Valeggio sul Mincio Restaurants

There are four similar bars, run probably by the same company, in the Sigurta Gardens. We tried that one in northeastern part of the gardens. It was nothing fancy, never: just an ugly kiosk with plastic tables and chairs put on a grass with no umbrella to protect consumer against sun. And we had to wait in a line a few minutes.

They offered limited choice of fast food (I remember sausages) and drinks. Prices were the same as in much better bars in downtown Valeggio.



Favorite Dish: Nothing is favourite. Is it worldwide custom that the worst places to eat are those put for massive crowds of visitors in busy, tourist attractions. They are run by companies who signed long-therm deals and feel safe as there are no competitors around a corner, right?

Dutch Heineken bottled beer was cold enough and good as usual (although it's not my favourite beer), coffee was simply bad (the only once in Italy), simple ice-cream tasted average.

Italy is surely a wine country, not a beer country. But beer is more and more popular and Italy itself is a producer of beer. Let me introduce the best beer I tried and remember. Well, I have to try next ones including:
- Birra Moretti (4.6 % alc. pale lager), Birra Moretti La Rossa (7,2% alc. bock) by Birra Moretti (Heineken) in Udine
- Super du Baladin (Belgian strong ale; 8% alc. :-) and Baladin Nora (traditional ale, 6.8% alc.) by Le Baladin brewery in tiny village Piozzo, Cuneo province, Piedmont (capital Torino).

Forst Sixtus - my recommendation!
This beer is brewed by Forst brewery in tiny Lagundo, very close to Merano in northern Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige province, close to Switzerland). Parents of Giampiero (giampiero6) - Virtual Tourist Director of Content, live not far :-). Forst Sixtus was available in most bars (rarely on tap though), groceries and supermarkets, I visited in northern Italy. It was the best beer I had in Italy: simple but strong and effective beer, with enough richness to keep me interested.

Forst Sixtus is a 6.5% alc. doppelbock. Doppel means double. Forst Sixtus is stronger brew than the traditional German bocks, but it's not twice the strength. Its color is reddish to brown. It offers very full body with a high alcoholic flavor. Add low hop flavor and aroma.



Favorite Dish: Surely I had to try Italian various beers and I have different, mostly not the best, impressions. So, usually, I order well-known European beer brands in Italy.

I had, popular in Italy, Dutch Heineken in a bar in the Sigurta Gardens which was good, refreshing and cold enough although Heineken was not my favourite pan-European pale lager.
Well, recently I like Debowe Mocne, an European strong lager (7% alc.) brewed by Tyskie Browary Ksiazece (KP- SABMiller) in my hometown, Tychy, Poland.


Excuse, this tip will be transferred to my Italy page.

Ristaurante Al Cacciatore was the place, where we had our 1st dinner during the VT-meeting and while the food was fine, the organisation of the service simply was NOT:
2 and sometimes also a 3rd servant were ladling various courses by a spoon from their big bowl into our plates. That way many of the great dishes were partly cold, when everything was served of a course.
They set big bowls with frech fries, vegetables etc. on the tables and then they came with the meat. about 20 minutes later they came with another type of meat, BUT nobody knew about that, and therefore most people had eaten all vegetables and french fries already.

Favorite Dish: My favorite part of the meal was the desert, simply for the fact that I was lucky to get "Creme Caramel" , some sort of a fine pudding with a thin top of Caramel.
The deserts were also served in a strange way, as 4 different kinds of deserts were placed on the table, and you could change with your neighbour maybe or take what you were given.
In the hotel where I was working last time, we would have arranged small protions of the various deserts on the plate for each guest, so everybody could tast all delights.

The service was nice and friendly, they simply had not been enough people to serve 90 guests at the same time, and compared with the 20 Euros we payed the next day for a really perfect lunch, the 27 Euros for "Al Cacciatore" were too much.
This is NOT a complaint regarding the prefect organisation of the meeting - things like that may happen easily, I am working in hotelbusiness all my life and see these things maybe a bit differently.
ANYWAY, we had a great time there and the food was fine !

AT HOME
Opposite to Urszula (matcrazy0), I am not a big fan of breakfasts. Well, good morning American-size coffee with a lot of European fat (2%) milk (in Italy always capuccino) is a must for me. Add something small, say, youghurt + banana (just in case you ever host me, don't take it too seriously, please). And it has to be enough for me on business days due to common lack of time in the morning. Although I work in what is called Eastern Europe, I am not allowed to be late at work :-(. And quick shower, shaving (lucky ladies!) and obligatory 3 min.! (right, dr.Firas ?) cleaning teeth takes at least 15 min. Additionally I live in not - American distance from my work (only 5 min. by car), thus, in contrast to my American friends, I can't enrich my diet with some fast food while driving. And unfortunately I have neither Dutch legs (recently) nor size (hopefully temporarily) to ride a bicycle to work. So, simply, I can't pay much attention to breakfasts at home. My stomach starts to cry for food, say, after 8.00 pm Central European Time :-(((.

ON HOLIDAY
Well, I used to eat much larger breakfasts on holiday unless it's extra paid (I do NOT like it, do you?). Luckily buffet breakfast in Cacciatore hotel was included in a room price :-) and quite good, better than at home :-))), psst... don't tell it to matcrazy0, never. It was served from 7.00 am till 10.00 am but due to some other events (wedding ceremony of not VT-ers, yet) we were asked to come between 8.00 and 9.00 am. Thanks to stomach of Urszula, crying for some food, we were usually among the first "breakfasters".

Favorite Dish: My highlights:

- definetely youghurts! packed in small glass jars (pink, fruit and white, milk one); excuse, hotel staff, it's something worth a take out; don't forget to take a spoon (from home!);

- capuccino served on request (not extra paid; € 2.00 saved x 2 = 4 € :-),

- always fresh dark (wholewheat?), small rolls,

- thin, well, very thin (almost transparent) slices of meat (what was that, prosciuto?) - served probably specially for fellow VT-ers = added exclusively in days of the meeting

- sweet bun for coffee (not a croissant though).

Others included honey, jam, boiled eggs, apples, orange juice, cornflakes or something similar (anyway, I don't like them since I was born!). There was nothing hot/warm served (I loved waffles in the USA). But it was enough for hungry morning folks not to be forced to eat full, large, Italian = 5 meal lunch.

Ristorante San Marco is one of a few restaurants in Borghetto, a very picturesque hamlet of Valeggio sul Mincio.

INTERIOR
At first sight the restaurant inside didn't look great. It was simple large room with many, mostly large tables. Well, there is another, very charming and romantic, part of this large restaurant with smaller (up to 4 people) tables on the outdoor terrace overlooking the Mincio river. But first of all we - 9 people - wanted to be seated together.

SERVICE
Our waiters and the only one waitress (specialist on desserts) were just like they should be: kind, fast and helpful. Despite Borghetto is only a small dot on very detailed maps, and the staff was already at my, medium age, someone of them knew a little bit English. But thanks to Barbara (BarbaraForza) it was not necessary. And the menu was in Italian, English, Freanch and German although with no detailed explanations on meals.

DRINKS
We ordered beer and mineral water, then capuccino. Co ordered tea which was served with unusual and funny paper tea bag. German Beck's beer served in small bottles (€ 2.50 each) was good although it's not my favourite premium lager beer.

WARNING
The restaurant is closed on Monday and Tuesday.

OUR BILL
9 pane e coperto (bread and cover) - € 13.50; bad news: this is NOT a tip (customary 10%, uff... this is not 15-20% America), this is Italian thing, as I said "pane e coperto"
1 aqua (water) - 1.00
13 bibita (drinks = beer) - 32.50
1 antipasto (appetizer) - 6.50
2 luccio mosc. salm (pike in rich with polenta + grilled salmon) - 17.00
2 branzino.coda (grilled bass) - 24.00
2 mila/cost/brac - 17.00
3 brac.m/bistec - 22.50
9 contorni (side dishes) - 31.50
4 dessert - 12.00
3 capuccino - 6.00
1 the - camomilla (tea) - 1.30
Total 184.90 = aprrox. 20.5 € per person.

Favorite Dish: I. Antipasti = appetizers (€ 8.50 each): charcuterie assortie = assorted, cold cuts ---> a very good appetizer.

II. Primi piatti (first course; € 7.50 each)
We didn't order any, just in case there are... tortellini (soup, in cream souce, with butter), cannelloni (stuffed rolls of noodle dough), fettuccine (noodles with tomato or mushrooms), tortelli di zucca (pumpkin-fillet ravioli), tagliolini (noodles with salmon). I'd try cannelloni, I never tasted them :-).

III. Secondi piatti (second course)
1. I had Luccio con polenta (pike in rich with polenta) - € 8.50. The fish was a little bit too soft and... cold as for me. I guess, I was crazy taking pictures when the fish was hot.
2. Urszula had Salmone ai feri (grilled salmon) - € 8.50 tasted very, very good - my recommendation!

Others had:
1. Ristecca di vitello ai ferri (grilled steak) - € 7.50
2. Costata di manzo ai ferri (grilled sirloin steak) - € 8.50
3. Cotoletta alla milanese (Wiener schnitzel - breaded veal cutlet) - € 8.50
4. Branzino ai ferri (grilled bass) - € 12.00
5. Coda di rospo ai ferri (broiled angler-fish) - € 12.00.

IV. Dessert (€ 3.00 each... if I remember well)
1. Urszula had a piece of apple pie with chocolade & pear - wow! it was yummy... :-)))
2. I had just capuccino - good as almost always in Italy.

Excuse, it's more local custom tip on Italian restaurants... ---> will be transferred to my Italy page soon.

TO SKIP IT OR NOT?
Menu in Italian restaurant always starts from antipasti = appetizers. I often didn't order any antipasti in Italy for a few reasons: low budget, I was not that hungry to eat it (the one or two courses are enough), I was or should be :-) on a diet (recently) and finally hmm... I didn't understand Italian or even... English menu.

ONLY ANTIPASTI?
Could one order exclusively antipasti + say, something to drink, in Italian restaurant? Well, except in a fancy restaurant (more for business than casual visitors) it's accepted, I think. And... you are a visitor.

RIGHT OF VISITORS
Traveling around many countries I saw so different and sometimes strange for me customs related to food like for example eating pizza + drinking vodka (!) for breakfast, beer served for each breakfast, bread + cheese + jam (together!) or grilled fish mixed with marmelade haha... So, I think, listen to me dear waiters, that visitors have always right to order what they want/like! Anyway, even do not try to order pizza in the morning in Italy :-).

Favorite Dish: EXAMPLE ANTIPASTI
Let me share what antipasti was served in San Marco ristorante in a hamlet of Valeggio sul Mincio (each costed € 8.50 in May 2005):

- assorted, cold cuts (charcuterie assortie) ----> my recommendation especially if you are in a group of 4 or so

- raw ham and melon (prosciutto crudo e melone)

- local sausage with polenta (polenta e salame)

- pike in rich with polenta, cold (luccio con polenta)

- salmon carpaccio with toasts (carpaccio di salmone con crostini)

- octopus ragout with polenta (moscardini in umido con polenta).

Favorite Dish: Name: Luccio con polenta (pike in rich with polenta).
Price: € 8.50
Rank: 3 stars.


A PIKE
Silly me, I forgot that English word "a pike" and secret Italian "luccio" meant "szczupak" in Polish language. Luckily talented Beach_dog showed me a pike with his face and hands :-).

Well, a pike is a freshwater, carnivorous, quite large fish I was even lucky to catch once in a lake in Poland. Worse: then I had to murder the pike, with no anaesthesia but some help of my co-fishing friend, and gut it (easy!). I brought the dead pike body to matcrazy0 who panfried it in butter for us and my co-fishing friend, yummy haha. Much more here.

Favorite Dish: Name: ???
Price: € 3.50
Rank: 5 stars.


If you want to order this delicious side dish, excuse, there is no way, you have to print out my enlarged picture and show it to the waitress. Don't forget to say hello to her from matcrazies from Poland, please.