We actually loved our first dinner at Don Alfonso 1890 in 2018, so it was the right restaurant to start out off this yr’s culinary adventures in Italy.
It is a household enterprise, run by two brothers and their mom. Aside from a restaurant it’s also a boutique resort.
The decor just isn’t precisely to our style, however we all know from our earlier go to that the meals and wine actually are. We opted for la Degustazione, 7 programs for 190 euros, and the wine pairing, 5 glasses for 220 euros.
Don Alfonso has a fabulous wine cellar, they usually have the good coverage that they spend the lion’s share of the price range on one incredible wine. This permits the company to get pleasure from one thing actually particular, whereas preserving the whole value (considerably) cheap.
The amuse bouche had been fantastic. My favorites had been the oyster tempura and the truffle.
The primary course of the menu was buffalo mozzarella soufflé and mozzarella ice cream with tomato coulis and crispy basil. A basic mixture of substances from this area, served with a distinction between cold and warm. It was paired properly with a Viognier from Lazio.
Subsequent was the one dish that was nearly the identical as a dish 4 years in the past: duck breast with balsamic discount, apple sauce, and cinnamon. Identical to 4 years in the past it was paired with cherry-infused Aglianico on the rocks. This time across the duck was tender. The cherry-infused wine has a robust taste in order that it turns into extra the primary a part of the dish reasonably than an accompaniment.
The third course was very nice: ravioli created from cuttlefish, filled with fish, and served with squash puree and a carrot and ginger broth. After we chatted with the chef after dinner, he defined that the cuttlefish pasta was made by puttint cuttlefish in a blender with egg whites and ice, which was then cooked as sheets on silicone within the oven. This was paired properly with a mix of Chenin and Chardonnay from Piemonte.
Subsequent had been cappelli (a sort of ravioli) of standard recent pasta, filled with hen, and served with onion, parmigiano, and a beneficiant serving of black truffle. This was paired properly with a Semillon from Chile that was made considerably like an orange wine, however not in an oxidative fashion (so it was very good). The pasta with truffle was simply fantastic.
The following dish was paired with the identical wine, and this pairing was excellent. It actually introduced out the wine. The dish was grouper, cooked sous vide with lemon zest and vanilla, served with mashed potatoes with a little bit of chives, a sabayon of colatura di alici (anchovy brine, a speciality from the close by Amalfi coast), onion ashes, and fried basil. I assumed the grouper was barely dry and the chef later revealed that it had been cooked sous vide at 55C/131F. I steered he attempt it at 50C/122F, however he stated serving fish medium uncommon like that might freak out a few of the company.
As I discussed within the introduction, the wine pairing contains one ‘huge wine’. It was a 1988 Château Haut Brion Grand Cru Classé from Pessac-Léognan (Bordeaux, France). This wine had aged very nicely with velvety tannins, however nonetheless had a vibrant colour and its freshness. If a restaurant has such an ideal wine cellar, it’s very nice to truly get pleasure from a few of its treasure.
The wine was accompanied by the meat secondo: braised blade steak, marinated with oriental spices and served with a squash velouté, orange mostarda, wasabi, and borage powder. The meat was very tender and by itself a pleasant pairing with the wine. The mostarda, squash, and wasabi had been good with the meat, however not serving to to deliver out the most effective of the wine.
The palate cleanser was a raspberry sorbet.
For dessert you could possibly decide any dessert from the menu. I opted for a creation of carub, chocolate, and hazelnuts, that was very good and paired properly with a recioto di Valpolicella.
The friandises had been additionally very good.
The meal ended with a tour of the well-known wine cellar. The deepest half is 1000’s of years previous.
This was one other nice meal at Don Alfonso. The meals, wine, and repair had been all merely fantastic. The chef combines native substances with fashionable strategies to provide you with dishes which might be nonetheless firmly rooted in Italian culinary custom. All of the wines and wine pairings are good, with one incredible pairing and one incredible wine amongst them. The service may be very pleasant and in no way formal. It’s clear that the Iaccarino household understands hospitality. I’m already wanting ahead to our subsequent go to.
