Pranzo - Caffe Umberto #2

Having found ourselves in Piazza Savona, it's an easy decision to dine at Caffe Umberto.

Pranzo - La Piola #5

Time for another lunch at La Piola.

For starters:

Pranzo - Osteria dei Sognatori #4

We've managed to find another excuse to sneak lunch at Sognatori - it really is one of a favourite spots in town.

For starters:

Pranzo - La Libera #3

We're returned to lunch again at La Libera.

Aperitivo - Akash

We continue our negroni hunt with a visit to Akash.



While the negroni is quite good the aperitivo plate is rather disappointing.



It's a large offering but the quality leaves a lot to desire - for the price I'd head around the corner to Hemingway where you get much better food and a top notch negroni for the same price.

The details:

Akash Bar
Via Vittorio Emanuele 19/e
Alba

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Cena - Circolo del Vecchio Gusto #4

Thursday night dinner is Beef night at the Circolo - various cuts of local fassona cooked on the grill.

Our starters have a good meaty feel to them

Pranzo - Piazza Duomo #2

With an amuse like this, we can only be at one place - the incredible Piazza Duomo!

Cena - Osteria Nuova

As we're nearing the end of our time in Alba we've decided to try a few more of the places we haven't visited - this time we're off to Osteria Nuova.

Cena - Vigin Mudset #2

We're back for another dinner at Vigin Mudset.

Pranzo - La Bergamotteria

La Bergamotteria is a cafe/store that specialises in Bergamont and calabrian produce and we've previously visited for coffee and to get some nduja. Today we're here for a quick lunch.
We begin with crostini topped with nduja

Cena - Circolo del Vecchio Gusto #3

We're off for a late dinner at Circolo del Vecchio Gusto. There's a fixed price menu with white truffle option. In this family run spot, the dad is a trifolau which means you are getting the truffles straight from the source. Tonight there's one dish that is just crying out for white truffle so we've decided to treat ourselves.

For starters we decide to have a misto of antipasto

Pranzo - La Piola #4

While we've visited La Piola a few times for dinner, this is our first lunch time visit this trip. As we are creatures of habit we begin with a couple of our favourites:

Pranzo - Circolo del Vecchio Gusto #2

It's the first weekend of the Truffle Fair and Alba is alive with tourists - we've decided to return to our new found lunch spot - Circolo del Vecchio Gusto. There's a fixed price 4 course "fiera" menu available, naturally, with white truffle option.

For antipasto:

Pranzo - Il Vicoletto

Vicoletto was the first restaurant we tried in Alba last year so we're more than overdue for another visit - this time we've opted for a degustation lunch.

Today it begins with:

Pranzo - Caffè Umberto

We've already visited its sister restaurant Enoclub a couple of times, today we're staying above ground and lunching at Caffe Umberto.

Pranzo - Circolo del Vecchio Gusto

We're still discovering new places to eat in Alba and today we're lunching at Circolo del Vecchio Gusto.

Cena - La Piola #3

After the disappointing lunch we returned to the ever reliable La Piola for dinner.

For starters, Paalo opts for his favourite - Misto di Antipasto

Pranzo - Osteria del Vecchio Gallo

For lunch today we've decided to try someplace new - Osteria del Vecchio Gallo (Osteria of the Old Cock) and unlike our other Alba dining experiences, this one left us a bit disappointed.

The kitchen seemed to be struggling with the numbers - service was slow and the dishes presented weren't quite to the standard as we've come to expect.

Pranzo - La Libera #2

All week we've been enjoying the company of our french "eators" Curtis and Leigh and with  Leigh unfortunately under the weather, we've taken Curtis out to La Libera for our final lunch together.

For starters

Aperitivo - Hemingway

It's our first visit to Hemingway, a rather trendy spot just round the corner from Vincafe.



Very well made Negroni - very close to Calissano just a little smaller.



The aperitivo plate is impressive - freshly made, the frittata still deliciously warm. There are slices of zucchini sformato, stuffed foccacia and mortadella mousse on croutons. An excellent plate.

Cost wise - interestingly it's priced exactly the same as Vincafe.

The details:

Hemingway
Via Mandelli 3
Alba

Phone:
347 889 0628

Open:
6pm to 2am

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Aperitivo - Antico Caffe Calissano #3

The negroni search continues - our first visit of the evening sees at back at Calissano



and we're happy to report that while the negroni are as good as ever, the aperitivo plate has improved considerably.

Details:
Anitco Caffe' Calissano
Piazza Risorgimento 3
12051 Alba

Phone:
0173441704

Closed - Monday

Pranzo - Osteria dei Sognatori #3

After a busy morning spent moving into our new apartment, we've headed out for a quick bite at the Osteria before we tackle the unpacking.

For antipasto today there is

Cena - Bistrot Duomo

Tomorrow we're moving into our new apartment and tonight will be spent on cleaning and packing so we're off with a quick bite at Bistrot Duomo.

Pranzo - Enoclub Ristorante

We had been falling into a bit of a rut dining out wise so we've decided to try out a new restaurant. There's actually two restaurants in this building - on the ground floor a casual place called Caffè Umberto and underground in the cellars, a finer dining option called Enoclub.

Aperitivo - Vincafe

Continuing our Negroni hunt we've headed to an old favourite Vincafe to test their wares.

Cena - La Piola #2

There's no surprises for our entrees


Carne cruda and Vitello Tonnato

Pranzo - Antico Caffe Calissano

Going out for Sunday lunch is a bit of traditional family thing in Italy and as we like to follow the habits of the locals we're off for a long lunch (and not a negroni) at the Antico Caffé Calissano.

Pranzo - Osteria dei Sognatori #2

After a hectic morning spent shopping in Bra we're arrived back into Alba before 2 - just enough time to sneak into the Osteria for lunch.

Cena - Vigin Mudset

We're trying a new restaurant to us - Vigin Mudset, located opposite the Chiesa di San Giuseppe.

Aperitivo - Bistrot dei Sognatori #2

A short walk are we're onto round 2

Aperitivo - Antico Caffe Calissano #2

We have certainly developed a taste for Negroni - it's just been the idea weather for them and today we thought we do a head to head taste test between Calissano and the Bistrot.

Pranzo - Piazza Duomo 2012

It's been a whole week since we left Melbourne and to mark the occasion we'll be dining at the brilliant Piazza Duomo.

Pranzo - La Birroteca Terzo Tempo

As if Alba didn't have enough going for it, it's now got another string to its bow. I mean you have chocolate and hazelnuts, truffles both black and white, wines from arneis to barolo and now there's a Birroteca - a dedicated hub for all things beer.

There's a daily changing menu but a word of warning, this is a wine free zone.

Pranzo - Osteria dei Sognatori

We've been spending enough time at the Bistro it's about time we sample the delights of the Osteria.

Aperitivo @ Bistrot dei Sognatori

I am just going to blame it on the weather but we've both developed a taste for negroni and we've returned for a late afternoon tipple.

Aperitivo @ Antico Caffe' Calissano

Alba isn't exactly short on restaurants, wine bars and cafes but there's been an addition to the list - Antico Caffe' Calissano. It's only recently opened and located right next door to La Piola - right on Piazza Risorgimento.  Interesting tidbit - apparently the location is haunted. It's open  6 days a week (closed on Mondays) - from breakfast to dinner. Today we're visiting for aperitivo

Bistrot dei Sognatori

It was probably a combination of an excellent lunch, a bottle of wine and jetlag that caused us to drift off to sleep in the afternoon. When we awoke in the early evening, we found a message from Mario and arranged to catch up for a drink at Bistrot dei Sognatori.

Pranzo - La Libera

Today for lunch, we're going to one of the places we didn't have time to visit last year - Ristorante Osteria La Libera

Cena @ La Piola

For our first meal in Italy, we're crossing the piazza to eat at La Piola - the sister restaurant of Piazza Duomo.

Flight: QR 33 Doha to Milan Malpensa

There aren't any pictures of our flight from Doha to Milan - the plane isn't quite as spacious, the seat isn't very well designed but as the flight only takes a little over 6 hours, it's okay.

We're offered another breakfast which wasn't particularly good but we both manage to have a little snooze after it. A couple of hours out from Milan we're offered lunch which isn't too bad.

We're pretty much first off when we land and have a dream run through immigration - they barely even want to look at Paalo's English passport and in my case, the only delay is finding a page to place the stamp.

From here it's a short walk to the baggage area and we wait less than 10 minutes for our bags. From this area you could take one exit that leads you to the train that will take you to Milan but as we have a driver waiting for us, we have to go through customs.

There are three paths marked on the floor and we figure out we just need to follow the nothing to declare line. Surprisingly, we basically take a few steps and waltz out the sliding doors to find we out in the airport proper. I'm scratching my head to understand why people don't like Malpensa airport - it's been a breeze. We quickly scan the waiting hordes and find our driver dutifully holding his sign. It's then out the door and across the street and we're ready to go.

This has got to be the easiest and quickest exit we've ever had from any airport.

The drive from Malpensa to Alba is without any issues - we get to relax in a lovely Mercedes and cruise the highways topping 160 clicks - it doesn't even feel that fast and in just over an hour and a half we're at our destination.

Flight: QR 31 Melbourne to Doha

Our flight tonight leaves at 10:55pm so unlike every other overseas trip we've been on, we had a good night sleep and we've got the rest of the day to deal with any unexpected issues. With the winds causing all sorts of problems, we've booked our taxi for the earlier time of 6.15pm - in hindsight this proved quite a sensible thing to do.

As we made our way through the tunnel and towards the Bolte Bridge, trouble lay ahead. Our driver had noticed that something was wrong with the traffic and a well-timed bulletin on the radio announced that a car had broken down on the bridge and the traffic was now gridlocked - sensibly, we decided to forgo the Bolte and headed for the Westgate.

Fortunately, apart from the initial hiccup, the run to the airport was pretty easy and we arrived without any further problems. In fact, we arrive before check-in had even opened.

Check in runs smoothly - and since we're flying business, we're given access to the Air New Zealand lounge since Qatar doesn't have a lounge of its own in Melbourne.

Dinner @Cafe Vue at Melbourne Airport

We're off to Italy again and this time we're leaving straight from Melbourne rather than having to start our trip via Sydney. One of the benefits is that we finally get to see the "new" Melbourne International Terminal and visit Cafe Vue.

It's located diagonally opposite Movida's Bar Pulpo and neither place is what I'd call remotely busy.