Bergamo

We were scheduled to be in Bergamo for 3 nights. However, consequent to the demands of the Italian Travel Union which dictated that they would strike and not provide airline support, taxi, bus or train services we had a cancelled flight and had to delay our arrival into Bergamo by two nights.

Bergamo is a small city alongside Milan. Being in the North of Italy it is a rich affluent city and the people are rather conservative – so say the guide books. Bergamo has two distinct parts – the Alta or old which is the classy part on top of the hill and the Bassa or new at the base. They are connected by road, bus and, of course, a funicular. 

Bergamo Bassa is big and brash like Milan. Bergamo Alta is absolutely charming. It felt like being in any Italian movie, be it Godfather or even a World War II film. It was what you read about in books trying to capture the romance and charm of Italy. All the streets are cobblestones and very narrow, twisty and uphill and downhill. The buildings are very old and the churches stupendous. Walking around, was utterly charming. Every turn revealed a new visual delight. The main town square was a sight to behold. There was a public exhibition of gardens and plants. So the whole square was covered with Astroturf, and, in typically great Italian flair, large mauve cushions where people lay down and children summer-saulted with gay abandon. Being Italy, they had indulgent grandparents looking after them, and, being children, they were completely beside themselves with joy turning head over heels, literally. Since this was Italy and not America or for hat matter a `I wanna be USA - India', the children had no helmets, not safety gear and no high visibility jackets. It was refreshing to see children just having fun.

The weather was warm, a balmy 27C after the frostier 19C of London. It was necessary to dump sweaters, a relief, though short-lived. I prefer the cold. We were soon sweating.

The North of Italy is the industrialised rich. Most companies we have heard of, all being true formed by true technocrats, be it Ollivetti, Piaggio, Fiat, Ferrari, Masserati or Lamborgini, are all from the North. This is the cradle of engineering and entrepreneurship i.e. technocrats. Trading from Florence and Venice added to the wealth. This tells in the food as well as the architecture. All the great sites, be it churches, stadiums etc are all in the north. The great tourist cities, even today, are all north based. The food is richer and uses more dairy, be it butter or cream or cheese, than the olive oil driven south. 

The same of course, is true of India. Where North Indian food is very rich full of dairy as opposed to the Dravidian food which is less so. You may turn my logic around by saying that this is not as a result of wealth but a direct co-relation to the climate. The North is cooler hence richer food while the south is warmer hence lighter food. May be so. The reasons may be many, but the fact that the food is richer in the North is undeniable.

We had lunch at a restaurant around the central square. For starters we had some local cured meats. We had two orders of the local Pasta called Casoncelli [folded pasta stuffed with meat] served with melted butter, sage leaves and Parmesan. The Queen had 3 types of pasta, the Casoncelli, the little Tortelli with Pesto and a third fish stuffed pasta with a tomato sauce. Brilliant. How much I longed for a glass of crisp cold white wine, but did not have one as that would have ruined my day.

Casoncelli

Casoncelli, the little Tortelli with Pesto and a third fish stuffed pasta with a tomato sauce

Dried, cured meat

Later that day we bought a local Polenta Cake which we carried to the room for a post desert dessert. For dinner we went to a local restaurant where we had Eggplant Parmesan and a delicious pizza as starters. For mains I had a Milanese Veal Cutlet, Her Highness had a Mushroom Risotto and our friends had beef rolls stuffed with cheese on a bed of Polenta. This was washed down with a bottle of Barolo which was really very nice. For desert we walked into a inc cream shop and had some chocolate/strawberry Ice cream which was really very nice. We did have our Polenta Cake to tuck into. This was a really good desert.

Eggplant Parmesan

The Barolo

Porcini Risotto

Beef stuffed with cheese on Polenta

Veal Milanese

To conclude, you must visit Bergamo. Great little compact town, much beauty and charm, which, I hope is in the photos.

Kandoo - London

This is about a Iranian meal we had in London.

We had dinner at a Persian Restaurant called Kandoo located on Edgware Road but at the nicer end near Maida Vale. This is a small restaurant and is cheap and functional. A large Tandoor dominates the dining room. The breads that they serve are really very nice.

To start we had Mirza Ghassemi which is a version of Baingan Bharta. Mild, and comforting. For our mains the Queen of Kutch had Chelo-Kabab Barreh Makhsoo which was a skewer of Lamb fillet and a skewer of Lamb mince, both grilled with rice and a grilled tomato. I had Khoresh Ghormeh Sabzi which is finely cut parsley, coriander, Kidney beans and lamb, flavoured with dried lime. This is served with rice. I once had this probably 20 years ago at my friend Reza’s house when his grandmother cooked this. The Queens kebabs were amazing. The quality of the meat used and the skill of cooking were very high. My curry was nice too, though it does not photograph well.

The Tandoor

The Bread

Mirza Ghassemi

Chelo-Kabab Barreh Makhsoo

 Khoresh Ghormeh Sabzi

A fine restaurant well worth visiting

Restaurant at St. John Hotel

Dinner for four was at St John Hotel. This is Fergus Henderson’s newest outpost. The first choice was the original St John Restaurant in Clerkenwell but that is closed on Sunday so we thought this would be a reasonable substitute. The restaurant is located in the St John Hotel which is newly opened at Leicester Square just behind the W. For me, both are odd locations for an upmarket hotel. After an effusive greeting we were asked if we wanted to sit at the bar before going on for dinner, which offer we foolishly accepted. On going up to the bar we promptly changed our minds, did an about turn and went down to the dining room. The bar was absolutely ordinary and looked and felt like a doctor’s waiting room. No shape, no character, painted in antiseptic white with 3 or 4 two seater sofas. Not a good omen.

The dining room is also small with an open plan kitchen. Once again white dominates but here the starkness was appealing. A bottle of the house Champagne was ordered to get things rolling. For starters we shared a plate of Devilled Pig Skin which is basically deep fried crackling dusted with some Cayenne Pepper and a dash of Cumin. Very nice. Would have been just right with a cold beer. For our starters we had Salt Brill Croquettes with a Lemon Dill Mayonnaise, Sardines, Cucumber & Coco Beans and Razor Clams, Potato & Sea Purslane. All nice looking but unremarkable and bland.

Razor Clams, Potato & Sea Purslane

Razor Clams, Potato & Sea Purslane

Salt Brill Croquettes with a Lemon Dill Mayonnaise

Sardines, Cucumber & Coco Beans

After a disappointing start we hoped things would pick up. The bottle of Champagne was over and a bottle of medium bodied red from a very short wine list was opened. Decent wine.

For our mains we had Duroc Chop with Chard and Mustard [Duroc being a breed of pig], Roast Lamb, Potato and Green sauce [Lamb served pink], Pot Roast Short Rib, Carrot and Horseradish and lastly Skate, Bread and Brown Shrimp. The Queen loved her Skate, which, I tasted and endorse. My Lamb was unremarkable and bland and the green sauce was more like chutney in consistency. The best part of my dish ironically was the pressed potato. The Pot Roast looked Ok and the Chop looked overcooked. Oh dear!

Duroc Chop with Chard and Mustard [Duroc being a breed of pig]

Roast Lamb, Potato and Green sauce [Lamb served pink]

Pot Roast Short Rib, Carrot and Horseradish

Skate, Bread and Brown Shrimp

For puddings we had an order of Custard Tart, top class star of the evening, and Strawberry Trifle once again a par for the course, nice looking but unremarkable and bland.

Custard Tart

Strawberry Trifle

Service was by an all English wait staff. Very jerky and uneven with long gaps between food. Plates were placed in front of diners haphazardly. Let me explain – if two of us were having the same dish, say, Croquettes and Mayonnaise, you would expect that the plates would be placed in front of the diners with the Croquettes facing the some direction. But this was too much to expect. Lack of training? Lack of caring?

All in all, most disappointing. I could say it was well executed claptrap but I would be wrong. It was actually all nice looking but unremarkable and bland. Pity, it spoilt the evening for me and I think I spoilt it for others.