Undoubtably, we will always find ourselves enjoying lunch or dinner, or both at Simone and Lorena Gallo's lovely Osteria Il Gallo nel Pozzo, located in the main piazza in Panicale.
We have enjoyed several meals here over the years, and it's always a pleasure to be in the capable hands of this wonderful couple.
This week, we opted for lunch. We had been told there was a new chef on staff, along with Lorena, so we needed to check it out.
As always, Simone, who is the son of Aldo and Daniele, from Bar Gallo, across the piazza, took care of the front of the house. He is a perfect host, and is always ready to answer questions about the day's menu, or the extensive wine list.
Having asked for a simple half carafe (mezzo litre) of the house grechetto, our favorite white wine of the region, and a bottle of water, we settled in to have a look at the menu.
Simone brought us our beverages, along with a small plate of house made breadsticks, sage biscuits and mayonnaise. Wow…we dove right in!
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| The breadsticks are so good! The sage biscuits are tasty, and very crunchy. |
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| The beautiful color of the home made mayo was incredible. Tasty, too. |
We arrived rather hungry, having had a long morning walk and just a bit of fruit for breakfast, so this was a nice way to start our meal.
We had each ordered the wild asparagus with eggs for our antipasti. It took just long enough for us to get a chance to enjoy the biscuits, etc.
Normally, we would not order the same dish, but it sounded so good to both of us, and the wild asparagus is only available for a short time, so….
We were both very happy we ordered this. It was pretty, with the vibrant green and perfectly cooked asparagus…again, the eggs with orange, orange, orange yolks. I never get over this color!
In comparison with American tastes, or trends, perhaps, these eggs would be too well done. For us, they were the way we like them. I'm just not into a really runny yolk. I like it soft, but set, and this is how they were served.
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| What we didn't know, and were told afterwards by Lorena, was that she and Simone had foraged for the asparagus the day before, just down the hill. Nice! |
As you can see, we liked this dish very much.
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| This is what the tasteless, saltless regional bread is for. Wiping up the sauces... |
For our "primi", or pasta course, I chose a dish that I can never resist on any Umbrian menu.
That is, any pasta served with a ceci (chickpea) and rosemary cream sauce. The sauce here wasn't too creamy, which meant it was a nice, light version. The tastes of the ceci and rosemary just came through so well. It was served with house made, and of course very fresh, tagliatelli cooked "al dente".
Oh, heavenly plate of goodness.
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| I'm pretty certain that I have yet to meet the pasta dish I don't love, here in Umbria. I'll let you know, if I do. |
There were a couple of other vegetarian friendly pastas on the menu, as well as a special, but Johnny was into trying the red onion soup. These red onions (cipolla di Cannara) are a specialty from the area around nearby Cannara. They are often served "wood fire" roasted in their skins, but here they really shined in this soup.
The onions were sliced and just short of melting. The soup was thick, from the broth-soaked bread slices at the bottom of the bowl. There was a layer of toasted pecorino, I think, on the top. Much like a French onion soup, but the bread is on the bottom.
My Mom makes something sort of like this, with layers of onion and cabbage, cheese, old bread and broth…baked until all bubbly and succulent.
These sweet red onions are just made for a soup like this. The broth was amazing.
If I had a complaint, it would be about the vessel it was served in…it was hard to get the last melty, baked on bits of cheesy, oniony bread.
Somehow we did it. If we were at home, we would have stuck our fingers in there, real good. Flavor sensation. We talked about going back just to enjoy this soup again.
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| Rich and oozy. |
We could totally have stopped there, and probably should have, but we were really hungry when we ordered. Good thing Simone stopped us from ordering two of this last dish, below. We shared one, which was a good call on Simone's part.
Roasted artichoke served in a creamy parmesan sauce.
Another rather rich dish, but shared between us, it was a good last plate.
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| We'd dug in before I took this shot. It was all toasted on top... |
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| I was happy that the artichoke had been roasted, as it added a nice depth of flavor that worked off the richness of the sauce. |
Sitting back, finishing the last sips of wine, we were very happy, indeed. We had seen some pals in the piazza at Bar Gallo, so decided against dessert. We wanted to go chat for a bit.
In retrospect, there was no way I could have eaten any "dolci" after this perfect lunch, anyway…
But, I must admit, when we were brought these tiny bits of delightfulness, below, I was pretty stoked.
Palate cleansing slices of strawberry in a blood orange gelatin. Wow. Super light, not too sweet, and just tart enough to do the job. This is a fantastic combination, and in the diminutive jars, a very nice end of meal presentation.
I only wish I had gotten the name of the new chef…he came out to chat briefly a couple of times, so I certainly had the chance. Ah, well…next time. Because there will be a next time-
Bravissimi, Amici!
If you have not yet tried Osteria del Gallo nel Pozzo, or it's been a while, I recommend you stop by soon.
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