Food – Page 9 – slightly weird

4th October 20186th October 2018

Gobino and Consorzio

Thursday, 4 October, 2018 25C

Liat’s brother and dad were coming to Torino and, if they wanted, we could combine numbers and go to the Gobino Chocolate Factory in Vanchiglietta. I’ve been trying to get a tour there for ages and this was a great opportunity. The decision dragged on a bit but finally it was all sorted.

I happen on Via Caglieri pretty often while walking but, wouldn’t you know it, on the day I needed to be there I felt totally lost. But we made it…and perhaps ten minutes before Liat and her family got there.

Our tour guide was a young woman whose English was very strong. We suited up in an ante room and off we went to check out the factory. This is smaller than Caffarel for sure but still commercial and noisy. The noise was a good touch – lending a bit of oompa loompa style to the whole thing. We saw the sacks of cocoa beans, and of sugar, and had a chance to see the cocoa nibs, the cocoa butter and the cocoa mass. That mass smells amazing – gives me a feeling of wanting to roll around in it! I wondered how long before it becomes overwhelming. (In fact, by the end of the tour I needed air!)

There are quite a few processes for the chocolate to go through before it finally reaches the wrapping stage. It was here we got a taste of the chocolate from the production line. It tastes better than Caffarel.

No photos allowed! So I took some of the showroom and then of the plate of samples they had for us to taste when we’d taken off the gear.

Gobino is an artisan chocolate factory that makes giandujotti, whole hazelnut chocolate, dark chocolate disks and cremini (layered chocolate) and a few related things. It’s not got the long history of Caffarel but it’s now our preferred chocolate.

Krish promised that this year we’d go to a restaurant each week. We’re not doing so well! So I booked an evening at Consorzio, a restaurant with a strong Torinese reputation. And it’s close. Straight down Via Milano, which runs parallel to the market and just a few streets down. Continue reading “Gobino and Consorzio”

30th September 201826th October 2018

Shroud of Turin and Gran Balon!

Sunday, 30 September, 2018 24C

But first, another culinary note. Yesterday we decided it was time to give our local enoteca (wine shop with cafe) a chance. We pass it all the time but have never gone in. I ordered russian salad (skipping the two pasta choices) and milanese. Krish had penne with ragu and also the milanese. The pranzo (lunch) deal is 12 Euros each.

Monochromatic lunch - Russian salad, Milanese with Cauliflower Gratin — **My monochromatic lunch – Russian salad, Milanese with Cauliflower Gratin**

It’s OK. We may go again. Simple food, friendly service, a no-brainer since it’s across the road. However, again we’re struck with how ordinary and unmemorable the food is, especially when I throw two salads together later in the day for dinner. Would the Italians think my food too complicated, too much going on? It’s also worth mentioning that there were six or seven people sitting on a larger table across from us. They seemed to be ordering everything on the menu and sharing the huge platters. Despite the overflowoing banquet, they swallow it all in record time and leave, empty plates everywhere!

My dinner. Asparagus with Chicken, Two salads - Pesto Potato salad, Beet with goat cheese and arugula — **My dinner. Asparagus with Chicken, Two salads – Pesto Potato salad, Beet with goat cheese and arugula**

I’m not a huge fan of churches unless they are rustic and unique. I don’t typically enjoy opulence or artistic piety. But then the Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista (Cathedral of St John the Baptist, aka Torino Duomo) was supposed to be open for 3 Euros. Last year the Duomo was covered in scaffolding but this year construction is finished. It’s a beautiful and intricate dome atop an otherwise plain looking rectangle of a church. The looming campanile (bell tower) dates from 1470 and the church was built during 1491–98 . It would be unremarkable if it didn’t contain the chapel of the Holy Shroud, which was added in 1668–94.

**The Campanile on the left, the domes of the Duomo to the right**

**Lighting my usual candle to Mum and Dad (centre fourth row down)**

There’s nothing to make me linger in here – the usual memorial statues and plaques, pews, banks of candles, an organ… but the altar is quite stunning, overlooked by a very large window, where I could see people looking down to where we were, and that’s where I need to head. Walking around, though, I couldn’t find a way in so supposed it was a separate entry – it was.

**But this big window intrigued me, looking down on us. I need to get behind there!**

Before wandering outside, I saw a small crowd of people and hoped I could get in behind the window there but, no, this was the spot for the shroud. It’s displayed only once every 25 years unless the Pope is in town so I wouldn’t get to see it, but there’s an area for it and there was lot of genuflecting and crossing and muttered prayer – and the most candles! – going on in front of that thing. I stayed for a little while to read the prayer, translated in several languages. And then I left.

It seems the entrance to the cathedral museum is around the side so I went in there too. On the way in there are some pretty solid ruins, and I was told there are more inside. In the foyer, a very short and elderly lady with a badly curved spine wanted to talk to me but she couldn’t speak English so I was directed to another behind the counter. There was nothing about a 3 Euro entry but apparently I can come here any time for 3.50 so I decided that I would wait. Today it’s packed.

Continue reading “Shroud of Turin and Gran Balon!”

25th September 201827th September 2018

Lunch, window shopping, and to the top of NH Santo Stefano

Tuesday, 25 September, 2018 30C

I’ve been wanting to go to the little cafe I enjoy. It’s called Cianci Piola and is in the prettiest square (in my opinion) in Torino. It feels like you’re in Paris but without the high prices and the attitude!

On the way over, I walked past some remains of the Roman wall.

At Cianci Piola, there’s always a choice of appetiser, first course, second course and dessert. I stayed with an appetiser and a pasta.

A traditional Piemontese appetiser - tomini (a soft cheese) al verde ( a sauce made with parsley and anchovy — **A traditional Piemontese appetiser – tomini (a soft cheese) al verde ( a sauce made with parsley and anchovy (each round maybe 5cm)**

The primo - tajarin with sausage and eggplant — **The primo – a small bowl of tajarin (the local pasta) with sausage and eggplant**

Closer to the Duomo towards Piazza Castello — **Leaving Cianci to go window shopping – the Duomo and the Campanile**

Affordable fashion at OVS. This year it's all about see-through skirts — **Affordable fashion at OVS. This Fall it’s all about see-through skirts**

On the way back I finally climbed to the top of the NH Santo Stefano. I heard that it has the history of Torino on the walls as you climb. The pleasant surprise is that there aren’t stairs but little ledges along a spiraling ramp.

The gallery was made up of several posters, tracing the history of the city and saying where remnants of the past could still be found. I made note of several. What was interesting was that sometimes that old piece of history would be deliberately incorporated into something new – such as an old granite pillar that formed the cornerstone of a newer building. It’s like a treasure map.

**The galleries along each floor of the NH Hotel**

**The ledged ramp all the way up to each level. Very easy to manage**

On the fourth floor there’s a lift to take you up to the very top, where there’s a panoramic view.

To the right the Campanile and the Palazzo Reale, to the left the Porta Palatina — **To the right the Campanile and the Palazzo Reale with its Roman wall, to the left the Porta Palatina**

**Lovely view towards the Market square, with the Alps in the background**

And almost home - a visit to see how Mr Fijodor's whale is coming along — **And almost home – a visit to see how Mr Fijodor’s whale is coming along**

22nd September 201825th September 2018

More lazy hazy days…really lazy…

Saturday, 22 September, 2018 Staying around 30C

The last day of summer. The thermometer doesn’t know about that, though. I feel lazy, like the sun is siphoning off my energy instead of energising me. So I’ll make this a pictorial … for now. Will have to say more about Terra Madre etc.

Krish was craving meat pie and so I made a Cornish pasty - first one in a long while — **Krish was craving meat pie and so I made a Cornish pasty – first one in a long while**

Mr Fijodor's whale art - about a week in — **Mr Fijodor’s whale art – about a week in**

**At the base of the wall, his signature piece**

**Such a quiet day in the Cortile del Maglio. Packed on the weekend**

**A workshop on the periphery of the Cortile del Maglio.**

A lazy lunch on a bright day. One of Krish's masterpieces — **A lazy lunch on a bright day. One of Krish’s masterpieces**

On my list - climbing the stairs of the NH Hotel to see the historic photos — **On my list – climbing the stairs of the NH Hotel to see the historic photos**

It's Terramadre - huge food festival in Turin. Everywhere is packed — **It’s Terramadre – huge food festival in Turin. Everywhere is packed**

**Walking through the Quadrilatero at night**

17th September 201817th September 2018

Graffiti groupie in Torino and what I had for lunch

Sunday, 16 September, 2018 30C

Today we went to the Balon flea market but it wasn’t there! I’m puzzled since I thought it was every Sunday! Never mind. So we headed back up to the main road, Regina Margherita.

**On the side of the mosque near our flat**

Haven't noticed this flat before - nicely done! — **Haven’t noticed this flat before – nicely done!**

At the top of the street, we saw a roughly painted whale shape on the wall and, looking a bit more, there was a guy sitting on a wooden crate – the artist? Yes! So I went to chat with him. He said his name was Fijodor. He was from somewhere else but now in Turin. Where he comes from, it’s on the French border and in that part of the Mediterranean there are whales. His theme for the wall art will be plastics and the plight of the earth. The other interesting thing was he was from the place where plastic was invented.

He gave me his card.

Continue reading “Graffiti groupie in Torino and what I had for lunch”