AUNTIE PASTA: Milan’s Best Kept Secret

SARONNO, Italy - Seeing as we are just days away from Christmas, I thought I'd give you a present. This is a nice present. A present anyone, especially a travel or food editor, would give his or her eye teeth for. It's an insiders list of the best lunch places in Milan. It's a list the Milanese don't want you to have so don't tell anyone you got it from Auntie Pasta.

Some of the restaurants are in the center, others are slightly off center, but all are worth a visit. But be prepared to find the menus in Italian only and the chances of finding someone on the staff with the ability (or time) to translate, slim to none.  Oh, and one more thing, these secret places the Milanese hold near and dear to their hearts are not for sissies, so be prepared to eat.

Dulcis in Fundo

DULCIS in FUNDO

Via Gianfranco Zuretti 55

Milano (MI)

Tel: 02.66.71.25.03

Hidden away in a courtyard, this former factory has had a major make-over. From a place that specialized in grime and grunge it has been transformed into a bright and welcoming restaurant. With as little as 10 euros for lunch, you can choose from some rather exotic dishes. Open for dinner only on Thursday nights.  

Menu choices:  Puff pastry with artichokes, codfish balls, diced swordfish and turnip greens,  lasagnetta with speck, zucchini and saffron, pasta with artichokes and bottarga, risotto with port  and and gorgonzola, tortelli stuffed with truffles, stuffed artichokes, grouper with grain mustard, foie gras, tuna steak with sesame and couscous,  and fillet of veal roasted in a crust.

Prices: More or less € 35, without wine

Open for brunch on Saturday, and for dinner on Thursday night. Closed Sunday and Monday  

 Emiliana Tortellini

EMILIANA TORTELLINI

Via Ariberto 17

Milano (MI)

Tel: 02.58.10.97.07

Eating lunch at Nadia Magnani’s pasta factory is like going to your grandmother's house in the hills of Italy’s most famous pasta making region - Emilia Romgana. It goes without saying that the pasta dishes are exceptional. Yes, there are other things to eat, but it’s the pasta, in every way, shape and form, that steals the show.

Prices: If you try really hard, you can spend about 15 euros, without wine.

Open from Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and on Thursday and Friday nights for dinner.

 Bottiglieria da Pino 

BOTTIGLIERIA da PINO

Via Cerva 14

Milano (MI)

Tel: 02.76.00.05.32

This old fashioned trattoria is always busy with the hustle and bustle of waiters bringing home style food to discriminating locals.  The most popular dishes are risotto, soups, quiche and a Lombard staple, boiled beef.

A fixed price menu includes a first and second course with a side dish, a half bottle of mineral water and a quartino of wine.  

The trattoria is only open for lunch but you can reserve the restaurant for a private party of up to 50 people.  Closed on Sundays and evenings.

 

Triennale Caffe' Design  

 TRIENNALE CAFFE’ DESIGN

Viale Emilio Alemagna 6

Milano (MI)

Tel: 02.87.54.41

This restaurant has a most splendid location on the first floor of Milan’s number one design museum,the Triennale. The outside wall is one great window so all tables have a view of Parco Sempione.  Chef David Dalma serves up some pretty spectacular dishes, including some created by award winning  chef, Carlo Cracco. The food is gourmet, but it won’t bust your budget.  For a first and second course you can expect to pay between €20-€25 euros, and Sunday brunch is priced at €28.  

 Tagiura

TAGIURA 

Via Tagiura 5

Milano (MI)

Tel: 02 48.95.06.13

Tagiura is a resturant that you might mistake for a bar.  But once past the bar, you enter into a elegant dining room with a menu to match. Stuffed pasta dishes reign here, including tortellini and ravioli and other classic favorites. Look for gnocchi with zucchini flowers with a drizzle of melted butter, Cremonese ravioli stuffed with beef that has been cooked in wine and salamella salame, leek soup, cheese ravioli in meat broth and a spoonful of Lambrusco, roasts, stews and a wide selection of cheeses.

At lunchtime a first and second course are priced between €10 and €15 euros. The price increases slightly for dinner and range from €25 - €35 excluding wine.

Open for dinner on Thursdays and Fridays, and closed for lunch on Sunday. Reservations are essential.

Frutteto Viel  

FRUTTETO VIEL

Via Amatore Antonio Sciesa 2

Milano (MI)

Tel: 335.25.50.06

Break out your Sherlock Holmes hat and magnifying glass – this restaurant is difficult to find. If you succeed you will be rewarded with an array of dishes, including vegetarian dishes, such as eggs and asparagus, ravioli in a sweet pepper sauce and meatballs with rice. The menu varies according to the season and what is in the marketplace.
Prices range from 7-13 euros.
Open for lunch daily, and dinner on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays

 Da Teo

Da Teo

Corso Como 3

Milano (MI)

Tel: 02.65.55.029

If you long for the taste of the culinary treasures of Puglia, da Teo is the place to go. Managed by Antoinette and Teo, this tiny restaurant delivers the flavors of the south with traditional favorites like orecchiette with cima di rape, tiny lampascione onions in oil, puree’ of fava and friselle, that southern relative of bruschetta.

If the weather is nice, you can sit outside and enjoy the sites and sounds of Corso Como. A first and second course is about €15.

Closed on Sundays and never open for dinner

 Il Bacaro del Sambuco  

 IL BACARO del SAMBUCO

Via Monte Napoleone 13

Milano (MI)

Tel: 02.76.39.48.32

Il Bacaro del Sambuco is the little sister of Restaurant Sambuco on Via Messina in Milan. And like her big sister, simple, traditional dishes that are light and sophisticated are the order of the day. If the weather is nice you can sit in the restaurant’s sheltered courtyard, or in the elegant dining room.

Open only for lunch. Closed Sundays and Mondays.

 

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LIFE: Ties that Bind

SARONNO, Italy - After last week’s post on ex-pats returning home, I thought you might be interested in some of the social organizations that bring us together. When I lived in Genova I belonged to the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (Fawco) and I’m still friends with some of the women I met during that period. Here in Milan, my entry to the English speaking community was through the Professional Women’s Association. The clubs are an essential part of any ex-pat’s life abroad; they are the ties that bind. The organizations listed below are in Milan but you will find ex-pat groups for both men and women in most Italian cities.

• American Business Luncheon. This was conceived by and for members of the (north) American community living and working in Milano. Whereas the core of the group is made up of executives from the American business community, and attendance is still by invitation only, today the American Business Luncheon is open to all those having interests or business dealings with North America and North American companies. Luncheons are held once a month, towards the end of the month. Info: http://www.americanbusinessgroup.org/

Hash House Harriers Toga Run in Rome

•AperoNet is a social group that meets without a fixed schedule in the evening at various places in Milan. We're an international mix of Expats & Italians in their 30's-50's. no fees, no memberships, just show up when you like: http://aperonet.too.it "

• Benvenuto Club of Milan. We are a club of English speaking women of many nationalities from forty different countries. We meet on the second Tuesday of each month from 10 am –12 pm at Circolo Alessandro Volta, Via Giusti 16•MM2 Moscova. We exist to support women who moved into the Milan area. We also have an extensive program of special activities, visits and volunteer work. We meet socially in each neighbourhood of Milan. Free baby-sitting service available. Contact the Newcomers Director at 338.969.1563, e-mail newcomersbenvenuto@yahoo.com

• International Benvenuto Club of Varese is a club for English-speaking women from all over the world. The club has a number of regular and special activities. Meets every month for coffee (free for members) at Esselunga of Masnago or elsewhere. For information contact: www.benvenutovarese.org or membership@benvenutovarese.org

• The British Chamber of Commerce for Italy is the focal point of the British business community in Milan and other major Italian cities. Activities in Milan include a monthly lunch – an ideal networking opportunity – on the last Thursday of the month, seminars, tax and legal round tables, as well as an interesting social calendar (wine trips, golf outings, etc). Further details on www.britchamitaly.com or tel. 02.8056094.

• Eurocircle was founded in 2000 in NY. Its goal is to enable expatriated professionals to meet, to express themselves, network, socialize, and find information about the city to which they have moved. Milan’s EuroCircle organizes a monthly happy hour and dinner in the center of town for expats from all over the world. Contact Maria Chiara Russo, milan@eurocircle.com and state “membership to EuroCircle” in subject line.

• The Hash House Harriers (defined as “The drinking club with a running problem”), or rather the Royal Milan & Bordighera Hash House Harriers, is a branch of the original club formed in Malaysia by British colonists who, given the lack of hares or foxes in that distant land, invented a chase based on a human hare leaving trails (true and false) of flour. Today in their attempts to cater for “the fit, the unfit and the social misfit”, they hold a group 40 to 60min run in Milan on alternate Mondays at 7.30 pm, a run in the countryside every other Saturday or Sunday, and various other events. Info on their website at www.milanhhh.com or contact S+M at suboyle@enjoy.it

• The Milan Cricket Club, founded in 1972 by a brave group of UK expatriates. Fixtures are usually held on weekends in the countryside with lunch and dinner on Sunday. Contact:- tionale_europe@rediffmail.com"

• Partyamo is an idea created by Steven Walthew for international people. Partyamo organizes social events which bring together everyone staying in Milan: picnics in the park, ceilidhs, aperitvi, Sunday brunch, day trips and more. See the website for details and enrolment form. http://www.partyamo.com/

• The Professional Women’s Association was established in 1987, based on the recognized need of working women for a resource and network with which to exchange information about living and working in Milan. €100 January to December. Visit our website www.pwa-milan.org, e-mail pwa@pwa-milan.org.

Ex-patriate nightlife

• At Old Fashion Café, Viale Alemagna 6 (entrance from Viale Camoens), a popular event for international students and tourists is organised every Wednesday: music, buffet, cocktails, film in original language, disco, run by Eventsplace, http://www.eventsplace.it/.

• Leopardi 13 has launched “International Happy Hours”, every Tuesday, run by a language school in cooperation with an event organizer. It is aimed at international people in Milan for brief periods, for those who are studying a language and want to practice conversation in a relaxing atmosphere. The Leopardi 13 café-restaurant is in... guess, Via Leopardi 13 (MM1/2 Cadorna), open from 7am to 02.00 am. Happy hour every evening 18.30-22.00, €6, or €12 for the Jumbo Cocktail in a 1½ litre glass. Info Andrea 393.749.6785.

• Soir Café , on Via Edmondo De Amicis 4, near the Colonne di San Lorenzo, runs “Flytonight” every Saturday, offering international atmospheres with evenings dedicated to the world's capitals, in music, art and culture. “Check-in” at 20.00, aperitifs, a quiet area with shiatsu massage, disco music from 22.00 to 4 am. Prices are reduced for non-Italians: €5 20.00-22.00, €8 after 22.00.

Your comments and observations are always welcomed (thisitalianlife@yahoo.com).