During the summer I visited a lot of wonderful cities in Europe.
Up on the hilltops, surrounded by fields as far as the eye can see, is the beautiful capital of the Umbria region Perugia. This pittoresque historic city is well-known as a cultural and artistic centre of Italy. Surrounded by it's defensive walls it's such a quirky little area to walk around.
Hidden behind every little archway is a new adventure to be found. I don't know how many cobbled squirming pathways I walked up and down, one arched stairway more beautiful than the other.
In between walks it's good to refresh with some ice cream once in a while :)
The first days, I spent walking around and ending up in mediocre restaurants typical for tourists.
I mean they were okay if you are just looking for pastas and pizzas, but for me that gets very boring and for me it's disappointing to eat overpriced food when I know how much good produce Italy has to offer.
Luckily for me behind the Fontana Maggiore fountain was one pathway on which I stumbled across a very modern and casual looking restaurant, Societa Anomina. It was day time and the young chefs were sitting outside on an old horse cart watching Youtube clips and laughing.
Immediately it felt like the type of place I was looking for. I took a photo of their menu so I could google it once in the hotel.
Pictures say so much more than words and I was happy to see that the dishes were beautiful and not drizzled with the thick balsamic syrup which you still find in so many restaurants pretending to be up to date and modern :)
As the evening arrived I headed back to Societa Anomina, the restaurant I had stumbled upon. The food was amazing and much better than what I had eaten the previous days.
I loved the ambience of the very laid-back restaurant and enthusiastic staff.
Everyone was very professional and I enjoyed every bit of my dinner until the wee hours at night.
I had a couple of snacks first. I had the egg salamoia which was a preserved egg. It may sound boring but it was actually really good and went well with the smoked sardines that I also had.
Next I had the dish called Overground, creamy Burrata with smoked aubergine, red onion, zucchini and crispy crumbles of potato.
It was delish!
After this I had sweetbreads with a creamy purée of potatoes from Pietralunga and Hibiscus powder. The sweetness of the purée and the bitterness of the cranberry-like hibiscus complemented the rich and fatty sweetbreads.
The staff of the restaurants you like, are usually the best people to recommend you your next restaurant. Even these guys had a recommendation or two but were jokingly saying I would be anyways disappointed as they are the best :)
The next day I went to look for the restaurant they had recommended the night before. Again I was positively surprised by the new world that had been hidden in the end of the stoney pathway that at first look had just looked too boring to even bother to go to.
....but lucky for me restaurant La Fame was recommended to me.
The whole area where it was located was the coolest little artsy area full of colourful paintings, graffiti wall art and sculptures hidden here and there.
And as for the restaurant....I think it was the best place I had ever found so far in Italy. I loved every thing about it.
The place was full of people and luckily I had made a reservation earlier, because all the seats were taken.
I got a table for one, right next to a garage door full of graffiti :D
For someone this sad little table could've been a disappointment but for me it was by far the best table in the house...just like the owner said to me when happily presenting it to me.
Best Table in the house....don't you agree? :)
The small wooden tables were placed in a dark alley with the most cosy feel filled with locals laughing and chatting whilst drinking wine.
There was even a small chess board placed infront of an old door with cushions inviting someone to have a go at the game.
The staff was really friendly and seemed very passionate and knowledgable about their food and natural wines.
Next up were zucchini flowers served with bluefish, tzatziki, celery and salsa verde. The combination of flavours was amazing and nothing I had had before. It was crunchy, soft and refreshing. I was also really happy to see that they had not ruined the beautiful zucchini flowers by covering them up in a batter.
The dessert was my least favourite. It was good but maybe I was just too full to enjoy it fully. Don't get me wrong...it was really good. A hazelnut and chocolate mousse sweet and creamy and chocolatey...but it didn't surprise my tastebuds as much as the rest of the dishes.
The last night I had been planning on going to a remote restaurant recommended to me but I was too tired so I didn't want to go very far. I was thinking of going back to La Fame but ended up trying one of the places that the hotel and most people had recommended.....however this was a disappointing way to end my trip. The restaurant looked nice and I sat in a cosy inner courtyard but already looking at the menu it felt like I had again fallen into the tourist trap. This restaurant La Taverna, is by no means a bad restaurant and I'm sure a lot of people will be really happy with this choice....but for me it was too old fashioned.
I decided to go with whatever was recommended to me. As a starter I had an onion tart with truffles. This pie was good and seemed like a good start for the dinner.
Next came the beetroot pasta with Gorgonzola sauce. It may sound like the perfect combo...and it is....but if you can taste nothing but gorgonzola it's just disappointing. I love blue cheese....but this was waayyy too much. I really love beetroot too and I think if you appreciate your ingredients you shouldn't hide them all under a thick sauce that you can't find anything else in the dish. I struggled to eat this dish because it was just boring. I'm sad to say, but just because it's an original recipe from years back it doesn't mean it should be kept forever.
Before the bill came the waitress brought me a shot of rich chocolate which was quite nice, especially for chocolate lovers. The wine card was great and the atmosphere had it's own cosy charm.
Perugia really is a beautiful city and I do recommend to stop by if in the area :) especially for eating at Fame....I know I will be thinking about that gnocco for a long time.
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