The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Winter Planning Session: Montepulciano
Our last full day in Montepulciano was overcast, the sort of day that doesn't make you want to do much else except drive to Monticchiello for lunch at La Porta. (You've had those sorts of days before, haven't you?)
In fairness, before we headed off for lunch we did wander around the lower, more tourist-oriented part of the main street for the first time on this visit. Every other trek down the hill has ended at Caffe Poliziano. Not that there was much happening on the Sunday before Christmas, but at least we can say we had the main drag covered.
Lunch at La Porta was as delightful as it was yesterday. Because they were SO good, we ate about the same things we had yesterday (although I had the cinghale sauce with pici rather than pappardelle). I did, however, treat myself to a wine upgrade, realizing that I was on the verge of leaving without ever sampling the famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, one of my favorites and the pride of this region. It is VERY good juice!
As I mentioned, it was a cloudy day, so no brilliant scenery shots, but as we drove back from lunch, we did get a good angle on our home away from home in Montepulciano ... and wouldn't you know that our otherwise dreary day had a spectacular finish? An omen, perhaps?
Common sense prevailed and we passed on dinner again, opting instead to just munch from the remaining stock in the fridge. I hate to pass up the opportunity to dine Italian but one big meal a day seems to be our limit at this point. I finished my third book of the trip and followed a few of the NFL games online. Margene packed a bit, read a bit and we both fell into bed at an early hour. Not much to do tomorrow except to settle up our tab, load up the car and drive back down to Rome ... but it seems like we just got here ...
© 2012 Restaurant Doctor
[