Food and Wine Travel Guide in Italy & Europe by Apron and Sneakers
With the Tyrrhenian Sea right in front of him as an exceptionally extensive supplier that any chef can ask for, Gianfranco Pascucci has a vast source of ingredients where fishes of different kinds are taken to the dock by the local fishermen of Fiumicino. He doesn’t limit his ingredients to the usual sea bass or…
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The past thirteen years had seen Il Tino metamorphosing from a simple restaurant in Ostia to an elegant Michelin-starred restaurant in Fiumicino. In that simple restaurant in Ostia, regular clients patronized and curious new ones arrived. Il Tino became the referral point for excellent seafood cuisine in the coastal town of Rome even if its…
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Topaz Restaurant has something spectacular awaiting its guests upon entry. Its floor to ceiling glass wall frames a picturesque view of Istanbul. The Bosphorus Strait and its bridge, the whole city with some of its grandest sites and the Dolmabahçe Palace create a breathtaking scene. At night time, the restaurant’s lights are kept low (pardon…
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Parked just a block away, I walked along Via Pisanelli, a quiet residential road in Rome. My eyes riveted towards a light yellow building standing aristocratically amidst the other structures in the area. I quickly scanned the number outside for confirmation. I knew I was at the right place. It says 25 and on the…
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Ristorante La Trota‘s location may not be conveniently inside the capital and it may take a bit of traveling from the center of Rome towards Rieti because it has a distance of about 100 kilometers but rest assured that if you do make that trip, the gourmand in you will be more than satisfied. In…
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Asked where I can dine while in Belgrade, all my Serbian friends say The Square Restaurant. I got the impression that it’s not to be missed while in the city and when I finally walked through the the doors and the lobby of the hotel where it is located, I understood why. The Square is…
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There are some places that are hard to forget even after a number of years because the fond memories keep on rolling back. Ristorante Vescovado had that effect on me. During a press tour four years ago, I remembered how well-received we were, how one of the chefs of the restaurant pounded on her mortar…
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The sea is my biggest supplier, where I had to get everything. Chef Gianfranco Pascucci has a vast source of ingredients right in front of him, where fishes of different kinds are taken to the dock by the local fishermen of Fiumicino as soon as they come in from fishing. He doesn’t limit his ingredients…
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Eit. Pronounced like eight in English and signifies a lot of things that pertain to the number eight. In fact, Eit was born out of that number. Pino Cau of Hotel Rex, along with Chef Luigi Nastri, the one Michelin star chef of Stazione di Posta in Rome embarked on a new gastronomic adventure by…
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In 1985, when Antonello Colonna took the reins and installed a bright red door in his family’s restaurant in Labico, not only did the name change to Antonello Colonna but it also became one of the best restaurants in Italy. The red door symbolized the preservation of traditional dishes and their flavors while adapting them…
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Beauty is represented in different ways. Five-star hotels are always lavishly decorated and are so luxurious that you never want to leave them. Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà is all of the above and even much more. It’s a contemporary art gallery housed in a 15th century villa created by architect Michele Sanmichele then later…
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My stop in Ljubljana had been short but enough for me to gather some great first impressions. I didn’t expect it to be so charming and so busy on a weekday. The old town was a lovely walk where outdoor cafès, restaurants and shops housed in colorful Baroque and Vienna Secession style buildings line up…
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In Rome, there is a star that glistens a tad shinier that the rest because that star brings out what the others can’t take out of the Italian cooking. From the heart of Land of the Rising Sun, love, as simple and precise as I can put it, takes forth an incredible rendition of the…
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On the days I was in Freiburg at the beginning of summer, the heat was uncomfortably intense. Waiting for the sun to go down for the temperature to decrease a few degrees, I took on the lovely streets of Freiburg before my dinner reservation. It’s a beautiful city at the edge of the Black Forest…
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Entering the town of Colmar is like opening a book of a fairy tales.The intensely colorful half-timbered houses line the cobblestone streets while the well-tended flower boxes filled with gaily-colored flowers give the final touch of perfection. It’s alive with architecture, art and history that dates back to the time it was first written in…
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