Pbenjay's Blog

UNLUCKY #13 – I HAD ONE GREAT MEAL IN ITALY – THIS IS NOT IT!!

Guardia as I mentioned before is no tourist mecca.  A small town with a population of about 5000 people and the average age is 46.  An interesting statistic with possibly no bearing on my next statement;  There are 3 – 3.5 restaurants in Guardia Sanframondi so where to dine out is never a real dilemma, take your pick, 1,2, or 3.  Peter wanted to have dinner at a restaurant that was practically across the street from our apartment- Le Meridiana (The Sundial).  The dining room was very large with a bar area adjacent in the rear.  I think one of the attractions for Peter was that three walls were glass from floor to ceiling.  It was a Thursday evening and we arrived around 8:00pm, not early but perhaps not as late, as we Americans have been led to believe, when Italians eat.  The entire restaurant was EMPTY!  Naturally we chose a table near the windows.  I was flabbergasted that no one was there except for a couple of girls and a guy in the bar.  Well clearly, service wasn’t going to be an issue.

Lovely, Large and Empty!

I freely admit that I’m not an adventurous eater, I don’t usually put anything in my mouth that I’m not somewhat familiar with (dangling preposition).  However, here I am in the fatherland, so there should be no problem finding a delicious dish.  Also we are in the part of Italy known for their wine, cherries, grapes and fresh meat because as Raphael told us, “We are a people married to the land.”, agriculture is the main industry.

I look forward to using my limited Italian to order for both of us;  Peter order a fish with a name that unrecognizable in any language let alone Italian,  I opt for what I think will be a juicy pork chop-taking advantage of an opportunity to have some pork which is something along with veal and lamb we don’t eat in our home because Peter isn’t comfortable with eating anything as smart as a pig or as young as a calf or lamb.  Hey, it’s his thing, I just go along with it at home, lol.  Of course we must have a prima piatti (first dishes);  I don’t remember what he ordered but I had a very delicious tagliatelle with wild mushrooms.  So good, looking forward to my main course.

The fish arrives with its head and tail on and so I inform the waiter with some Italian and lots of hand gestures that he must remove the head and tail and bring it back hopefully filleted.  My dish is served and there all by itself on a large plate is a very darkly grilled, very thin, not flat piece of meat.  It is obviously a pork cutlet, maybe I didn’t read the menu correctly.  A pork cutlet would be okay but NOT a pork cutlet that has been grilled well beyond well done and is now very tough!  Aha, well, we are not in New York City and there are no vegetables accompanying the cutlet, actually there is no nothing on the plate!

I ordered vino rossa locale which was good but not nearly as good as Pasquale’s father’s wine.  The final disappointment came with dessert.  I ordered their ricotta cheese cake and when it was put in front of me, it was clear that this small triangle of  what did not taste like ricotta and was topped with some strawberry syrup and a blob of Redi-Whip on top, WAS NOT HOMEMADE.

I’m not saying that the food was not good, it just wasn’t great for me, Peter loved his meal.  And why was it empty? Well Thursday night out isn’t a pre-weekend, find a date for the weekend, night.  That and this is a town where if your Mama isn’t cooking you a delicious dinner, then your wife certainly is.

It was definitely time to go home and go to sleep.  We are weary from our busy day and can’t wait to get into bed.  

                                                                                            to be continued….