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If you ever find yourself in northern Italy, near Lake Como, I highly suggest a trip to this little place called Alva Market. It's a food mecca; the place Itali
by cr1895 11y ago
If you ever find yourself in northern Italy, near Lake Como, I highly suggest a trip to this little place called Alva Market. It's a food mecca; the place Italians make a trip to on a Sunday just to eat good pizzoccheri (buckwheat pasta with potatoes, greens, and cheese) or polenta taragna (buckwheat polenta with a dangerous amount of taleggio cheese). Everything there is homemade or coming from the nearby valleys; they raise their own livestock, make their own cheese, cure their own salumi. My visit is easily one of the best food experiences of my life and the highlght of everything I've done and eaten in Italy.
What they're most known for is their bresaola. The've got a number of different kinds; beef, goat, etc., but what I was most enamored of was the horse bresaola. It was a slender cut of meat, allowing the rosemary, juniper, and other spices to really come through in each slice. The horse itself was quite sweet. Deep purpleish red. Truly incredible.
- carlob 11y agoAnother incredible horse meat delicacy in Italy is the "pesto di cavallo" from Parma: imagine a tartare, but without all the yolk and capers bullshit and made of horse rather than beef… And in Italy is strictly forbidden to slaughter work-horses for human consumption, though sometimes they crack down on an illegal butchery in Sicily, in the north you should be fairly safe.
- bobf 11y agoParma is an incredible town for food, and the whole Emilia-Romagna region is worth an extended visit. I spent 2 weeks exploring the area last summer and loved it. Within a 30 mile radius of Parma, you can sample some of the best fruits and vegetables, stuffed pastas (ravioli), Parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar, wine, and sausages in the world -- almost unbelievably cheaply! If you're looking for pesto di cavallo in particular, there's a great sandwich shop in Parma called Pepèn that I'd suggest.
- ptbello 11y agoI spend quite a lot of time in Parma. If you happen to go there, know that the best pesto di cavallo shop is the one at the beginning of Via Emilia Est, just off the square to the right. It's a tiny place, always choc full - you would probably recognise it by the queue spilling out on the pavement. They only do pesto di cavallo, offering different varieties and even ready made pesto di cavallo tacos!
- crispyambulance 11y agoHorsemeat is very common in Italy (carne equina). Definitely second the recommendation of horse Bresaola. It was deliciously herbacious, leaner than any other meat I've tried.