Eating Out at the Conero

Pre 1

We will continue not  rating restaurants, but instead we will start rating individual dishes to sharpen our judgment:

– **5**: A flawless dish with a twist or kick.

– **4**: A flawless dish.

– **3**: A dish with a comment.

– **2**: A dish we didn’t like

– **1**: Back to the kitchen.

Nixy and I judge our own cooking seldom higher than 3 🙂

Pre 2

When dining at a typical Italian restaurant, where a complete menu consists of *antipasto*, *primo*, *secondo*, and *dolce*, we’ve found it almost impossible to eat all courses unless you fast for at least 36 hours beforehand! In our experience, 5 dishes for 2 people are usually sufficient. Typically, we share 2 starters, 1 *primo*, and 1 *secondo*, with no issues about splitting the dishes. The cost for such a meal, including a bottle of wine, tends to be between €90 and €110.

Pre 3

It seems the days of inflated restaurant wine prices are gone. At *L’Ascensore*, we had a bottle of *Plenio* (a Verdicchio from Umani Ronchi) which retails at €22, and we paid €24 in the restaurant. Given the usual 50% HORECA discount for restaurants, this was a  low price.

Small Isn’t Always Beautiful (or better: big is not ugly)

Our most memorable meal was at *Il Giardino*,Ancona, which seemed more like a food factory than a quaint eatery, with seating for about 200 people. Their extensive menu offered everything from traditional dishes to pizza, and even a sushi menu. Such pretention makes me skeptical, but there was no alternative near our hotel. So we decided to give it a try, 

We ordered the *Gran Crudo* for €48 and two *primi*. When we attempted to add a plate of *sardoncini*, the waiter discouraged us—and he was right. The *Gran Crudo* arrived in two courses: first, three delicious tartares—*tonno*, *salmone*, and *gambero rosso*.

The second course, however, was puzzling. Expecting a variety of shellfish, we were instead presented with just a *capesante* and several crustaceans. The waiter explained that the mollusks were unavailable in good quality, which is not really understandable in late September.

The Spaghetti with Scorfano and Botttarga were flawless, the basis of garlic and hot pepper gave an extra kick.h *Nixy*’s refined palate noted that the shrimp in the Chitarrini pasta weren’t caught that day. Paired with an excellent *Plenio* Verdicchio from Umani Ronchi (€24, only €2 more than its retail price), we left satisfied, particularly due to the generous portions of pasta. Total cost: €110.

There’s obviously an economy of scale in larger restaurants, and a professional chef can maintain quality even when cooking in bulk.

### Our Dish Ratings:

– **Gran Crudo**: 4 (1 point loss for the lack of mollusks).

– **Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, Peperoncino, Scorfano, Bottarga**: 5.

– **Chitarrina Giallo Nera**: 4 (½ point loss for the shrimp freshness).

– **Plenio Riserva**: 91 (in the top 10% of our white wine list).

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L’Ascensore

This restaurant boasts a stunning view of the sea, but the overall atmosphere felt unusual, with the owner sitting at the cashier, waiting for guests to pay. The waiter again warned us against ordering mollusks, so perhaps there was a local issue with their quality.

The relaxed and friendly vibe was complemented by a fantastic *Verdicchio Riserva*, perfectly suited to the dishes we ordered. However, some dishes were hit or miss. The *frittata spinata* was more like a battered fish dish, making it hard to detect the actual fish inside. On the upside, the lightly battered and perfectly fried vegetables were a highlight.

The *tagliatelle* dish lacked fun, as everything was peeled and prepped cleanly, with no shells or skin—perhaps better suited for children or those who prefer minimal mess.

### Our Dish Ratings:

– **Carpaccio di Gambero Rosso**: 4.

– **Tagliatelle ai Frutti di Mare**: 3.

– **Frittata Spinata e Misto**: 3.

– **Verdure Grigliate**: 3 (zucchini was too raw).

– **Verdure Impanate**: 5.

– **Verdicchio Riserva**: Highly recommended.

Moroder

After two days of seafood, we opted for dinner at the *Moroder* winery restaurant. While the countryside setting and wine tasting were enjoyable, the food was a bit underwhelming.

The *tagliere* was decent but unremarkable, with only a nicely spiced dried salami and a good *ciauscolo* standing out. The melanzane was as good as it looks at the picture., a kind of Ratatouille in un piece The goose breast was overly salty, almost to the point of being inedible, and the pork belly (mistranslated as “stomach” in the English menu) was too dry in the lean part. Very good were the Paccheri al pesto wiht confit di pomodori

We spent €36 of the €100 bill on wine, which included tasting portions of their rosé brut and all the reds.

We were somewhat disapointed as the overall amount was not more than a bottle and we had just bought 4 casess-

### Our Dish Ratings:

– **Tagliere**: 3.

– **Melanzane**: 4.

– **Petto di Oca**: 2.

– **Paccheri Pesto Confit di Pomodori**: 4.

– **Pancia di Maiale**: 3.

– **Wine**: €36 for small tasting portions, not exceptional value.

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On our way back to Perugia, we had the best *pappardelle al cinghiale* of our lives near Fabriano. Sorry, but I’m keeping that restaurant a secret!

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