I’ve learned to swear by the Let’s Go guides while traveling: they are usually well written, concise but thorough, and serve my purposes perfectly (ie getting the most out of a place without breaking the bank). I’m still trying to to come to terms with the fact that they are all written by Harvard students.
So on my first night in Bastia, I decided to check out a restaurant called U Tiano, which came highly recommended by my guide. It apparently specialized in traditional Corsican dishes. In the name of research, of course, I figured I should go.
The walls of the upstairs restaurant were plastered with all things Corse (well except for Che Guerrera who made it in there somehow), from old magazine covers, and separatist posters to a clock shaped like the island. I turned out not to be the only one eating alone, although I assumed at first that the man sitting in the corner was waiting for someone else, since he had a pitcher of wine and three plates on his table. Was I ever wrong…
appetizers and wine
The first step was the aperitivo, a pre-dinner drink. I chose the cap corse, which my waiter explained was somewhere between a martini and porto. He also brought me a pitcher of water…a cold one! (highly unusual in Europe)…thankfully. Next was the appetizer, which is misleadingly called the entrée in French (actually it’s we English speakers who misuse their word). The appetizer spread included a bread basket, an oily and tasty salad of chickpeas and basil, a gray paste whose contents were unclear (but it tasted somewhat like seafood, so I will assume and hope that’s what it was made of), and local charcuterie, three types of dried meat and sausage. And when I ordered my wine, which was also included in the price of the meal, I got not a glass but a pitcher, roughly equal to an entire bottle, which needless to say was not finished, since I was hoping to actually find my hotel again.
excessive? or course not.
Just when I was full to the point that back home I would imagine most waiters coming to clear the table, he asked: do you want me to reheat those for you? Umm, no I think I’m done, I said, feeling quite full. No, you must eat more. I waited for him to laugh, assuming it was one of those waiter-customer jokes. He just moved to the next table, apparently serious. Feeling a bit like a 3 year old told to finish her vegetables, I spooned some more onto my plate. A few minutes later, he returned, plesed to see that I had made a larger dent, but said, you have to at least finish the cannelloni. I did.
But there was more. My three entrees were not the end. Next was the cheese plate, a sample of local brebis, or sheep’s cheese, which was soft and mild, with a bit of jam. I’ve always enjoyed the French tendency to mix cheese and jelly. (Although those who know me can attest that I basically like anything that involves cheese). When it was time for the next course, dessert, I was feeling like it was going to take a forklift to get me out of the restaurant. I think I’ll just have the fresh fruit cup, I said. But the waiter wasn’t having it. You mean you don’t want the gateau? It’s made with fresh cold cheese… Okay, okay. If I must. In the name of learning. And the cake, called fiadone, was an incredible choice of course. It tasted nothing like what we would think of as cheesecake but more like angel food cake, except incredible moist and cold. My waiter nodded knowingly when he saw that I had no trouble finishing. Do you still wish you had ordered the fruit plate? Finally, after turning down the coffee since it was almost midnight and I had spent just about 3 hours (!!) at dinner, I finished with the digestivo, a local liquor that follows the meal, a burning clear acqua di vita made from raisins.
And so I walked back to my hotel room from U Tianu, sufficiently full and content to curl up and hibernate until next summer.
Hannah
I am sitting here by myself laughing so hard.
Your description of your evening at the restaurant is hilarious. I can’t believe they served you so much food and you obediently ate it. If you eat like that every day WOW! Looking forward to the next episode.
Love you, Grandma
love the description of the meal- man i wish i was there to help eat all of that delicious food!