Hamburgers, frankfurters and ancient sandwiches. This is why the food is bad at Vinitaly

If a good morning starts in the morning, you have to decide which way to orient yourself to decide what day it will be… Of course, when the shuttle leaves us on the avenue that leads to Vinitalythe scent of sausages, frankfurters And Hamburger that envelops us at the entrance does not bode well! It feels like arriving at a mega rock rally or the Olympic stadium… certainly not entering the temple of made in Italy at the table. But we still try to look for some Italian excellence to bring home, since we are here to find goodies to drink, yes, but also to eat.

Looking for food at Vinitaly

Let’s take a tour to understand what you can eat in the international citadel of Italian wine. We pass and stop immediately in front of the Piedmont restaurant where a starred chef alternates every day… Yesterday – we were informed – Maurilio Garola from Ciau del Tornavent was there. We approach and read the menu. The price puts us off a bit, 70 euros. Okay, nothing scandalous, but all in all we neither have the time for 5-6 courses, nor do we want to commit the whole day’s budget to a lunch at the Fair. Also because we found an Abruzzo trattoria for dinner where to 60 euros they uncorked a 2021 Trebbiano from Emidio Pepe for us and this evening we aim to return, just a stone’s throw from the Fair. His name is Frékt… Nothing more apt in the friendly dialect spoken in the shadow of the Gran Sasso.

The start is from Cangrande

We pass in front of the “gastronomic centre” behind the main entrance, Cangrande, but it seems like we are between the ready and cold trays of a supermarket and the scents of a company canteen, between the fragrances of industrial cheese being shredded on the sandwich plates and other smells which take us back to the fatty and fake sauces and broths of the refectory when we had full time in primary school. Ditto for the “canteen” aka self service in the center of the pavilion where the Gambero stand is located.

The image of Massimo Bottura

Let’s walk around a bit more among the Italian wine excellences – we even taste some of them – and look for a gastronomic elsewhere. We freeze in front of the image of Massimo Bottura which advertises the Tortellante and its people tortellini butter and Parmesan. For 12 euros we decide to taste them. Of course, we can’t say that they suck. Maybe it’s some of the best you can find here, where all friends tell us it’s not worth trying to eat. At first glance they are pleasant, very tasty… But then we start to frown a little when we start to taste the Parmesan crust in the sauce and an unpleasant taste of bread in the filling. We also expected the pasta to be thinner and more delicate. Not that we would have eaten better at the nearby Rana restaurant, but not much worse either!

The pulled pork illusion

Let’s try again with the sandwich from the Al Toskano food truck that came to the Fair from Sinalunga. Italian pork meat marinated for 24 hours and cooked at low temperature, processed in a laboratory in Vicenza and ready for use. Captivating scent. Of course, nothing light, so we save ourselves the sauces and go “au natural”. The disappointment materializes with the bolus that stops halfway, the fault of the bread which was made of “ancient grains” but decidedly not very well made. And the meat in the mouth does not live up to the initial aroma.

The exhibitors save us

In the end, we take up the invitation of Paride, owner of Ascolive, to taste ravioli with olive leaf flour again, ascolane and a sip of Ciù Ciù’s ancestral Trebbiano… and we think that fortunately someone who holds high at an industry level the tricolor is still there…