When I find a good place to dine I tend to stick with it. In Perugia there are so many restaurants, pizzerias, gelaterias, bars, and trattorias. Since I am an artist, the places I frequent are not usually expensive; in fact they are most often reasonable.
The other evening I found a new restaurant that has got to be one of the great finds in all my travels anywhere. The place was only a block from the apartment I have rented for the past month and a half; the same one I had last summer in Perugia. How this quaint ristorante slipped past my radar is beyond me.
Geraldo and I were on our way to a restaurant I have been to before located just behind my apartment. We passed this new find that I always thought was an enoteca, not a restaurant. When we saw a food menu on the wall while passing I was surprised.
The restaurant we had in mind was totally empty while this one was totally full with Italians. We made the choice to give it a try. WOW!!! What a good decision.
This place was popular enough to take reservations, but thankfully they had one table for two open.
We sat down in the tight space next to the kitchen but were enchanted by the atmosphere. Eclectic art and bottles of wine decorated the place. Some of the cool funky light bulbs were hand-blown and every table had paper place mats and crayons.
The menu was simple but elegant with only five choices or so for each course from antipasti through to dessert. The wine list was indeed a short story size book with too many wines to choose from in my opinon. The waitstaff was young and hip and so busy they were literally running around the restaurant.We settled on some choices...prosecco to start with; it was dry but had tons of flavor. They brought a complementary plate of focaccia bread and sliced coppa that was outstanding. The dryness of the prosecco went wonderfully well with the rich, fatty paper thin meat of the antipasti.
We debated about additional antipasti but decided on stuffed zucchini flowers with a mixture of ricotta cheese and fresh tuna, then covered in bread crumbs and baked under a salamander. I was blown away...how could something so small bring such pleasure to the tongue.
As we savored our antipasti, the music started. A middle-aged cool cat played his guitar and sang hip tunes that went well with the space. His raspy voice ensured that the coolness of this place was going nowhere. One of the owners said that during Umbria Jazz they had different musical performances every night, but throughout the year there was no set schedule for music.
We selected the recommended Umbrian rosso wine and once opened it was excellent from the start, but as time went on it opened up and just got even better.
I had asked for Farrotto...the Umbrian take on risotto with a farro type grain. It's a type of bulgar common to this region. Topping this first course were small, incredibly fresh roasted tomatoes that burst in your mouth like pure sugar, plus plenty of salty pecorino to balance the sweetness of the tomato.
At that point I had to tell the waitstaff to slow down on bringing my food. I needed to relish every single moment.
The main course arrived and Geraldo and I could not decide who won the contest for best plate. He had plump pork medallions so perfectly prepared you could cut them with a fork. They were topped with a rich peppercorn Marsala sauce and served with roasted potatoes, crispy on the outside and deliciously soft inside. I had the osso buco that melted in your mouth; even the bone marrow blew me away. I found myself cleaning out the bone with bread to garner every bit. Both were superb!
Moving on to dessert, the impressive display and taste of our meal kept up its rating with a small, round chocolate cake that was oozing its warm chocolate
In addition we had a fresh version of mille-feuille with perfectly crisp wafers of pastry filled and topped with extra rich, thick whipped cream and fresh, sweet strawberries. So light, so simple, and soooo goood!
Having established solid faith in this eatery, I went ahead and ordered an after dinner grappa.....wow! Strong, with a hint of orange. I loved it so much I had the waiter write down the name of the distiller. Unfortunately there are only a small amount of bottles produced each year, and he informed me that it was so popular that there was nothing available to the public outside of a few restaurants in Umbria.
One of the three proprietors, Riccardo Giuzietti, said that Civico 25, located on Via Della Viola, had been operating for 13 years. And quite successfully from my view! Along with two other proprietors, Alberto Noro and Filippo Farinelli, the three of them all work in the restaurant and proudly provide genuine service and amazing food.
The ristorante interior can seat 45 with a main floor and a small mezzanine. During the warmer months, they also can seat 20+ outside with diners spilling out onto the street. I was curious about the interesting menu and how often it changed. I asked Riccardo how much of the menu changed and he responded only a quarter of the menu was set and the rest altered seasonally. The osso buco I had was one of the more popular dishes and was a staple of Civico.
How can I sum this all up without just saying this is LivingLifesBest in a place I love so much. This was a very special dining experience, and one I will never forget. I now have another place to frequent when here in Perugia.
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