Milan good spots? (and 1 1/2 brief TNs)

K

kirk wallace

kirk wallace
We will have just 2 nights in Milan in mid-March. Any Disorderlies have recommendations for good fun places to eat or have some wine? We have not been to Milan for about 4 years, but have fond memories of Le Vigne and Al Pont de Ferr (both in the Navigli); are these places still good, genuine and fun? (If it helps calibrate, I think the meal we had that trip at Sadler was one of the worst, laughable restaurant experiences (fussy, precious, self-important with quite mediocre results from the kitchen) I've ever had in Europe.) I assume Peck is still great too, but what else is out there that merits a visit. Is there a Terroir of Milano?

Also, Chezeaux (Ponsot) 2000 Griottes last night was in a great spot. Only had the wine once before -last year the night of the Super Bowl and it was pretty much just dark and closed last year. Now, open and beautiful; great mix of fruit and spice with a nice spine; not surprisingly given the vintage, this is not a big structured wine, but it is no flabby bowl of fruit punch either. Lovely balance of acidity and sweet, ripeness; it followed an '01 Clos Lambrays, which was fine (maybe an OK+), but the Griottes was far more interesting and complete.

Thanks.
 
originally posted by Thor:
Osteria dei Binari (scroll down).[/quote

Thank you, Thor; and very glad to see the Vajra 2000 Langhe Freisa Ky on your write-up; no doubt they're up to '04 or '05 now, but that would be fine, from my point of view.

Don't suppose you visited the Osteria Grand Hotel? Supposed to hav a great wine list, with very simple, very traditional food.
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Thank you, Thor; and very glad to see the Vajra 2000 Langhe Freisa Ky on your write-up; no doubt they're up to '04 or '05 now, but that would be fine, from my point of view.
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Well, even in '07 the '00 wasn't the current vintage, so who can tell what they have at the moment? But jetlagged and not in the mood for ferreting out subtleties in some grand nebbiolo, it was exactly what we wanted, even though we didn't know that going in.

Don't suppose you visited the Osteria Grand Hotel? Supposed to have a great wine list, with very simple, very traditional food.
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Nope. Just one night. Milan isn't exactly Theresa's favorite city, but we didn't want to face the train trip to Venice immediately after the flight, and I'd never been. So we really only had time for one meal. (Not counting panini at the train station.)
 
originally posted by Thor:
Thank you, Thor; and very glad to see the Vajra 2000 Langhe Freisa Ky on your write-up; no doubt they're up to '04 or '05 now, but that would be fine, from my point of view.
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Well, even in '07 the '00 wasn't the current vintage, so who can tell what they have at the moment?
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Tasted a few weeks ago, they're currently on the '05. Which is great.
 
Check out Peck in Milano, very nice. They also have a wine bar around the corner.

Via Spadari, 9
Milano

Near piazza del duomo.

side note: Just opened a 1997 Kye` magnum the other week...corked, a sad moment.
 
I've had an unusually high number of corked Ky Freisas, to the point that I've sometimes wondered if the taint didn't precede the cork. But the good/intact ones belie the notion, so I guess I've just been unlucky.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
In 2004, we ate at Rist. l'Ulmet. Hard to get into but lovely.
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Jeff, tell me more; menu lookd pretty nice. Is it "hard to get into" as in book ahead a few weeks, or "hard to get into" as in if they don't know you, you can't book?
 
I just checked my travel journal but I did not write much down (we had a '99 Bussola Valpolicella). From memory, then:

- We were in Milan for 4 or 5 nights (Oct. 2004). We tried just walking in but that did not work. We made a reservation for a few days later and took what we could get. We did name-drop but I don't know whether that mattered.

- I learned about the resto from my boss (who is a foodie). He was taken there a couple of times by our Italian distributor. They chatted up the owner, admired his daughter, etc.

- I recall that the food was very good and the service, too. I felt hindered by my mediocre Italian. I think a person in good voice could ask (and get) a lot more than I did.

- I recall having a white truffle pasta dish.

- I recall that papa has a slithery, sinuous walk.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
I just checked my travel journal but I did not write much down (we had a '99 Bussola Valpolicella). From memory, then:

- We were in Milan for 4 or 5 nights (Oct. 2004). We tried just walking in but that did not work. We made a reservation for a few days later and took what we could get. We did name-drop but I don't know whether that mattered.

- I learned about the resto from my boss (who is a foodie). He was taken there a couple of times by our Italian distributor. They chatted up the owner, admired his daughter, etc.

- I recall that the food was very good and the service, too. I felt hindered by my mediocre Italian. I think a person in good voice could ask (and get) a lot more than I did.

- I recall having a white truffle pasta dish.

- I recall that papa has a slithery, sinuous walk.
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terrific! Thanks. It may just be dinner for us on Saturday. I'll let you know what we find if we go.
 
I will be in Milan for ten days in mid March. While I enjoyed Sadler more than you, a few other places I enjoyed were:

Da Aimo e Nadia (a bit out of the way but very good)
Cracco Peck is a bit nutty
the wine store/bar Cantine Isola (via Paolo Sarpi) is great
Rovello 18 (a restaurant inside a little hotel) has loads of orange, organic and interesting wines and interesting food

Let me know what you're looking for
 
originally posted by Cole Kendall:
I will be in Milan for ten days in mid March. While I enjoyed Sadler more than you, a few other places I enjoyed were:

Da Aimo e Nadia (a bit out of the way but very good)
Cracco Peck is a bit nutty
the wine store/bar Cantine Isola (via Paolo Sarpi) is great
Rovello 18 (a restaurant inside a little hotel) has loads of orange, organic and interesting wines and interesting food

Let me know what you're looking for
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Thanks, Cole; i have long loved Aimo e Nadia; for reasons that escape me, my BF does not, so we've ruled it out for this trip.

I will check out the Cantine Isola; from the web, it looks just right.

As for other ideas of what we are looking for, it could be a slow food-type place that perhaps has crept out of their strict price range, or some thing slightly less traditional, but not Frenchified -- e.g., if there were a Milanese equivalent of Paris's Les Itineraires, that would be ideal.
 
Cantine Isola is a great place to try a few different glasses and nosh

You might like Revello

In the less traditional there is "Joia" new wave vegetarian

And I assume you know the Grom ice cream shop

And if you are into pizza, Tric Trac (outside Milan in Legnano) is worth a stop but you need a car and a reservation
 
My wife and I had an excellent lunch last June at Al Pont de Ferr, helped along by a bottle of Movia 2000 Puro Ros. First rate. That was the only meal we had in Milan proper. And I second what I take to be Cole's recommendation of Grom - we saw two locations in Milan.
 
originally posted by Cole Kendall:
Cantine Isola is a great place to try a few different glasses and nosh

You might like Revello

In the less traditional there is "Joia" new wave vegetarian

And I assume you know the Grom ice cream shop

And if you are into pizza, Tric Trac (outside Milan in Legnano) is worth a stop but you need a car and a reservation
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Sorry to be difficult, but HATED (no really, HATED) Joia in our one visit there (some time in the late '90s). We love pizza and will have a car.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
originally posted by Thor:
Osteria dei Binari (scroll down).
Click to expand...
I second that recommendation and would also add Osteria del Treno.
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A friend actually suggested this last night and it was quite nice; they were having some sort of a goose fest (oca!) and I had a very good slow foods approved plate of goose (roasted with bones in as far as I could tell) with white polenta (apparently from some corn variety that has largely disappeared). Very good salumi and a lovely bottle of 2005 lagrein from Letrari (spelling corrected http://www.letrari.it/ita/LagreinRosso.html) that was a lovely drink at 12.5%. Many thanks for the reference.
 
originally posted by Cole Kendall:
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
originally posted by Thor:
Osteria dei Binari (scroll down).
Click to expand...
I second that recommendation and would also add Osteria del Treno.
Click to expand...

A friend actually suggested this last night and it was quite nice; they were having some sort of a goose fest (oca!) and I had a very good slow foods approved plate of goose (roasted with bones in as far as I could tell) with white polenta (apparently from some corn variety that has largely disappeared). Very good salumi and a lovely bottle of 2005 lagrein from Larari (spelling very approximate) that was a lovely drink at 12.5%. Many thanks for the reference.
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Cole, were you at dei Binari or del Treno?
 
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