Trattoria la Torretta - Another Spoleto Gem

Trattoria la Torretta (http://www.trattorialatorretta.com/) was another wonderful recommendation of Signor Diotallevi, the owner of Palazzo Dragoni, our hotel in Spoleto. I had asked Signor Diotallevi to recommend restaurants where I could find the best dishes typical of Spoleto and Umbria in general. The trattoria was located at 43 via Filitteria, a couple of blocks from our hotel.

Trattoria la Torretta

We were greeted by Signor Stefano Salvucci, one of the owners of the restaurant. He was very pleasant and dapper, attired in a sharp suit. The atmosphere inside was warm and comfortable. One of the walls was antique brick and mortar, several walls were a warm light orange, and there were sections of more modern brick. The tables were covered with an elaborate dark red table cloth covered by a white cloth. There was a rose on each table. There were also a couple of tables outside, but it was too cool to dine al fresco.

Signor Salvucci

As with many of the restaurants where we dined, an English-Language menu was available.

The meal was superb.

Linda and I shared an antipasto plate called The Tastes of the House (Gli Assagini della Casa) for €10. It had seven different items, including:

- Warm eggplant medallion with fresh tomato & basil (Medaglione caldo di melanzane con pomodoro fresco e basilico)

- A small salad of spelt, rocket, cherry tomatoes, shavings of grana padano cheese and balsamic vinegar (L'insalatina di farro con la rucola, i pomodorini, le scaglie di grana e l'aceto balsamico)

- Prosciutto & melon

- Vegetable quiche (La quiche con le verdure)

- A warm sausage and vegetable tart (Sfogliata calda con verdura e salsiccia)

Linda had:

- Thinly sliced veal in a sauce of a sweet Montefalco Passito wine (La Piccatina con il Sagrantino Passito di Montefalco) for €13

- Grilled vegetables (Verdure alla Griglia) for €4. The vegetables were zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes from the trattoria’s garden.

I had Spoleto-style strangozzi pasta (Strangozzi alla Spoletina), made with fresh rather than dried pasta. for €8. Spoleto-style strangozzi is cooked in tomato  sauce, garlic, red pepper, and parsley. Strangozzi is an Umbrian pasta. Another name for this pasta is strozzapreti. It means, “priest strangler.” Strangozzi also comes from a word meaning, “to strangle.” Supposedly, these names derive from the tradition of families inviting the parish priest to dinner and vying with one another to see who could best fill him with food. Strangozzi alla Spoletina is a typical dish of Spoleto. You can find a typical recipe for it at

http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/rcp/p_stuv/strangozzi.shtml. 

For dessert, we both had Crescionda Spoletina, a traditional Umbrian chocolate cake, for €4 each. The ingredients were:
- eggs, milk, chocolate fondant, amaretto cookies, flour, sugar, anise, and lemon zest

Our wine was a red 2007 Antonelli Rosso di Montefalco made from sangiovese and sagrantino grapes for €13. It was very nice.

We ended the meal with an expresso for €1 each.

Ristorante Tric Trac, Piazza del Duomo, Spoleto

Our first meal on this trip to Italy was at Ristorante Tric Trac (http://www.trictrac.it/) at Spoleto’s Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Piazza). It was recommended by Signor Roberto Diotallevi, the owner of our hotel, Palazzo Dragoni. I had asked him for recommendations of restaurants that served the best Umbrian dishes. Like all his recommendations, it was superb.

We were warmly greeted at Tric Trac, and the ambiance was very elegant. In addition to the tables inside, there were also tables outside on two platforms at the edge of the piazza.

Every dish we had was really delicious. It was a great start to the wonderful dining experiences we would have on this trip.

During the meal, we enjoyed chatting with the owners, Giuseppe D’Amelio and Spartaco Grilli, and our waiter about food and wine. The conversation was very interesting. (See the discussion below about truffles.)

Entrance to the Interior Dining Room

We started with the Antipasto Tric Trac for €14. It had three items:

- Scrambled eggs with truffles

- Crostini with tomato

- Peach with prosciutto

Then Linda and I each had Risotto with Provola Cheese and Truffles (Risotto Mantecato con Provola e Tartuffo) for €23.90.

That was enough food for Linda, but I then had a typical Umbrian dish - Guinea Hen in Salmi in a Casserole Cooked over a Slow Fire (Faraona in Casseruola Cotta a Fuoco Lento in Salmi) for €20.50. (Signor Diotallevi had recommended this dish.) The salmi sauce at Tric Trac was made with guinea hen livers, chicken livers, capers, lemon, garlic, sage, rosemary, white wine, and vinegar. (When I sent Tric Trac an email asking about the ingredients in Salmi, Signor D’Amelio replied very quickly.)

Our wine was an Umbrian red - a 2005 Antonelli Sagrantino di Montefalco for €35. Sagrantino is an indigenous Umbrian grape grown in the town of Montefalco. The wine was a perfect accompaniment to our meal.

The total cost for the meals for the three of us came to €152.60 ($206.01).

Truffles (“tartufo” - singular & “tartufi” - plural) are mushrooms that grow underground. They can cost several thousand dollars a pound. White truffles are more expensive than black truffles. Truffles are very light in weight, and shavings of truffles are placed on foods. Having truffles on a dish can add $15 or more to the cost of the dish. However, it is worth it.

Truffles are not raised, but are found in the woods. Dogs are now used to find them, although pigs were once used.The areas of Italy best know for truffles are the Piedmont, Umbria, and Tuscany. There are white truffles and black truffles. There are also truffles in France and Spain. There are summer truffles and winter truffles.

One of the owners explained the truffle seasons to us. He said that the winter truffles are best, and are available from December through February. He mentioned that the summer truffles are available in July, August, and September. He said we were approaching the end of the summer truffle season.