Lunch At L' Alchemista...Again

  It's so wonderful to be back home in Umbria. We are over our jet lag, for the most part, and settling into a routine....of sorts. Eat, drink be merry? Pretty much, but I do need my exercise and walking rituals as well.

  So far, the weather has been great. Cold, for sure, but not wet or windy, which is a plus. We do need rain here, though. Just like back home in Califoirnia. 

  Since we knew we were going to have a couple of nice days, we decided we'd head down south to a favorite trattoria in Montefalco. We've not been since spring, 2019, so it was time to visit L'Alchimista again! When we were here in the fall last year, we could not get a reservation, so we decided to get an early start and go for it.

  The drive through the countryside is always a delight, no matter what season. At this time of year, the hills are turning green, but there is no foliage on the trees or vines yet....Well, the olive trees always keep their leaves, of course.

  L'Alchimista itself has changed quite a bit since the last time we were here, though you wouldn't know from the entrance...

  They have expanded the interior and spruced things up. The kitchen is now upstairs, and huge! The rooms are doubled in size, too. Fortunately, the food is still as amazing as ever. Patrizia is still at the helm, and we were thrilled to have her give us big hugs and a tour around the new space. She is so proud of the new look and changes. 

  Yay, Patrizia!

That devilish grin is in anticipation of a great meal!

Little did I know I'd be color-coordinated with the new room...
Me and my buddy, back there.

  The menu featured a page of the daily specials, so we went there for our lunch.

  After ordering, we were surprised by an amuse bouche...just a great way to kick off our meal...

No, not an eyeball...panna cotta with pistachio creme, served on a parmesan shortbread.
Yeah, it was an amazing couple of bites.

 

  We each ordered an appetizer featuring artichokes. It's the season, after all. They were both very good, and completely different from each other in every way.

Artichoke soufflé served on pecorino creme, with a purple cabbage foam 
and crispy fried bits of artichoke, along with a seedy cracker.

Crispy fried artichokes, with a saffron cream.
Oh, and a very thin crispy bit of pecorino cheese.

 Both the appetizers were so wonderful...I was a little surprised by the foam, but the taste was sweet and subtle, and went really well with the artichoke soufflé. Plus, it was so damn pretty.

  The foam made another appearance in our main pasta dishes. We both ordered the same special, as it sounded so good, and we had already had the offerings on the regular menu in the past. I wanted to try something new, and Johnny did, too...

A lovely plate, no?

  The stuffed pasta, cappellotti, was made with chicory in the actual dough, which made it a nice green color. It's stuffed with a ricotta chicory filling, and served with ricotta creme and wild herbs. The foam also worked well here, both in flavor and presentation. I didn't find out what the crispy red bits were, but the added texture was a nice touch!.

Yep.

  We enjoyed every bite.

  We opted out on dessert, and just enjoyed the last of the wine, a nice Umbrian blend. We did order espresso, and then did a little wine shopping for home.

  Thanks, Patrizia and staff! We had yet another fantastic experience with you!

  On our way back home, we stopped in nearby Bevagna for a much needed stroll along the water. The day was just so pretty, and we had just enough time.

  We made it home just as the sun was setting. It was a good day...

  I hope to be blogging more on this visit, so stay tuned.