Tiratappi Baldessare Castiglione and Due Cavalli

Tiratappi, Baldessare Castiglione, and Due Cavalli

2 June 2013
Mantova, Italia

Last night we ate dinner at the end of our street, at Tiratappi.
The ambiance was comfortable: soft lighting and American music softly wafting: jazz, Sinatra, and several jazz versions of Over The Rainbow.

The Tiratappi chef, is from Sicily and cooks Mantuan dishes with Sicilian ingredients.

We had goose carpaccio dusted with brilliant green Sicilian chopped pistacchios on a bed of sliced Sicilian blood oranges drizzled with fine olive oil.

We had four thick pork loin medallions in a small pool of melted bitter sweet chocolate, probably blended with a touch of olive oil It was an interesting and successful combination.

We had grilled Branzino. It was exceptionally tasty. Maybe the Sicilian waters where the Branzino was born is extra rich. Or maybe the Branzino's diet there is particularly good. Something had to account for it's great flavor. It was more than just the excellent cooking.  

We had caponata, (Italian ratatouille): eggplant, zucchini, red pepper, onion and olive cooked with a pinch of sugar and a splash of vinegar.

For dessert, we had Cannoli Sicilana: three thin round cookie cylinders filled with orange infused pastry cream, on each end was placed a candied orange peel, all dusted with powdered sugar and chopped pistachios.  

Finally, we had sips of Limoncello to aid our digestion and make us pleasantly woozy for the half-block walk home.

During the meal we used the iPhone to translate compliments for the Tiratappi staff. They were very happy with us and we with them. As we departed we learned that Tiratappi is run by a husband and wife, their son and his girlfriend. The husband/chef is from Sicily and the two women are from Croatia. We told them of our outstanding visit to Croatia. We had a great time reminiscing with them.

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While here, I have been reading The Courtier, by Baldessare Castiglione. Tom and Bronwen gave the book to me a while back because it has sweet opinions on where, when and who should play the viola.

Baldessare Castiglione worked in the service of the Duke of Mantova in the Gonzaga court. His book is an instruction manual in how to properly serve a Duke or a Prince. An etiquette book of courtly manners. How to fit in with the court crowd.  

By coincidence, I am finding the book a useful guide for my work place. When I go to work, I do so with one-hundred people all hoping to become the favorite of the powerful few. No situation is new, is it?

Around the corner from us is a palazzo of the same vintage, but smaller than the Palazzo Ducale. Beside the door is a door bell and a brass plate. Engraved in the brass plate is "Count Baldessare Castiglione", the same name as the book author from five hundred years ago. He would be pleased to know his descendants have endured, maintained the title of Count, and probably have done so by following the advice in his book.  

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Lunch today was taken at Due Cavalli. We sat on a terrace whose entire trellis was covered with a very mature wisteria vine just beginning to bloom. A very beautiful setting.

We had Maccheroni with Stracotto. It was a short ridged tube-shaped past about one-third inch long cooked a perfect "al dente". It was in a large bowl tossed with a long-cooked (six hours) red wine sauce of stewed donkey. It was delicious. And just about every table (which were mostly locals,) was having it. It was very good.

We also had a mixed plate of cooked meats which were veal steak, roast tongue and guinea hen. Also very tasty.

For desert we shared broken bits of Sbrisolano which is a quite tasty thing, but will sound odd. Imagine a streusel topped almond cake that instead of rising, fell to a half-inch thickness and turned hard. That is Sbrisolano. One breaks it into bits and nibbles it between sips of coffee.

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So ends our Mantua stay. It is an excellent place to get some rest. There are not a lot of museums or compelling attractions to pull you this way and that. There are no luxury hotels or Starbucks on every corner.  It is an old fashioned kind of town where walking in the afternoon is a great entertainment. I like that. It feels like time has stood still here in a good way.

2 June 2013
Marlow and Wes
Mantova, Italia
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