The daily diary of a wandering restaurateur
May 15 - Monte del Lago and Cortona
Wandering around through the little town of Monte del Lago, perched above the western shore of Lake Trasimeno, it is easy to imagine yourself caught in the 14th century. I doubt that much has changed, at least not physically.
As the sun went down, the crafts market in the Palazzo Signorelli was packing up. Cortona is deemed by some to be the most beautiful hill town in Tuscany. While it is a bit touristy for my taste, it does have a real charm. Perhaps we will spend some time exploring the back streets before we leave the area.
The Taverna Pane e Vino had a wine list that just went on. Where they kept an inventory that size still confounds me, but there was no faulting the selection. Since someone asked me about prices, it is possible to get a decent bottle of wine in a restaurant here for under 10 euros. At the Caffe Centrale in Umbertide last week, a bottle of the local red was 5 euros! Tonight I went for a Poliziano Rosso de Montepulciano '03 for 11.50 -- an excellent value in my book. I could probably buy the bottle in the supermarket for under 9 euro, so the mark-ups are not bad.
© 2005 Restaurant Doctor
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