Ristorante Bovio

Via Alba,  17bis,2064

La Morra (Cn) Italy

Tel. +39 0173 590 303

November 2009

This was my first dinner at Ristorante Bovio, the new venture of the Bovio family who for many years ran the Belvedere, one of Piedmont’s best-known restaurants. Ristorante Bovio is a smaller, more intimate locale, with modern décor that is a big change over what diners were used to at the Belvedere. The cuisine also looks like it too has received a much-needed face lift.

Our tasting menu was exceptional, but then again, nearly every course was generously topped with white truffles, so it was hard to go wrong! We started with a traditional trio of antipasti that included some of the Piedmontese classics, but when vitello tonnato and carne cruda are this good, it is frankly hard to tire of these dishes. The porcini tartlette was also delicious, especially as it served as a wonderful backdrop for a generous heaping of white truffles. The Ravioli del Plin was the highlight of this dinner. The fonduta filling literally melted in the mouth, and it didn’t hurt that the truffles were particularly exquisite. This supremely elegant, rich and hedonistic dish is worth a trip on its own! A local had suggested the fried porcinis as a main course, and I wasn’t disappointed; they were divine.

After a long day of tastings I limited myself to just a taste of wine. I couldn’t pass up Conterno’s 2004 Barolo Cascina Francia. This superb Barolo easily lived up the praise I bestowed upon it previously. Still surprisingly open, the 2004 Cascina Francia offered up layers of silky, perfumed fruit on an impeccably elegant, mid-weight frame. It was stupendous.

I can’t wait to go back to Ristorante Bovio, especially in the spring when the outdoor space is available for use. Ristorante Bovio is highly recommended, but reservations are essential. 

Food:

Carne cruda with white truffles

Old-fashioned vitello tonnato

Porcini tartlette with fonduta and white truffles

Ravioli del Plin with fonduta and white truffles

Fried porcini mushrooms 

Wine:

2004   Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia           97

[Photo and credit: Ristorante Bovio, La Morra, Italy]