Reed and Twenty/20 in the News

The local news channel 8 here in San Diego featured Twenty/20 Grill in a segment

Watch the video featuring Reed here

“Hotel Serves Up Local Treats”

With a view of some of Carlsbad’s more inviting locales, 20-20, the restaurant at Sheraton Carlsbad Resort, is something to be seen and sampled.

“The terrace is wonderful. It’s sun-shiny, which is nice. They’ve got umbrellas so you don’t burn up. As long as there’s no haze, you have a slice of ocean,” San Diego magazine restaurant critic David Nelson said.

“Very impressive burgers here, which I think is a good lunch dish that everybody enjoys. They’ve got some other nice sandwiches, like El Horno, which is an Argentine skirt steak.

“If you want a more formal entrée, they have a Waikato chicken, which is flavored in the island way, served with spinach and tomatoes and a little lime. And then there’s a very, very nice pasta, which is served with crab and just a little olive oil and white wine,” Nelson said.

Twenty-twenty’s dinner menu also offers some solid choices.

“Among the specialties are charbroiled lamb loin, which is served with a roasted red grape juice and croutons made from warm potatoes, and there’s even a wild berry salad on the side, so this is different. There are day scallops that are pan-roasted and served with an oven-fried tomato risotto.

“A third choice for an entrée would be the global ocean sea bass, which is served with house-cut pasta, which means that it’s freshly made pasta and oven-dried tomato,” Nelson said.

With a locally flavored menu and great views too, there’s more than meets the eye at 20-20.

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Nobu San Diego: No Bang for our Buck!

We headed downtown to eat at Nobu San Diego on Monday night. All three of us opted to try the Omakase, the multi-course chef’s tasting menu. We were really excited to try the omakase at Nobu since we had tried and really enjoyed the omakase at Makoto in Washington DC. Needless to say, the omakase at Nobu was not worth the money. Even though the restaurant was fairly empty (it was a Monday night) they seemed to rush us; we were also the only three people sitting at the sushi bar! All of the courses were decent, but overall nothing special like you would assume for the price! The first few courses were the best part of the dinner.

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Our First Taste of Puglia: Trani and Ostuni

Puglia was probably the place that I was most excited about visiting…I was not disapointed. My only regret is that we did not have enough time there…we’ll just have to go back! The writer, Carlo Levi, who was exiled in Puglia referred to the region as “that other world…which no-one may enter without a magic key.” It is a very special place that should not be missed and we look forward to exploring it more in the future. If you are planning a trip to Italy in the near future, check out Puglia! If you want suggestions, contact us!

We got up bright and early on Thursday morning to go into Sorrento to pick up our rental car from Avis (FYI: stay away from Avis in Sorrento!! We are currently battling them over incorrect charges on our credit card!). Within an hour we were on our way, heading east towards Puglia, Italy’s heel! One of the reasons why I was really interested in visiting Puglia, is that it seems to be gaining popularity; in the past year almost all of the main newspapers, including the New York Times, has featured Puglia in at least one article. With beautiful landscapes and charming cities, Puglia has it all. It doesn’t hurt that Puglia is a wine and food lovers paradise and we definitely ate well here, having our best meal in all of Italy in Ostuni!

Within 3.5 hours we had left Campania and were in Puglia, the drive was quite beautiful: rolling hills (that look similar to Tuscany) some of them with huge windmills covering them. It was amazing to see the colors, especially the greens! We also learned Ollie hates windmills as much as hot air balloons!

Trani was our first stop….

Trani is known as the “Pearl of Puglia” and has a magnificent portside cathedral. During the Middle Ages, Trani rivaled Bari, another city in Puglia, for importance, and Trani became a major point of embarkement for merchants going to the Near East. The town’s business interests grew so much that Trani devised the first maritime code, the Ordinamenta Maris, in 1063 to help regulate their business interests.

Trani port

We were hoping to make it to Ostuni before dark so we stopped in Trani only long enough to snap some pics of the cathedral (a great example of the Norman style of Architecture), and to have a quick lunch of cavatelli con fagioli e cozze (pasta with beans and mussles) at a portside restaurant.

Cats in Trani

The port and Adriatic

The cathedral

It really was interesting to see this cathedral, which is completely different than any other in Italy that we have seen. The ocean makes a beautiful backdrop!

It was just starting to get dark as we approached the city of Ostuni. Ostuni is known as the “White City” and is perched on three hills surrounded by olive groves. The view on the approach is absolutely stunning and I’m sure much more beautiful when it is not as cloudy. We were staying for two nights in an apartment right near Piazza della Liberta. Although the lodgings were merely adequate, we both fell in love with Ostuni and hope we have the opportunity to return some day!

We spent some time wandering around the maze like streets up the cathedral.

The duomo

During the day from the cathedral there are views of the olive groves at the blue adriatic.

Piazza del Duomo

The owner of the apartment we were renting, Francesco, also owns his own restaurant. He told us to stop by for dinner and I am so glad we did; it was the best meal we had in all of Italy! Locanda dei Sette Peccati (Seven Sins) is fantastic. For a starter we split a mixed antipasto platter that was superb. We did not know what half the things were, mainly vegetables, but there was not one bad thing. We ordered two pasta dishes to share, both specialties of Puglia: orecchiette ortolane (with mixed vegetables) and orecchiette pomodoro cacio ricotta (with tomato and cacio ricotta cheese). Cacio Ricotta tastes nothing like ricotta that we know in the U.S. It is firm and is most comparable to feta. Francesco is the host, waiter, and cook for the entire restaurant!

Our antipasto (we were too hungry to take pictures of our pasta!)

We went to bed tired and full and excited about exploring more of Puglia!

Goodnight Mr. O!

Tomorrow: We head out to visit the trulli in Alberobello and Martina Franca, a baroque city that makes a special kind of meat!

Locanda dei Sette Peccati
Via F.sco Campana 3
0831 339595
72017 Ostuni (BR)

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Naples, In the Shadow of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Pizza

We arrived in Napoli on New Year’s Day after seven hours of traveling on trains only to find out that the circumvesuviana train (the metro system in Naples) was not running. Just our luck!! Our hotel, Casa Mazzola (which our friend’s Lawren and Steve from Verona had recommended), was in Sant’Agnello, a hill top town near Sorrento and 50 km from Naples. We had many bags and Ollie, so taking a bus was out of the question! We ended up taking a taxi for 150 Euros that took nearly 2 hours! We were so glad that we had agreed upon a price before the taxi driver saw how much traffic there really was (heading back towards Napoli)! Our taxi driver was really friendly, albeit sexist, and many times wanted to pull off the highway so we could take pictures of Vesuvius or the coast. He was so proud of Naples, which was really nice. As we came to find out, our taxi driver was only interested in what Reed had to say and could care less what I had to say! At one point he asked when Reed’s birthday was and also when Oliver’s birthday was (he knew Ollie was a boy), commenting on both of their astrological signs (something that a lot of Italian seem to be interested in) but never once asking about my birthday! Just an observation…..

We were a little worried when we arrived at Casa Mazzola because it was definitely not near the Circumvesuviana train line, like the owner had said. Instead it was about 2 miles up a winding road. (A Note: Casa Mazzola is def. budget friendly at 50 Euros a night, however without a car it can be difficult. There is one bus with infrequent service down to the Circumvesuviana. In addition, without a car it is necessary to get a ride from the owner to get to any restaurant.)

We were not quite sure that anything would be open for dinner or even sure how we would get to a place if it was open. The owner, Luigi, found a restaurant that was open, La Rosa. This place was great and cheap. We were the only people in the restaurant and we shared an order of gnocchi alla sorrentina (with bufala mozzarella) and both had a margherita pizza (Reed’s had sausage and onions). After a long day it was time for bed!

Wednesday, January 2, we woke up early to head to Pompeii. The views from out B&B out towards Naples and the Gulf of Naples were spectacular.

Mt. Vesuvius and the sunrise

Gulf of Naples

Vesuvius and vineyards

The circumvesuviana train was running and in 30 minutes we had arrived at Pompeii. We planned on spending a few hours at Pompeii touring the main sites (The Basilica, Casa del Poeta Tragico, Lupanare (brothel), and the Terme Stabiane (thermal baths)) before heading to Naples for lunch.

Mt. Vesuvius behind Pompeii

Some of the more interesting things we learned from the audio tour was that the basilica was not used for religious purposes; instead it was the center of law and home of the tribunal. It’s name, the basilica, was adapted later because of the similarity in appearance to Christian basilica’s. The Lupanare was one of 25 brothels in Pompeii. The name, Lupanare, comes from the Roman word “Lupa” which means prostitute. The lupanare had 10 rooms and the price for a prostitute was equivalent to 2 glasses of medium quality wine!

Ruins of the Basilica

We were shocked when we got to Pompeii and saw that dogs were allowed at the ruins. Not limited to the stray dogs that make Pompeii there home, but also a number of tourists had brought their dogs along!

Preserved human

Preserved dog

One of the other interesting things I learned from the audio guide was that Pompeii was pretty much under construction at the time Vesuvius erupted. An earthquake 10 years earlier had pretty much leveled the city and at the time of the eruption construction was under way!

Pompeii street

Orange and Lemon stand outside the gates of Pompeii

The lemons were huge!

The weather was really cold and windy so around 12:30 we decided to head back and catch the circumvesuviana train into Napoli so we could sightsee and have some great pizza! We really wanted to have pizza at Da Michele in Naples, which is supposed to be the oldest pizzeria (having made pizza since 1870!) but the line was crazy and it looked like we might have to wait for a long time and it was already 2. Instead we headed over to Trianon, which is right across the street and we only had to wait 30 minutes.

Ttrianon has been tossing pizza dough since 1923 and the walls are covered with black and white photos of old Naples. We both had the margherita pizza con bufala but were kind of disappointed that the pizza was not as good as it had been the night before!

Waiting for Pizza!

The menu

The pizza!

After lunch we wandered around Spaccanapoli, the ancient heart of Naples. Spaccanapoli is really interesting, having a number of alimentari (food shops) and restaurants nestled in narrow winding streets.

It even has a doll hospital!

Naples has a lot of charm and a lot of potential. Of course we took all the precautions with our money etc., but we never felt threatened or unsafe. The buildings were beautiful and if you take time, Naples is a city worth visiting and exploring.

As we were walking around we came across a lemon store which sold lemon liquors and other lemon products including lemon pasta! The very nice man inside, invited us inside to see his production of limoncello and gave us a taste! We also found an alimentaria/salumeria located at Piazza Luigi Miraglia (in the heart of Spaccanapoli) that has been opened since 1895! We bought some bread, olives, Mozzarella di Bufala, and salumi for dinner. The store owner told us that in order to have the best mozzarella we needed to soak it for 20 minutes in warm water. We later found out that this is done in the winter because the cold temperatures change the texture of the cheese.

Lemon rinds used to prepare Limoncello

Before heading out we stopped by the cathedral, which is fairly plain on the outside but very ornate on the inside.

Exterior Facade

Interior Facade

The 17th century baroque Capella di San Gennaro is one of the highlights of the interior. Inside the chapel you can see the skull and a few phials of the saint’s congealed blood, St. Gennaro, the city’s patron saint. St. Gennaro was maryred in 305 AD and legend has it that his blood liquified within the phials when his body was returned to Naples. On the 1st Sunday in May, September 19, and December 16 thousands of people gather in the cathedral for the Festa di San Gennaro to witness the saint’s blood liquify: a miracle believed to save the city from potential disasters.

Capella di San Gennaro

Ceiling in the Capella di San Gennaro

We finished off the day by eating some of the great food we had bought in the city!

Soaking the Mozzarella di Bufala in our bathroom sink…

Preparing dinner

Wine, bread, cheese, olives, and salumi all from Napoli!

Tomorrow: We head out of Campania and visit a majestic seaside cathedral in Trani and then off to Ostuni, Puglia’s white city where Opera music is played in the streets!

Ristrorante La Rosa
Via Nastro Azzurro, 28
80063 Piano Di Sorrento (NA), Italy
+39 081 8083556

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Verona: We ate Horse and Donkey!

Verona is such a great city! We loved getting the chance to see it! We probably would never have gotten to see it if Lawren and Steve did not live there and if they had not been so kind and let us stay with them! The guidebooks seem to overlook the majority of the cities in the Veneto and focus solely on Venezia. Hmmmm. Either way, we are glad we got to visit and look forward to possibly using Verona as a base in February to explore the Veneto, the Dolomites, and much more!

Verona is known as piccola Roma (little Rome), and it is easy to see why. The city is very orderly (i.e. streets on a grid) and we really were reminded of Roma when we were there (Verona even has it’s own River-the Adige). The city’s golden age came during the 13th and 14th centuries (this is the time period Shakespeare wrote about in Romeo and Juliet). This period was also known for the savage family feuding that Shakespeare portrays.

Below is S. Giorgio, a church and a park. This is the first dog park we took Ollie and Mary to. It seems that when the city of Verona was being planned, space was set aside for parks which is really nice! This particular dog area was set within a larger park. I don’t think there is this much green in all of Siena!

Close up of S. Giorgio.

Another church. I’m not quite sure the name of it. Possibly S. Stefano.

A view towards Ponte Pietro. To the right is the hill that leads up to the ruins of a castle which is a park and dog area now. You can just make out the castle walls, which you can walk along and let your dog run. We went up to the castle park on Monday but did not make it around the walls on this trip.

Ponte Pietro is a foot bridge that leads to the centro of Verona. Hitler bombed all the bridges as he retreated from Verona. The large, lighter bricks that are visible in the picture below is the original bridge.

View along the Adige.

Another church. Name unknown to me!

Street corner in Old Verona.

Street in centro. Lights had already been put up in the centro and it was really festive. The streets are quaint and have all sorts of neat little stores and shops.

It is hard to see in this picture but hanging from ropes tied across the street were little white cherub angels. We tried to get a close up picture but were unsuccessful.

Vegetables at a fruit stand. Even though it was pretty cold, all the vegetables and fruit were outside.

Piazza delle Erbe (pictured below) was once the sight of a Roman Forum. Today it is the center of the city and there is a market almost every day. In the center of the photo is the Madonna Verona Fountain, which was designed in 1368. The statue is however, a Roman statue that is much older and was added to the fountain.

The tourist office is now in Palazzo Maffei, which is at the North end of the Piazza. This is one of the few Baroque buildings in the town. Along the top of the building you can see sculptures of the six pagan divinities (only 5 are shown in the picture): Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Apollo, Hercules, and Minerva.

Close up view. Verona was for a long part of the Venetian Empire, whose symbol was the lion.

Buildings surrounding Piazza delle Erbe.

These are the arches that separate Piazza delle Erbe from Piazza del Signori. The one furthest away is Arco della Costa and if you look closely (click on picture) you can see a whale bone suspended from the arch. According to legend, it will fall on the first “just” person to walk beneath it.

Piazza dei Signori. Just beyond the piazza in a courtyard you can see excavation work that has been done to reveal parts of the old Roman city. It is quite interesting. Also part of this piazza is the Palazzo degli Scaligeri, the home of the Scaligeri family which ruled Verona for a number of years.

The Roman Arena is one of the biggest and best preserved arenas. It was built in the first century and now houses Verona’s opera. The arena, made of pink marble from Verona (similar to the baptistry in Parma) is the third largest Roman amphitheater in existence, capable of seating 20,000+.

After walking around we decided to grab a few drinks. We stopped at 2 different enotecas. At the first one we had a really good Valpolicella, a red wine from the Veneto region. It ranks just after Chianti in total Italian D.O.C. and is made from three grape varietals: Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara. We also tasted a few antipasti including polenta that is served with gorgonzola and some salumi and lardo. We moved on to another enoteca where I was able to have a glass of Moscato for 2 Euros- not bad!

After all that, we headed off to Caffe Antica Osteria al Duomo, one of Lawren and Steve’s favorite restaurants. It is really rustic and really good. Reed and I split two primi: a thick pasta (very similar to pici) that had a ragu made with asano (donkey) and a gnocchi with horse and ruccola which was also really good (I liked the donkey more and Reed liked the horse). For a secondi we split bresaola that was served with ruccola and lemon. This was probably our least favorite but still really good (bresaola is an air-dried salted beef). We were too hungry to take any pictures of the food-next time!

Osteria al Duomo
Via Duomo, 7
Verona
045 800 4505

Tomorrow we head to Venezia to see some gondolas and canals!

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