punt e mes

Arrived this afternoon in Turin (Torino), a 17-18 century city in the Piedmont (northwest Italy) , home of the royal Savoys, Antonio Gramsci, and the Fiat (the "T" in Fiat is for Torino). K., my traveling companion was waiting for me at the airport. Our hotel is in the center of the old city, with full amenities including spa and pool (though it doesn't open until noon--obviously a more relaxed pace here). My host, a professor of US history at an Italian university nearby, and his wife took us to the Piazza San Carlos (photo above) for drinks and then to dinner. We had an apertif called "punt e mes," which (in dialect) means a point and a half, referring to one point bitter and a half-point sweet. It is a dry, red vermouth, nothing like the stuff we put in martinis--really good. It was served on ice with a slice of lemon and a slice of blood orange... Then to dinner (desribed to us as "a major event," i.e. standard meal is four courses). We decided to be brave and go for it: For antipasti, we had very thinly sliced smoked swordfish on arugula, drizzled with olive oil, and jerusalem artichoke with parmesan. Then, for first course, an herb rissotto, and for main course, a grilled dorade and a grilled monkfish ("pescatrice," which they call the jumping frog fish). Followed by a tiramisu (they don't make it like this in the US--too fabulous for words) and a chocolate-amarretto flan (also heavenly). For wine we had a Dolcetto D'Alba, a "light" red. We are sated and excited. Early train tomorrow to the university for first class. Ciao!