Two Lunches, Two Towns, Two Full Bellies

  When my little ol' mind starts to think about our time in Italy, it can't help but get stuck on thoughts of all the wonderful eating we do. 

  Oh, sure, there's the gorgeous countryside, our lovely friends, day trips to interesting villages, art, art, art....but let's get real.

  It's all about the food, baby. 

  For me, the images my brain conjures up are most always centered on plates of food. IT'S ITALY!

  I try to be discreet as possible when eating out and taking photos. I don't know why, but I have recently become a little shy/embarrassed at snapping picture after picture of food. At least in public places. 

  This being admitted to, I did take a fair amount of shots, and I still have a few places to blog about from our last trip. I keep seeing these photos as I scroll through my iPhoto stuff, and they make me yearn for those days of leisurely lunches followed by a little nap... 

  This post is about a couple of lunches we enjoyed this year at two places we have been to before, and will most likely return to from time to time.

IL CERVO

  On our second trip to Panicale, we found "Il Cervo", a little spot just off the main drag in Arezzo.

  We had gone up there to enjoy the monthly antique fair, and to visit the Basilica of San Francesco, to view the fresco cycle, "Legends Of The True Cross", by the wonderful Piero della Francesca.

  This was one of many 'art pilgrimages' for Johnny. Me, well sure...I enjoy the various churches and all the art and history....but I'm mostly along for the inevitable lunch. If the art is contemporary, I get excited.

  So, we went back again last year, but it had closed early for Easter Sunday. Some excuse, sheesh.

Anyway, this year, we finally made it back, and it was just as I had remembered.....

  I guess the building housed a pharmacy back in the day, and the facade still has the original signage, which is just so cool....

  I love Il Cervo, because it's not a typical trattoria. You walk in, choose a type of pasta, choose what sauce you want with it, then pick out some type of side dishes...various veggies for us...then head upstairs to your table. We let the very nice fellow behind the counter choose a few of the vegetable side dishes for us. Surprise us!

  A waitress will stop by and take your order for drinks. As before, we were the only 'tourists' in the place. I think this is a place that local office/store workers and such come to for lunch. It was packed in no time, with Italian speakers only. Our kind of place.

House made pasta and sauces, you choose the combo.

  There are several small dining areas, which reflects the buildings history...perhaps doctor's offices or apartments?

 I like the simple decor.. there are some nice painted ceilings.

Waiting for something yummy to happen.

  Our wine and water arrive, as well as basket of the classic Tuscan style bread....no salt, crusty crust on the outside, soft and chewy inside. This bread is made to sop up all the various sauces, etc.

  Then we are blessed with a heaping plate of mixed veggie antipasti.

Oh, I think something yummy just happened.
A wonderful combination of baked, roasted, steamed and sautéd goodness.
A perfect amount to share before our pasta comes.

Heaven sent baked fennel and red onion.
I could just stop here.....for days.

  We each ordered a different pasta with a different sauce, so we could share bites, as always. Well, almost always. Every once in awhile we will run into a menu with only one vegetarian option, and we'll both go for it. 

  But normally like to order two things we can share. Yes, we swap plates a few times. Don't you?

In this case, I ordered pappardelle with 'sugo all' arrabbiata',
the much loved spicy red sauce of Italy. 

I love this variety of pasta...the wide noodle.
All made in house, of course.

The love of my life ordered tagliatelle with porcini mushrooms
The fragrance was most divine! And..it tasted molto bene.

  I'm certain we will return again some day to Il Cervo, because it's great for vegetarians, it's fast, the prices are very reasonable and the service is friendly. And...we always enjoy a visit to Arezzo.

  

  Just a short side trip of the brain here.....

  We love finding new places to try for lunch, but there are a few places we can't miss going back to

every year. 

  Why do I write about places I've already written about?

  Sometimes I can't help it, usually because we tried something new, and as vegetarians, it's nice to share new menu items with my veggie readers. 

  Why don't I write about some places?

  It's not that the meal was bad...Most every time we've eaten out, it's been great. Sadly, many times the photos I take are just the pits, because the lighting is really bad, or I can't figure out my camera settings, or I have totally forgotten my camera(true)...and to be dead honest...lately it's because I get embarrassed to be one of those diners taking pictures of food, as I mentioned above.

  So... I like to be in a restaurant that isn't too fussy, has good natural light, and no one is noticing my camera action. If the photos come out well, I'm 3/4 of the way to a blog post.

  Ok. All that being said...

  The second of our 'Two Lunches/Two Towns' journey today, brings us closer to home.

  I am talking about right along the shores of Lago Trasimeno, in the quaint fishing village, San Feliciano.

ROSSO DI SERA

  Yes, this is another place I've written about before, here, and since that visit, we always make sure to have lunch at least once at this now favorite spot. 

  This year we happened to go on a Sunday. It was a gorgeous day, and we really had not expected it to be so packed. We were almost turned away, but they made room for us. Silly me, I hadn't thought I would need to make a reservation. Whew! Dude, lesson learned...

  The thing is, and especially on Sundays, there are a finite amount of tables, and once all are filled, that's it. No real 'turnover' happens. You sit, you enjoy a relaxed 2-4 hour lunch, and then the place closes until dinner service.

  We settled ourselves in, ordered some wine and sat back to go over the menu....

  

  

House made whole grain bread comes in a brown bag,
 closed with a wooden clothespin

A full dining room on this Sunday afternoon.

  We weren't super hungry, so went light this day.

  One of the daily special starters was a fava bean 'sformata' (a sort of soufflé almost) with a pecorino cream sauce, roasted cherry tomato, and the most beautiful beet sprouts....This was one of the prettiest dishes I've seen.

Right?

Can't you just imagine this...
The sweetness of the fava with the sharp and salty pecorino...
The beet sprouts added a nice crisp touch.

  Johnny opted for oven roasted tomatoes served with field greens, which was also beautiful.

Drizzled with Umbrian olive oil, and a bit of thyme.
Perfection. This is when that good bread comes in handy.

  The menu on this day offered only one vegetarian pasta, which we both ordered. No pasta sharing this time...boo-hoo.

  Sunday lunches are known for at least three courses, the pasta being a middle course. For us, this was a perfect entree. You don't need to order all courses offered.

  Cappalletti are similar to ravioli, in that they are a stuffed pasta. 

  These were stuffed with a mix of pecorino and fresh mozzarella, and served with a very simple sumo, a red sauce. A liberal sprinkling of dried thyme gave it an herby, fragrant note. A bit of crushed red pepper added just enough kick.

Ummm, yes, please.
I think I will.

  Seeing these photos makes my tummy growl, and makes me even more desperate for 2017. Especially these days of madness and crazy. Can't we just disappear...like magic? Now?

  I see us there, sitting at a small table in one trattoria or another...perhaps on a cold day, with the windows all foggy from the goings on in the kitchen...the smells are to die for, the wine we sip is something local, superb....Johnny reaches a hand across the table to take mine. We smile at each other and start to giggle....because we are back. We are back.
  We are back for good.