with a voluptuous body and chalky apricot
notes that stand up to rich pasta.
At Bottega Baretti (Via Sant’Anselmo,
28; bottegabaretti.com), the light is low,
the music pumps and the stylish clientele
exchange air kisses over pizzas fresh from
the woodfired oven. Coppa and burrata
make for an X-rated combo, while the
parmigiana pizza is a revelation. For
a similar buzz, Banco Vini e Alimenti
(Via Mercanti, 13; bancoviniealimenti.it) is
a mod wine bar with Italian tapas – pulled
pork slider or stuffed artichoke, anyone?- and a serious selection of natural wines.
The menu at relaxed Casa Broglia
(casabroglia.com) in Piazza IV Marzo is
an ode to Piedmont, from risotto with
Barbera d’Asti and salsiccia di Bra
(a moreish raw sausage from Bra, the
slow-food capital, seasoned with black
pepper and nutmeg) to bonet, a local
pudding-like dessert made with
chocolate and amaretti. Osteria Le
Putrelle (Via Valperga Caluso, 11;
leputrelle.it) offers the same low-fi
comfort, via plates of purple gnocchi and
agnolotti and affordable Piedmontese
wines, while Lo Spaccio Alimentare (Via
Belfiore, 24; lospaccioalimentare.it) is an
easygoing bistro where you can mull over
salumi or dive into a solid plate of pasta.
After perusing Porta Palazzo market
(Piazza della Repubblica), take a seat in the
sun at Pescheria Gallina (pescheriagallina.
com), a casual seafood bar on the market
rim where you pick the seafood you’d like
cooked. Frittura mista is a tangle of lightly
fried sardines, squid and prawns, cod
crocchette are crisp and golden, and
sea bream (orata) is cooked to perfection
with the simple lick of the grill.
For lunch, Pastificio Defilippis (Via
Lagrange, 39; pastificiodefilippis.it/eng)
has a hearty selection of deli plates,
including lasagne, quiche and daily fish
and meat specials; PolentOne (Via Po,
35; polentone.com/en/) does bowls of
soft-serve polenta topped with the likes of
wild-boar ragu or five-cheese sauce; and
Gofreria Piemonteisa (Via San Tommaso,
7; gofriemiassepiemontesi.it) is the home
of the ancient street food gofre, waffles
loaded with meat and cheese.
CLOCKWISE (from top left):
pizza prep at Bottega Baretti;
agnolotti with roast beef sauce
and parmesan cheese at
Tre Galli; fresh juice at Sweet
Lab; enjoy a bicerin at Caffè al
Bicerin; pear tart at Caffè Fiorio.
OPPOSITE: early morning on The
Po, Italy’s longest river.
delicious.com.au 135GLOBAL FLAVOURS.