would be…the young owners here are dedicated, hard working and attentive. On a visit about two weeks ago, we had a very elegant and delicious lunch. 

  We were glad to see some recent changes, including an outdoor garden area for drinks, food, and in warmer weather, music. Nice!

  I had written about Il Tempo before, here, and talked about it being a "tavola calda". This has changed, and we are just fine with the new menu, which had several vegetarian things to choose from.

  

  The lovely Olimpia and her husband Romeo, are the quintessential hosts. It was great to see them both again, and catch up on things. Then, down to the serious business of eating!! As always, we had to have a plate of grilled vegetables….

The small onions are in a balsamic glaze…incredible.
We had a plate of just the onions, too...

  I ordered a "crespelle", which is a stuffed crepe. In this case, stuffed with cheese and truffles. Yeah, it was that good…. Rich, sure, but just rich enough.

Johnny opted for a porcini risotto, which was very good.
 Very porcini-forward. He loves his risotto!

  We were not planning on "dolce", but were treated to a beautiful tiramisu to join the espressos we did order. A nice end to a great lunch, and an even more special visit with Olimpia & Romeo. We look forward to seeing them again this trip, but for dinner, next time.

Tiramisu for two!
Thanks, Il Tempo!!

OSTERIA IL GALLO NEL POZZO

  Another of our favorites is very close to home, being just steps away in Panicale's piazza. 

  Osteria Il Gallo nel Pozzo, run by the Simone & Lorena Gallo, is a great little spot for lunch, dinner, or even a sweet treat, after we've had dinner at home. These two are very easy going, professional, and seem able to handle any questions we have. 

  Simone is the man in front, knowledgable to the extreme about Umbrian wines, with Lorena doing some amazing things in the kitchen. There is a third young man, who's name I sadly can't remember..Franco, I think? He is always helping in the kitchen. It's a perfect combination of talents!

  We started with a nice bottle of Umbrian white, and this wonderful "fondue" type dish….

We love this grape variety, Grechetto. Very much an Umbrian staple.

We loved this dish of
melted pecorino with homemade fig jam and pistachios..

  There are always a couple of really interesting vegetarian pastas on the menu, which changes with the seasons. I was intrigued by these tortelli, because I love a nice saffron cream sauce. This saffron is special to the nearby town, Citta della Pieve.

  I enjoyed this. Not too heavy on the saffron, which can sometimes be a problem. This was seasoned just right, with a nice creaminess.

My tortelli stuffed with parmesan, aged for 30 months..
served with baby artichokes in a saffron cream sauce.

  Johnny just had me pick something for him.
  I chose the "Quadri", a large ravioli, that sounded fantastic..stuffed with 'ricotta fresco di bufala' (ricotta cheese made from buffalo milk) and spinach, the three pasta pillows were served in an aged pecorino cheese cream sauce, heavy on the black pepper, and then sprinkled with toasted bread crumbs.

These are so good…I will go back for this dish.

So pretty on the inside, and check out that pepper! It was a spicy, crunchy delight.

  We always switch our dishes mid way, so it's nice to taste everything.

  For our vegetable side dishes, we had a pea and zucchini mash-up, with lots of fresh spring flavor….

….and fire roasted red onions, special to a nearby region in Umbria. Nice caramelization….I like!

  We had stopped in a week or so ago after a home made dinner, for desserts, so we knew we wanted something different. Lorena's cannoli never fail. We shared one, and went home very content, very happy, very ready for a good night's conk-out.

  Before leaving, though, we had the nicest chat with Simone and Lorena, just catching up on Panicale, business, vacations... all that sort of thing.

  Really, a perfect evening.

  Thanks, Osteria Il Gallo nel Pozzo!!

Was not the first, and certainly will not be the last!

For info on either of these favorites….


IL TEMPO

OSTERIA IL GALLO NEL POZZO