Il Bernino Restaurant and Cafe

It seems as though with every stay in Lucca I discover a new restaurant to add to my list of favorites. On my most recent trip my discovery was Il Bernino, a small restaurant and cafe with a wide variety of delicious offerings. I wanted to try it because one of the new owners is a friend and also because I'd heard rave reviews from my Lucca Italian School classmates.

I kept returning to Il Bernino because the food is so good, the service friendly, and the prices reasonable. The setting is also beautiful. It's clear that the chef and owners care about the quality of the food - with an eye to using fresh local products and making seasonal changes to the menu.

The pretty counter is a perfect place to sip your espresso Italian style, standing at the bar.

An after lunch macchiato - these cups made me smile!

I first stopped in late one morning for a quick cappuccino, served Italian style, standing at the bar. It was a good espresso with just the right amount of steamed milk - a perfect mid-morning pick-me-up. An after lunch macchiato was also tasty on another day! 

The panini (sandwiches) in the display case looked so good that I grabbed one "da porta via" (to go) for an impromptu picnic on the city walls. It was simple but oh so tasty - a good prosciutto and a bit of cheese on a fabulous olive-studded filone (a long thin baguette). A great picnic lunch.

My next visit was for pranzo (lunch) with a friend (Judy, whom you know as the co-writer of this blog). We both ordered the same thing - spaghetti con vongole e limone (spaghetti with clams and lemon). This was a unique presentation in that the clams were chopped (as opposed to served in the shells) and the dish was topped with fragrant lemon zest. It was delicate and delicious - a dish I can't wait to have again and will certainly crave when I return home to New Mexico.

Next up (remember, I was in Lucca for almost two months) was another lunch, this time a Caesar salad with a juicy, perfectly grilled chicken breast on top. Grilled chicken is not a common dish here in Lucca, so finding this on the menu was a real treat. It was artfully arranged, with lettuce, radicchio, and small tomatoes  lightly topped with the chicken and a flavorful dressing. Another wonderful meal.

Il Bernino is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (closed Mondays). It's also a great spot for an aperitivo. There is a pretty outdoor seating area. For more formal dining, or on chilly days, head inside and up the stairs to the inviting dining room with it's attractive art and soft music.

Il Bernino is situated at the corner of Via Fillungo and Via Mordini. The outdoor seating is just a bit off busy Via Fillungo - close enough to watch the activity on what is Lucca's "Main Street" but at enough of a distance to feel quiet and relaxed.

Add this wonderful little place to my list of favorites in Lucca!

-post by JMB

The pretty upstairs dining room.

Contact information:  Il Bernino Via Filungo 86, Lucca.   

A Late Summer Grower's Market

The Sunday grower's market in Corrales, NM

Is there a better place to be on an August morning than outdoors at a grower’s market? This is especially true when the sky is blue, the temperature mild, and you are itching to fire up the grill and roast some veggies.

Whether I am at home in New Mexico or somewhere in Europe, I know that the August market will be bursting with the colors, flavors, and scents of the late summer harvest. This is the peak time for melons, peaches, tomatoes, corn, peppers, squash – all of which provide great inspiration for adventures in the kitchen.

Green chile roasting - the scent of late summer in New Mexico

In New Mexico, August is also the time of the chile harvest  – and if you’ve never smelled roasting green chile, tumbling in a basket over an open flame, then you have really missed out! For me, that pungent scent signals two things – that I am definitely home in New Mexico and that fall is just around the corner.

I’m enjoying my last two weeks of summer at home before I head back to Italy for most of September and October. So, for the next two weeks, I’m all about the local markets in New Mexico, including the one I visited last Sunday in the small village of Corrales, not far from my home in Albuquerque.

I did my market shopping to the delightful  sound of live music, in this case a marimba and a steel drum. The chile was roasting, the vendors were cutting slices of peaches and melon for tasting (yum!), and the growers were exclaiming about crops just picked that morning (including some fresh-as-could be purple okra, which I couldn't resist), as well as what the harvest would bring in the upcoming weeks. Shoppers wandered around with colorful market baskets, filling them with even more colorful produce. The atmosphere was festive as the locals enjoyed a mild morning with just the first hint of fall in the air.

variegated purple beans

tiny carrots are so flavorful

multicolored peppers

It’s hard to believe that in a couple of weeks I’ll be wandering the market in Lucca, filling my basket with the fabulous fruits and vegetables of the end-of summer harvest in Italy. Stay tuned – I’ll be posting in real time from Italy in a few weeks and I bet there will be some markets, some festivals, and some adventures in the coming posts.                                                   -post by JB

Fresh Herbs and Brunch on the Patio

My small herb garden

It’s the height of summer and I’m home in New Mexico anticipating my return to Italy in just a few weeks. In the meantime, I’m enjoying my herb garden, my small backyard, cooking some of my favorite summer dishes, and entertaining friends and family.

Last week I had two friends over for brunch and some trip planning. I made a favorite brunch dish – herb-baked eggs with toast. I used fresh herbs from the garden, set a pretty table on the patio, and spent a lovely morning talking travel with friends.

My version of herb-baked eggs is adapted from an Ina Garten recipe. This is more of a French-inspired dish than an Italian one, but hey, I can’t serve frittata every time I have brunch company, can I? You can find Ina's original recipe in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook or just follow this link: https://barefootcontessa.com

The table is set for brunch on the patio.

Fresh herbs for the eggs

I make a few changes to the original recipe, including substituting finely chopped chives (1/2 teaspoon) for the rosemary. I prefer the chive flavor and I find little bits of rosemary too tough for my taste. I increase the fresh thyme to ½ teaspoon and decrease the parsley to 1 teaspoon (too much parsley tastes like grass to me). I also find that the three eggs in the original recipe is too large a serving size, so I use just two eggs in each baking dish. One thing I don’t change – I always use the ½ tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream called for in the original recipe. A touch decadent I know, but oh the flavor is worth it! Because I’m eating low carb these days, I also substitute a high-fiber whole wheat bread for the brioche (though in a perfect world I’d go for the brioche!).

Here the eggs are added to the bubbly cream and butter mixture, sprinkled with the herbs and cheese, and are ready for the broiler.

The key to success with this recipe (which is really quite easy) is having all the ingredients prepped before beginning to cook the eggs. It’s especially important to have the eggs cracked and in a dish ready to pour into the hot cream/butter mixture. You definitely don’t want to be breaking eggs at the last minute and you don’t want to use any broken yolks! Also be sure to chop those herbs really finely and use a good sea salt and fresh pepper.

The herbs make the finished dish smell as good as it tastes!

Trust me, your friends will rave about this dish. So invite some friends, fix brunch, and maybe plan a trip of your own.  I’ll be in Lucca in September and October and Judy will join me in mid-October. Want to meet us there?   Two Parts Italy has some Lucca events scheduled: a journaling workshop, a garden walk, and even some help settling into a rental apartment. We'd love to see you in Lucca!

For more information about traveling with us go to:     https://www.twopartsitaly.com/travel-with-us/                                                           -post by JB

Escaping the Summer Heat in Coastal Oregon

As much as I love Italy, I avoid visiting in summer when it’s hot, humid, and crowded. Even though the grapes and lemons are ripening, the days are long, and the Mediterranean is sunny and inviting, I skip Italy in June, July, and August.

But there is something about summer that calls out for travel and so, with temperatures at home in New Mexico topping 100 degrees for a week straight, I needed a summer vacation spot. Somewhere with cool temperatures, reasonable prices, and not too far from home. Somewhere like the northwestern United States, specifically the northern coast of Oregon, along the Pacific Ocean. 

The dramatic Oregon coast.

The coast here is rocky, foggy, wild, and wind-swept. The temperatures are cool and the air often damp and misty. But then the mist clears, the sun comes out, the sand warms, and the beaches become playgrounds perfect for walking, kite flying, sand castle building, and playing at water’s edge. The water remains cold, but the kids and dogs don't seem to notice as they run into the waves. At night, people build fires on the beach – and what's better than sipping wine by the fire while listening to the waves break on the beach?.

Seaside, Oregon

Here are some highlights from the four days in late June that I spent exploring the northern Oregon coast.

Sand dunes and beach, Seaside, Oregon

Seaside is a classic family beach town. It has beautiful scenery, long stretches of beach, a 1.5-mile walking path (the “prom”) along the beach, and an arcade-like atmosphere that kids love. There is also a river, perfect for paddle boats and crabbing. The local specialties are fish and chips (with fresh salmon and tuna) and anything made with crab. There are plenty of hotels and condos and also cute cottages to rent at reasonably good prices. Seaside is a great central location for exploring the coast and it's where I chose to stay during my visit.

Trail to the beach through the dunes

Carousel, Seaside

River view, Seaside

Gearhart (a few minutes north of Seaside) was my favorite spot on the northern coast. It’s a small village with charming homes, beautiful beaches (you can drive right to the water's edge at Sunset Beach), a seaside links golf course, a quaint downtown, and not one traffic light. It's also home to, in my estimation, the best bakery on the Oregon coast – the Pacific Way Bakery. I love the character of small, locally owned places like this. The setting is quirky and inviting; the owners friendly. It's a popular place with a steady stream of happy customers. The fresh baked goods – savory vegetable tarts, breads, croissants, coffeecakes, pastries - all look delicious. I would have loved to try them all, but settled on a marionberry scone. Not too sweet, packed with berries, and delicious! Good coffee too. I’d travel all day just for those scones!

Fort Clatsop, deep in the woods outside of Astoria, is a Lewis and Clark expedition campsite. There is an interesting small museum, a true-to-history re-creation of their log cabin campsite, demonstrations about life at the fort, and beautiful walking paths along the river where Lewis and Clark launched their canoes. This is a must for history buffs. A detour to nearby Astoria is worthwhile to see the huge ships enter the mouth of the Columbia River from the Pacific.

Canon Beach, about eight miles south of Seaside, has beautiful scenery, including dramatic Haystack Rock. There are long stretches of white sand beach, great shopping, fine dining, and, as a splurge, lodging at the exquisite Stephanie Inn. Cannon Beach is more upscale (and more expensive) than neighboring Seaside but it's full of art galleries and has a more "adult" vibe.

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon

I couldn’t pass up a stop in the only town on the northern Oregon Coast with an Italian name – the little fishing village of Garibaldi. I was hoping for an interesting history here - Italian settlers, fisherman from Napoli, a tortured love story about an Italian count .... but, as it turns out, the name came from the first postmaster - who wasn't even Italian! The story is that the Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi was a personal hero of the postmaster and so the postmaster named the town Garibaldi. The most Italian thing I found in this work-a-day village were two lone cannoli in the local bakery.

Cape Meares, Oregon

Cape Meares is about an hour south of Seaside and just a few minutes from the tiny village of Oceanside. The cape offers dramatic coastal views, wildlife viewing areas, hiking paths, and an old lighthouse. Up the winding lighthouse steps is the lantern that protected ships along this stretch of coast for many years (now decommissioned). The brief tour gave interesting historical and mechanical perspective about the lighthouse.

Cape Meares Lighthouse

View from Cape Meares

Climbing the lighthouse steps

Roseanna’s Café in Oceanside is a perfect spot for lunch after visiting Cape Meares. The best tables are by the window and have spectacular and often stormy views. The service is friendly and the clam chowder unique for the addition of dill. The marionberry cobbler is served warm a la mode or with a dollop of whipped cream. The cobbler alone makes it worth the drive.

Roseanna's Cafe, Oceanside

A table with a view at Roseanna's

oops - dug in before taking a photo

The northern Oregon coast is a unique part of the United States, a bit of a hidden gem, and well worth a summer visit. Don't forget to try the marionberries!                                    -post by JMB

The rocky coast at Oceanside, Oregon.

Aperitivo

Aperitivo - one of my favorite Italian words. There really isn't a perfect English equivalent because aperitivo is more than just a drink, less than a meal, and fundamentally different than the American happy hour. Aperitivo is a wonderful part of the Italian culture - a social interlude between late afternoon and the evening meal (which typically isn't eaten until around 8 or 9 p.m.). 

Aperitivo at Bar San Michele, Lucca

Aperitivo time is around 6:30 or 7 p.m. and serves as a transition - a relaxing end to the day, a chance to connect with friends, and a slow meander toward dinner. We are not talking about a drink ordered at dinner and sipped while waiting for the meal to arrive. The aperitivo is an event all its own that most often occurs al bar (at the bar) before going to a restaurant to eat or before heading home for dinner. Italian bars are chameleons - the same bar that serves morning coffee becomes the perfect place for the evening aperitivo. How practical!

Piazza Cittadella, Lucca.

The Italian aperitivo consists of a glass of wine or a mixed drink plus a small appetizer. Traditional aperitivo drinks are on the lighter side - a prosecco or a glass of wine, a negroni (campari, vermouth, soda) or an aperol spritz. Most of the time small snacks arrive alongside the drinks. These may be as simple as a dish of peanuts or potato chips or may be as complex as a small buffet with bruschetta, miniature panini, or other savories. I've noticed the heartier offerings tend to start later in the evening, though this varies from bar to bar. 

 The bright orange drinks that everyone seems to be sipping on warm summer evenings in Italy are called aperol spritz. Aperol is a bitter made from oranges, herbs, and roots. It has a relatively low alcohol content (11 percent) which makes it perfect as an early evening drink. While the recipe for aperol itself is a secret, the spritz recipe is well known - mix 2 parts aperol with 3 parts prosecco and a splash of soda. Pour over ice and add a slice of orange. Simple! The slight bitterness may take a bit of getting used to, but after the first sip a spritz has a pleasing and refreshing taste. It's a typical aperitivo drink, made even better when sitting outside in a beautiful Italian piazza, with the sound of Italian chatter in the background, talking with friends or watching the theater of daily life in Italy.

Aperitivo in Piazza San Francesco, Lucca.

Luckily, aperitivo is an Italian tradition that can easily be recreated at home. If you come to my house on a summer evening I'll be serving aperol spritz on the back patio, along with my favorite marinated cheese. There may even be Italian music playing in the background. Head on over - let's have an aperitivo insieme (together).                                -post by JMB