Last year on my birthday, Peter and I took a ride down the mountain and up another. It was suggested that we take a ride to Cusano Mutri, so we did, and there we came upon a little restaurant, a cafe really. The trip was filled with one postcard after another.
Oh Look A Mucca!
The town itself is lovely and also medieval. I haven’t gone up the road to their castle but from a distance it seems much more intact. I was told it was not as old as the fortress in Guardia. 
La Piccola Perla Del Maltese is right out of Central Casting as is the owner Franco and his wife.
And the food! I ordered an appetizer for Peter and I when we were there and didn’t tell him what it was because if I did he probably wouldn’t eat it. The restaurant is known for its pork dishes.
Porchetta, mozzarella and porcini mushrooms – delicious (but a little too much fat for me)
“OMG These Tomatoes Are From Heaven”
Clearly Joel had a lot to say about the unbleivably out of this world bruschetta! 
The really funny part of the day was the demeanor of the owner. I don’t think I’m going to be able to express how bizarre this was; It’s noon, we arrive. The restaurant door, albeit hanging beads is open so I walk in. Its dark and no one is in the cafe. I walk up to the bar and yell out “HELLOOOO”. Out he comes from the back room, no greeting smile on his face. I smile and say ciao and say “Mangia pranzo? ” Incredulous, he looks at me. You would think I just asked him to cater a party of 25 within the hour. I smile again and point to Joel and say, “Mio figlio” to which he nods and extends his hand. Perhaps he has now recognized me as the nut job who showed up a week ago in the mid afternoon AND AGAIN no one was in the restaurant but Peter and I. He must wonder how do I manage to arrive at the most inconvenient times? Well what is the convenient time? Anyway, to further put him out, Joel wanted to eat outside, so we sat at a picnic table and Franco put a tablecloth on it, put out the outside napkins not the cloth ones. A few moments later he returned wearing a white apron and inquired in Italian of course if we wanted a drink. Then he sat down (yes he sat down) and wanted to know what we wanted. Long story short, we ordered two beers, two pastas, two salads, a bruschetta and some water and it came to 20 Euros. Joel loved it all, and is sure this is the way to live.
So for the second year in a row I’ve been blessed to celebrate my birthday in Italy in this quaint little restaurant which serves the best pasta I’ve ever tasted!
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
Pbenjay's Blog 