Claude tells me that Mamma Angela’s is a warm, family run spot with homey food at great value served to you by friendly staff, so good that some diners say they loved it so much they came back a second day.

We stopped in for lunch today and sat on the patio.

So let’s look at Claude’s description.

Its it warm?

I’m going to assume they mean atmosphere, and we are sitting on the patio it’s not warm. It’s quite cool actually. Pleasant enough though. Quiet, even though we are sitting by a main piazza.

How about friendly staff?

Well I’m going with not particularly on this one. They weren’t rude. But I certainly didn’t feel like I was eating at my friend’s Nonna’s. I would say the standard level of politness you should find in any restaurant you walk into.

Was the food so good I wanted to go back a second time?

After our meal? No.

My pasta was good. An Umbicelli with speck and pistachios.

I did very much enjoy it. A carbonara like sauce with a perfect pasta shape, almost spaetzle like. I find myself liking long noodles less and less, switching to shapes like Rigatoni and Penne. This might be my first time having speck, a cured ham that varies across Europe. This version seemed quite lean, and gave nice flavour and texture. I never think of pistachios in pasta but I did like both the texture and the flavour they imparted.

Merilynn soup was good as well.

But large.

There’s a lot going on in this soup. Black cabbage, beans, lentils chick peas and pumpkin.

It was good, but nothing I ever need to have again. Good size portion though.

No dessert today. I’m still dreaming about the Tiramisu at Trattoria Del Moro Aronne.

If I’m going back a second time anywhere, it’s going to be there.

But it’s a nice spot, with good food. You won’t go wrong here.

I’ll have to tell Claude that Del Moro Aronne is a bit better though.

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Unlike Rome, there aren’t so many restaurants in Orvieto that getting to most of them over the next 5 days will be difficult, so it’s really just a matter of picking one and starting off.

The biggest challenge really is just making sure the one we pick is open that day. It seems that they rotate the days they are closed. I’m assuming so they all get at least one day off

So I picked Trattoria Del Moro Aronne as our first culinary adventure in the land of the Etruscans.

Michelin recommended, and known for their authentic, rustic Umbrian cuisine, particularly their signature Nidi di Rondine (baked pasta nests with pecorino and honey) and wild boar pasta, it’s family owned and has a cozy atmosphere.

It just so happens we picked both of their specialties for our meal tonight. But first we need some wine.

How about a litre of some excellent house red, for 13 euros?

And then some Carpaccio to start.

Actual proper, raw beef. Phew! Our last experience with Carpaccio here in Italy wasn’t wonderful.

Delicious, paper thin slices of beef seasoned with truffle. One of my favorites done very well

Now as for the dishes they are famous for. This one comes up frequently online.

Nido di rondine pecorino e miele

When you read “lasagne” on the menu you have a presupposed expectation of what might be coming. And ok yes I suppose in an artisticly, creatively licensed sort of way one can call this lasagne. But not at all what you would expect.

After one bite you understand exactly why they are famous for the dish.

its simply one lasagne noodle wrapped around some cheese with a little honey. And it’s mind blowing. There’s no tomato in there at all. Or meat. Yet it’s probably the best lasagne I’ve ever eaten.

But wait, there’s more.

My Tagliatelle al cinghiale.

This is now the third plate of pasta this trip that I have to proclaim as “one of the best pasta dishes I have ever eaten.”

Six months ago when we were planning this trip and I thought of all the great food I’d be eating this is the plate of food I was thinking about.

Again the simplicity is the wow factor. Well cooked pasta with Wild Boar in some sauce I can only describe as fantastic. I have no idea what the sauce is. I only know it’s incredible.

Can it get any better?

Actually it can.

I’ve had a lot of Tiramisu in my life. I’ve made a lot of Tiramisu in my life.

This was the best Tiramisu I’ve ever had. No question. Hands down. It’s light and creamy with a perfect balance of custard and cookie with just the right amount of coffee flavour.

It’s so good I think we might go back just for this dessert another night.

So, our first night in Orvieto and the food has definitely lived up to expectations. The whole meal has. The beautiful atmosphere and the great service from the very friendly and welcoming staff made the entire experience unforgettable. A meal I will remember for years.

11/10

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Stop #2 on a bar crawl around Polignano a Mare before we get dinner.

One of our favorite gins, right from here in Italy, Malfy Gin Rosa.

As it’s aperitivo time they brought us some olives and some little frit youters on the house.

€18, not terrible pricing.

We are getting a touristy vibe here, but not foreign tourists. Seems to be mostly Italian being spoken.

Great service. Great vibe. Great people watching spot.

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It’s world famous. And it’s expensive. And not that highly rated, for the €220 it will cost you to eat there.

We instead found a cute little place right next to our AirBnB. More on the disaster later.

Rosso Trattoria

It’s small, but busy. We were lucky to get the last table, even though it was after 9.

This is the lower level, there’s only three tables down here. But very cute. The stonework is amazing.

We could tell right away this was going to be a bigger dining experience.

An amuse bouche, an orange soup.

Delicious, who would have thunk it?

Plus some bread. Warm and very fresh. Plus some bruschetta. Very tasty.

But with so many teasers am I going to actually want dinner?

A starter caught my eye.

In house made ricotta cheese, served warm, with peaches.

Very interesting. I would have preferred less cheese, more peach. And I liked the cheese after it has cooled a bit more than when it was warm.

A very nice concept though. The mild cheese with the acid from the peaches worked really well together.

After all that food already though we are definitely skipping Segundo and ordering just a pasta for our main.

And that Primo ended up being one of the finest pasta dishes I have ever had. Ever.

L’Orecchietta, with slow cooked lamb, peas and a special, rare regional cheese, Podolico Caciocavella.

It almost appears that the chef individually stuffed each “ear” with one pea. The lamb was tender and oh so flavourful. And that cheese made a sauce unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. I was seriously tempted to order a second plate.

Merilynn also just did a pasta. Also one she very enjoyed.

Strascinata, with wild greens and Ricotta. Absolutely delicious, the greens giving a fresh but earthy flavour to the dish.

Nothing heavy for dolce tonight, but something light and fresh to cleanse the palate. An in house made lemon sorbet.

Which finished things off nicely.

Six months ago, while we were planning this trip I imagined all the great food I would be eating in Italy.

This meal is exactly what I pictured.

10/10

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We are in Kotor, Montenegro today.

After doing the standard grift (otherwise known as an excursion) tour to a small tourist trap town, we have the afternoon free and for once the cruise ship wharf isn’t 5 miles from town. The wharf is literally across the street from the gate to the beautiful, walled city.

(side note; I much prefer the more authentic feel of old town Kotor to the overly polished old town Dubrovnik. Don’t get me wrong, Kotor still is just one big grift. They just do a better job of hiding it here)

After making our way from the crowded main square and walked through town until we found a spot for lunch, Bastion, the self proclaimed best fish restaurant in Kotor.

We decide to share their fish chowder and grilled Sea Bass

Now that’s a great bowl of soup. Nice chunks of white fish in a wonderful tasting broth.

Sea Bass that was perfectly cooked and well seasoned with a side of mashed potatoes and spinach combo, something I haven’t really seen before but worked really well. Some shredded cabbage as well, adding some nice texture.

Kotor is a nice little town. And Bastion is a nice little fish restaurant. Do yourself a favour and check it out if you ever find yourself here.

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We spent the day in Kotor today so only dinner on the oversized ferry.

I’m not finding a lot that appeals to me on the menu tonight, so sticking with two appetizers.

Cod bites with polenta fries

Probably the best thing I’ve had on this boat. Still crispy and ht, the polenta fries and crispy onions tasted great.

This cooked salad on the other hand…

What would Gordan Ramsey call the chef who made this? Donkey? Idiot sandwich?

Either ad hominem would work. This was not great. Maybe if they had made a sauce you could actually taste it might have improved it but you probably shouldn’t cook lettuce to start with.

Merilynn thought the beef looked ok.

And it was.

Othermm than being a little fatty, it was pretty good. Great potatoes. Ok beans.

Dessert. Warm apple cake and Gateau Opera.

Unfortunately not warm at all. There’s so much potential here wasted.

It was fine, but is it any better than the tuxedo cake we sell at Safeway? Nope.

Earlier in the day, and now after dinner, we are having a break from our usual Gin and Tonics and tried a couple espresso martinis.

One thing I cannot complain about on this ship is the drinks. Very glad we got the drink package. Made the time more enjoyable for sure.

We also popped into the buffet around 10pm, just to compare to our first day.

It was no better tonight.

“Well at least the fruit was ok” was Merilynn’s comment, which sums up things beautifully.

To sum up the good on the boat this week… It was ok. You won’t starve on an MSC cruise.

But don’t come for the food.

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Well there’s no time for breakfast this morning, we are recovering from last night and got up too late. We are heading out on an excursion. Not even time for coffee. Ouch.

After a morning touring Corfu town, we needed a quick bite and popped into the restaurant for lunch. We did have a light meal in Corfu town, you can read that review here.

We don’t want a lot, but it would be too long til dinner without having anything and the buffet is not an option.

I get some fresh fruit to help in my recovery process.

Merilynn decided on the pasta of the day, a mezze penne with tomato sauce.

They really don’t like to overcook pasta on this ship. Once again very al dente.

And I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt and say that that sauce was made in house, but it sure didn’t taste like it. That’s a jar of Ragu if you ask me.

By the time dinner rolled around I was pretty hungry so here’s hoping the menu helps with my appetite.

Merilynn decided on the carrot ginger soup, which I didn’t have a lot of faith in.

Fortunately it was a bit better than was expected, a little heavy on the ginger and light on the coconut milk.

Salad Nicoisse

I liked this salad, though it was a bit heavy on the oil dressing. Based on the taste of the oil I would guess they used the oil that the tuna was packed in. It really needed a hit of lemon and that acidity to cut through the oil.

Oven baked Salmon, actually cooked pretty well, with some nice crunchy fennel.

And my chicken breast. After the good chicken for lunch the other day I thought it might be ok. Yes the chicken was a little overdone, but I guess you have to be careful with poultry when your mass producing it. Don’t need a whole ship sick on undercooked chicken. The jus was nice, just needed a bit more of it to moisten the meat up. The veggies were good and I even liked the barley pilaf. I didn’t need that much of it though. Was maybe a poor choice to serve with the chicken being the same color. We eat with our eyes and there was not a ton of variation of color on the plate.

White Chocolate Mousse cake

Black Forest cake

Of the two desserts the Black Forest cake was better. Lighter with more intense flavours, it hit that sweet spot you need after a meal. The white chocolate mousse cake had a gelatinized layer which is something I really don’t care for.

Day four again was mixed. I won’t starve on this boat, but I’m not gaining any weight either.

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No breakfast again. It’s just too awful. We are headed to Corfu anyways.

Which was surprisingly kind of a dump. We had a quick snack on Corfu. You can read that review here.

As for the boat, once again rather underwhelming.

Cauliflower soup with Pistachios.

Not a great effort again. You can tell they are skimping on ingredients when the flavour is a little flat.

Beef Bourgogne

The beef was tender, but the rich gravy that comes from the addition of a full bottle of wine was missing.

Umbrino filet.

At least they know how to cook fish on the boat. It’s easy to overcook. This was moist at least. I would call it under seasoned though.

Royal cake.

Just another non descript dessert, one of many we’ve had so far.

Lemon cake.

Add another “just ok” dessert to the list.

At least you can get hammered on the boat with the drinks package. Helps you get though mealtimes.

The post MSC Armonia – Day 3 appeared first on Gregs Food Blog.

I had higher hopes for breakfast this morning after a somewhat suspect dinner last evening.

These hopes were quickly shattered.

We both chose Eggs Benedict, poached soft.

Well they got the egg right at least. Nice and runny.

Merilynn took two bites and had enough. I managed to eat it, but I’m not going to say it was good. It wasn’t the first bad Benny I’ve ever had. That award goes to a place in Calgary. This one gets a rubber up award though.

Our server could tell we weren’t happy with the food and did try his best to satisfy us. We ordered some crispy bacon.

Ok this was at least edible. But unfortunately covered in a lot of grease. Do they have paper towel or strainers on cruise ships? Good thing I’m not a big breakfast eater. I’d surely starve.

Cappucinon at the bar

Doesn’t seem quite as good as yesterday. The milk-foam ratio is off.

Lunchtime. The menu does look more promising for the rest of the day , fingers crossed.

Merilynns salad

She thouggt the pumpkin was salty, but there was no dressing and the lettuce was a bit wilted.

My pea soup

So far the best thing I’ve had on this embellished “ferry.” However, instead of chunks of ham from the stock that the soup should have been made from I was able to discern my leftover bacon from breakfast.

We shared a main, the chicken.

The chicken was actually quite nice, moist and tender, the sauce a perfect pairing. She thought the champignons were a bad choice though, overpowering the other delicate flavours on the plate. I wouldn’t know, like I’m gonna try them.

A Chocolate Explosion cake for dessert .

Pretty, but a little dry. The fruit added a nice touch.

Tonight is the Gala dinner.

With the strained notes from a guy doing his best impression of La Cage aux Folle in the background, we sit down to what we hope will be the best food so far this cruise.

As Merilynn is a cheese lover the Brie was an easy choice for her.

In a normal restaurant this may have worked really well. Soft gooey cheese with a crunchy exterior, the fruit compote added a nice acidity to the creamy Brie. As with what seems like most of our food, by the time it made it from the kitchen to the table it had cooked sufficiently to start to coagulate, which did detract from the overall experience.

My Lobster Bisque on the other hand appeared to be similar to the Asparagus soup from day one.

Where’s the cream?

Fortunately it tasted better than it appeared. Much more flavour than I expected.

I decided on some pasta tonight.

Short rib Ravioli

Thank the Lord in heaven it tasted better than the Chef-Boy-R-Dee that it looked like.

For me a great portion size, though I suspect a lot of people would be upset with the toddler sized portion.

Could I tell it was short ribs. Not a chance in hell. Though it actually tasted quite good.

Pan seared Salmon with a Mango Chutney and curry sauce.

A cheese tray for dessert for Merilynn

Some nice cheeses on there, a nice way to finish a meal.

I went with the After Eight Sensation.

I should have waited til 9.

Not fantastic, the texture of the mint cream was a little off putting.

After a couple more drinks and some time playing roulette we were hungry so went to check out the pizza bar.

Reviews we had heard weren’t great, but we were actually pleasantly surprised.

Maybe it’s because we are a little sloshed. Maybe it’s because it 12am. Whatever, both slices, a Margherita and an Italian Sausage, were very fresh, had nice crusts and decent flavours.

We also checked out the buffet once more and found a couple very forgettable treats, a Panna Cotta and a Cream Puff.

I think I’ll just pretend we didn’t try those at all.

Food on day two was a considerable improvement over day one. Though still not up to expectations. We are in Dubrovnik tomorrow. Will hopefully find a great meal on dry land.

The post MSC Armonia – Day 2 appeared first on Gregs Food Blog.

A compilation of the different dining experiences on board the MSC Armonia on our 5 day Adriatic cruise.

Day 1

The buffet

I didn’t take a photo, I was too mad about the 3 hour embarkation process and the almost 2 hour tender to the ship at the Marghere Port. We just needed something to eat quick. And honestly a trained monkey could cook better food than this crap. A pasta salad with almost raw penne, a bland shepherds pie and some chef boy r dee like tomato pasta. Not a good start.

The coffee bar:

Pretty good cappuccino. Not as good as the ones we have been having in Venice every morning, but decent enough.

We didn’t arrive in time for lunch, we were sitting in the middle of the harbour for what seemed forever.

So we have the early sitting for dinner. And we are lucky to have a table to ourselves.

Our menu for today.

For starters Merilynn had the not so creamy Cream of Asparagus soup.

Merilynn described it as eating dirty dish water. I didn’t think it was quite that bad but it certainly wasn’t awesome.

I had the crispy puff pastry triangles. I was expecting something like spanakopita. I think I got a quiche. It was ok though. Nothing to write home about.

Merilynns main was the Seafood Casserole.

Other than the chewy calamari it was pretty good. The most flavorful of the dishes that we had. The clams in particular were very good.

I went with the Red Lobster risotto.

Not much lobster flavour, not much lobster. One piece in fact. And a little too al dente for me. A little too bland overall. Where’s the lobster flavour? I can tell you where it isn’t. This risotto.

A Dove cake and a meringue nest for dessert.

The dove cake is the Easter version of a Pannetone, though I’m not sure if this is a good representation. It was quite dry. I did like the almond icing, pearl sugar and almond topping though. If it’s supposed to be anything like pannetone this really wasn’t. Moist, rich and sweet it was supposed to be. Dry and chewy it was. Now I’d like to try a real Dove cake though.

The meringue was pretty good. I suppose their take on a pavlova. It had a delicious lemon curd and fresh fruit on the top. Light and airy, it finished off what otherwise was a disappointing meal

It is a good thing we are a bit tipsy at this point.

Winning $100 in the casino afterwards made us feel a bit better too.

Heres hoping the food will be a bit better on day 2.

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