Food, Food, and More Food

Yesterday, we spent much of our time lounging about, having a cocktail or 6, and spending time on our terrace in the hot tub (which is technically now a cool tub. We haven't turned on the heat since we got here and it is a welcome relief after the 40 degree hike back up the mountain to our hotel room). In the evening, we went to dinner at a place called La Tagliata. The reason I put the picture of that little horn playing thing is to give you an idea of how high up the mountain the restaurant is (it was too dark to take a picture when we were there). The statue is about the half way mark. If you make a reservation the restaurant comes and picks you up and brings you back home again in a van. We were picked up at about 8:00 p.m. and took the 20 minute drive up the winding roads. You'll see below that most of the roads have been extended in order that 2 cars can actually get by one another... but it's still (what feels like) the width of a queen sized bed. The drivers all act like they're on the freeway... what feels like a near death experience to us, every 2 minutes or so, ends with the driver giving a little 'toot toot' on the horn, waving their hand in the air and yelling 'Ciao!'

Anyway, the restaurant didn't have a menu. One of the sons (family restaurant) came to the table and said. 'No menu, O.k.? Family restaurant. You just try.' Then the food starting coming. I know the picture I posted looks like different cans of Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee plopped onto a plate, but it was amazing. We were treating the meal like our anniversary dinner (3 years on the 28th) but I'll be damned if I could find that Bulgari ring in my lasagne. It was the perfect size. I was meticulously slicing for like an hour... I have NEVER taken that long to eat pasta. I guess he wants me to propose... it's supposed to be two months salary, right. O.k... lets see... $65.34 x 2, carry the 1...

The only thing we weren't crazy about was the meat. A big 'ol plate of meat (an no Bullseye BBQ sauce to be had... poor Ry). We wanted to know what we were eating so we called the waiter over and the conversation went something like this... Um, excuse me sir? Could you tell me what kind of meat this is? Sure. This one shish kabob, this one sausage.

Awesome. Thanks for clearing that up. I think my favorite part of the night was driving back. There was about 4 couples in this huge van. The driver said something into the radio and an English lady said "I wonder what that means" and I responded with "I think that's Italian for NO BRAKES" and then watched her fiddle with her seatbelt until she was sure it was done up.

O.k... now to tell you about the BEST DAY EVER. We drove to Ravello for a cooking lesson with Mama Agata. That is her below with her daughter, Chiara (who speaks fluent English... Mama, not a lick. She just hip checks her daughter out of the way and yells something in Italian if she talks too long or is not doing something properly). The day didn't start off so well for Ryan. Ravello is 20 kilometers from Positano but it takes an hour and twenty minutes to get there because of all the twists and turns in the 1.5 lane road. He was having flashbacks to childhood road-trips, breaking out is a cold sweat... every turn brought his toast and eggs dangerously close to his throat. I didn't realize how bad it really was until the first course of Italian breakfast went around. Ryan ate half. That never happens. He seemed to perk up after 10:30 a.m. when Chiara asked if anyone would like a glass of wine.


There was only four of us, and it was really intimate. These people were amazing... They grew and made everything... bottled their own black and green olives, made their own wine, made their own Limoncello, their own pasta, tomato sauce... the only thing they didn't make themselves was the cheese, which they got from a friend down the road who made it herself. Most of the time was spent in the kitchen and the rest was spent on their patio eating.


This is their property. They have been on the land for 250 years... over that time, they have fed a ton of celebrities... Humphrey Bogart, Liz Taylor, Woody Harrelson... it seemed she had a story for everything and about everyone. Half of the people she didn't know were celebrities until they left. They are very down to earth people and made you feel like family. It wasn't put on either. There is NO pretense with them. Half wait through cooking, Mamma turned off the stove, went to the window and started screaming "Torre! Torre!" Apparently her husband, Salvitore was working on the septic tank somewhere and she was concerned about his safety. He didn't respond right away so she just left for awhile until she knew he was O.k.... we were just going to have to wait.


A picture of us from Mama's Terrace.


Here's some of the food we made.


Us with the other couple that were their from Dublin. They're getting married in Italy and wanted to test drive Mama as the caterer. Chiara offered that they would be happy to cater ours as well.


Ry, me, and Mama (She was busy tending to her hair before the picture. If you look at some of the others, it got pretty crazy as the day progressed. The hotter it got, the stronger the wind... her daughter described her coif as a crazy hen).

We're on our way back to Rome tomorrow morning for a couple days. We will post once we are there. Bye for now.