Located right around the corner from our place, we visited All’ Antico Pallone twice. The first time to wait for our apartment to become available and the second time as a snack break to rest our feet.
On the first visit, we both ordered a glass of the Prosecco col fundo – a funky, cloudier version of prosecco – which was served with potato chips. We sat outside in the alleyway.
On our second visit, we opted for the traditional prosecco brut and split a large porchetta sandwich (delicious salted pork and soft bread). On our second round Eric ordered a viognier and I ordered the Primativo. I noticed some polpettes in the food case, so I took a chance on the carne one which was just okay, nothing special. Similar playlist as the previous day, all 70s tunes!
Eric saw the high marks in Google for Osteria dalla Gigia and even though there were no seats, we thought it was worth a stop if they weren’t too busy. Luckily, it was empty when we dropped by, so we found a spot along the back bar to rest our drinks (prosecco brut for Eric and a Malbec for me). This place is known for their mozzarella in carrozza, sandwiches with mozzarella and ham that are fried. What a great snack! Lots of people stopped in for a quick drink during our 20 minutes there.
Hostaria dai Naneti quickly became our favorite spot in town for aperitivo. We managed to score one of the limited outdoor tables both nights by arriving early, close to 5pm when they opened. All the servers were very friendly and helpful deciphering the menu options. We were quoted 13ish euros for a meat/cheese plate for 2 but with our 1 meat and 3 cheese selections, we were only charged 11€. The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed the opportunity to sit outside and people watch. It is hard to beat six glasses of wine and snacks for 31,5€ total.
Eric: Prosecco brut – nice minerality, hint of smoke; Manzioni bianco – local. Quite light; Friulano collio – richer! Medium mineral, med finish.
Leandra: RaBoSo Frizzante – light bubbles. medium light body, cherry, served chilled; Alto aldige – light, also served chilled. Some fruit on the nose and a med finish; Ripasso – my jam! Rich dark fruits and some warm spices. So good!
Meat /cheese plate: Sopressa picante – spicy! Bastardo del grappa – creamy, a little bittness on finish. Like a young asiago. Piave Vecchio Selezione Oro – lovely crumble hard cheese, parmesan like. Tomini elettrici – herbal, goat cheese like.
On our second visit, we both started with a Prosecco DoC, then I got the Ripasso again while Eric tried a Ribolla Gialla Spumante (deeper mineral, some almond and other nuts, shorter finish than prosecco).
One of two gelato stops in town, Gelateria Calmaggiore was a great choice. Eric got chocolate and mint (a very rare find in Italy!) and I had the pistachio (with a small upcharge). 6€ total.
While wandering around the city the following day, we stopped into JJ Gelato so Eric could try the Sumatran chocolate. A great deal at 2,50€ with super rich chocolate, delicious.
Our only scheduled meal in town, we had 8:30pm dinner reservations on Saturday night at Cae de Oro. We were seated outside on a quiet street and settled in with a carafe of the house rosé, which at 12€ was a good deal. The bread basket was generous and very good, especially the small rye nuggets. Eric had the bigoli pasta with duck ragu and I had the flank steak with veggies. We split the peaches with local wine syrup for dessert. Thankfully we had a reservation as they were turning people away at the door.
On a whim, we decided to check out Boss Hogg Treviso – which was great! You hit a button to enter and the bartender lets you in to the small space – it probably seats 20 people or so. We sat in backed stools along the wall of whiskey bottles. Frederico was a lovely host, very knowledgeable and friendly, and they have a great collection to choose from.
One of the menu choices was an Old Fashioned with your choice of scotch so I chose a Benrinnes bottling. Then, I got a half pour of the Rest & Be Thankful 2007 independent bottling, also from Benrinnes. Coconut and vanilla and at cask strength, it needed a little water which made the dram last longer! There were so many choices I have no idea how Eric managed to narrow it down, but he did. He started with a Wilson and Morgan 10 yr Caol Ila cask bottling – nicely balanced smoke, some chocolate and fruit, a lovely big and bold dram. For his second, he tried a half pour of Boss Hogg’s own Caol Ila cask bottling, which had little smoke but lots more iodine and fruit notes like strawberry.
We had some time to kill on Sunday before our train, so we stopped by the Cooofe coffee bar for a light breakfast. I tried the Pistachio tiramisu and Eric got a chocolate cornetto (rich and floral, lovely chocolate, very buttery). We also tried two Italian cookies, and ordered a takeaway ham and cheese sandwich for the train.
