Hi friends!
This month, we’re picking up where we left of on our wintery Italian roadtrip. In case you missed our last travel guide, here’s a link to Part I, when we flew to Venice, drove through Friuli and landed in the charming canal town of Treviso. To start this second leg of our trip, we hop back in the car and drive 1 hour and 40 minutes to Verona to meet Chef’s cousin, Mattia.
Verona
As a Shakespeare fan, I (Paulina) was particularly excited to walk the bustling streets of Verona. Verona' is known for the Arena di Verona (an ancient Roman amphitheater), a rich art and opera culture, and the adjacent wine subregions of Valpolicella and Soave. Of course, there’s also Juliet’s balcony which Mattia calls “the world’s most disappointing tourist attraction” because the structure has no relevance to Shakespeare’s play, and the courtyard is covered in chewing gum. We skipped this stop in favor of a long lunch, and a visit to the Ponte Pietra bridge.
Accommodations
Chef James: Due Torri Hotel in Verona is pretty epic. You can’t beat the location. The breakfast was lovely and the service was warm and sincere. Extremely helpful staff at all levels. I love the marble everywhere and the dated (in a good way) ornate rooms. And Lord knows I love a big beautiful hotel bathtub. Stay here. You won’t regret it.
Lunch was at Antica Bottega del Vino - an enoteca with roots going back to the 16th century boasting one of the best wine lists in Italy. The archival, intimate interior confirms the historic significance of this meeting place for artists and intellectuals. The cuisine is steeped in the tradition of Veneto, with simple flavors that celebrate the wines of the region, such as Risotto all’Amarone. We could not resist ordering a bottle of champagne from their weighty wine tome.
The Ponte Pietra bridge was the first construction by the Romans when they arrived in Verona in the first century B.C. (!) Today, it serves as a community space and thoroughfare. Not only are the views gorgeous, but it’s lovely to walk the bridge and hear buskers singing, see children playing and teenagers smooching in alcoves.
We spent the rest of our afternoon enjoying spritzes in various wine bars and popping into kitchenware shops. Outdoor markets in piazzas abound. There’s much to see and do in Verona.
For dinner, we drove 20 minutes outside of the city to El Carnicero, a wood-fired steak house with a lovely wine list focused on Amarone della Valpolicella. Amarone is a rich, bold Italian red known for the unique wine making practice of appassimento. This process involves intentionally drying harvested grapes on crates or mats for months, raisining them and therefore concentrating the sugars, acids and tannins. Once pressed and fermented, this makes for an intensely aromatic, complex and high-alcohol red. In Chef James’ words: “Amarone is steak sauce.” We enjoyed multiple different cuts of wood-fired beef, gorgonzola gnocchi with radicchio, and an impressive bottle of Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico - our favorite red of the trip.
We wanted to grab a quick lunch on our way out of Verona, before our ~1 hour drive northeast to Asolo. Many restaurants were recommended to us - including Osteria del Bugiardo, Osteria all’Organetto, Osteria da Morandin and Locanda di Castelvecchio. Most of these options were closed for their holiday break, which led us to Trattoria La Molinara - luckily! A charming, old trattoria tucked on a quiet corner with a small but thoughtful menu. We enjoyed charcuterie, four perfectly executed pastas and a rustic braised rabbit dish. The pasta pictured below lives rent-free in my mind: paccheri with pistachio pesto and guanciale. Bellissima!
Bassano del Grappa
On our way from Verona to Asolo, we stopped in Bassano del Grappa - a town on the river Brenta at the base of the Italian alps, and the alleged birthplace of the grape-based Italian brandy, grappa. The views from the Ponte Vecchio bridge are stunning, and this town is often bustling with visitors year-round. We stopped at the historic Nardini distillery tasting room (since 1779!) for a spritz and panoramic views across the river.
Most restaurants and bars were closed, and the town was very sleepy on our visit. Chef James has visited many times before and highly recommends walking the city center. Dear friend of the Travel Guide, Mark Anthony Stanisz, visited Bassano del Grappa a few years back, and has many lovely things to say:
Bassano del Grappa is a beautiful city, through and through. I stayed at the Bonotto Hotel Belvedere, a comfortable, affordable hotel with great hospitality. It’s located just a few minutes away from both the town squares and the Train Station.
Located inside of a 17th-Century palace in the city’s historic center is Libreria Palazzo Roberti, a stellar multi-level independent bookstore with a second-floor terrace. It has an excellent selection of both Italian and International books. A perfect place to spend your morning.
If you find yourself needing to switch up your cuisine, Ma Ramen Bassano offers great cocktails, starters and ramen. It’s a terrific late night meal spot.
The historic Ponte Vecchio (Ponte degli Alpini) should be admired from many angles, so here’s a fun tip courtesy of Chef’s cousin, Valentino Artuso: just NW of the bridge is an alley with stairs that descend down very close to the Brenta River surface. The stairs are a little steep, but if you’re able-bodied it’s a great new view of the bridge structure and the city.
Thank you, Mark Anthony!
Asolo
We arrived to our final destination of Asolo in the evening, and checked in to the elegant and welcoming Hotel Villa Cipriani. Cozily tucked away in walking distance to the city center, offering gorgeous views and friendly hospitality, this hotel stay is quite special.
Asolo is a medieval village where Venetians vacation to get away from the glitz and crowds of Venice. The old-world charm is unmatched. You can take day trips from Asolo to other villages and wine regions (as we did below), but we really enjoyed feeling like locals and re-visiting our favorite cafes and bars daily.
We stumbled upon our first dinner in Asolo by accident - we were walking around the city trying to find a spritz (as we often do!), and walked by an endearing storefront, where inside a father and his young daughter were rolling pasta together. We booked a reservation immediately. We were stunned to find another door to the building that opened into an airy, open dining room with a fireplace and floor to ceiling windows offering a breathtaking view. The food at Due Mori was some of the best of our trip - including a velvety risotto with morlacco cheese, venison strip loin and braised octopus.
In walking distance from Cipriani and Due Mori are two gems: Gala wine bar and Bar Epoca. Gala is a small, charming natural wine bar with a stellar local wine list and inmmaculate vibe. The grilled cheese sandwiches are not to be missed. Chef & Adam also visited Bar Epoca every night of our stay.
Chef James: Asolo is possibly my favorite village in all of Italy. It’s just perfect. And the fact that you can stay at the Cipriani and walk to Epoca is the closest I’ve come to heaven. Epoca is not fine dining. This is like a pub or a diner. An all day cafe. It’s best visited when you’ve had libations all day. Get a spicy bruschetta and a spaghetti aglio e olio and 300 beers. They’re open til 2. The owner is always there. He loves you. I love him. Asolo is perfect. Epoca is perfect. If you disagree I feel sorry for you.
Day trip to Valdobbiadene
Thirty minutes north of Asolo are the gorgeous, rolling hills of Valdobbiadene: Prosecco country. The geographical limits of the Prosecco DOC have expanded greatly to keep up with demand for cheap sparkling. I’m sure there are a lot of soulless vineyard tours and tasting rooms here. We highly recommend filtering through the larger houses, and landing on something family-owned, with legacy and purpose. Chef James had visited Valdobbiadene (particularly Daniele Bortolotti, the 4th generation winemaker of Cantine Umberto Bortolotti) the year prior, and was so impressed by their operation that we had to revisit. We spent the afternoon tasting through their aged, textured, lively sparkling wines and walking their vineyards. What an afternoon!
Paulina wrote more about this experience in her Champagne Society newsletter. The hills of Valdobbiadene are astonishing, and the region’s history is fascinating.
At Daniele’s recommendation, we enjoyed a lovely lunch at local Osteria Emilia, and dinner at the chef-driven Ristorante 1922.
To get home, we drove back to Marco Polo airport in Venice, dropped off our car and flew to JFK airport. A long day of travel where we wished we were back at Bar Epoca eating bruschetta and drinking spritzes. Exploring Northern Italy was a feast for the eyes and appetite, and revisiting these memories is a pleasure.
Google map for inspiration here. Thanks for following along!
MGTG