Sitting off a busy, three lane road mixed in with several strip malls and nondescript churches, is the three Michelin starred Italian restaurant by the Alajmo brothers (Massimiliano, the head chef and Raffaele, the restaurant manager). Once in the restaurant, you forget about the outside in the windowless dining room that is cozy and intimate with plenty of room between the tables. There is a choice of tasting menu between the Classics, Max’s or Raf’s. It is a bit disappointing that you cannot choose different menus at the table but you can have different options on the menu that you do pick. We decided on the Classics menu and with every course where there was a choice, they brought my husband one and me the other. We both had the wine pairings with our dinner, which started quite quickly with bread placed in the center of the carved out table, crackers on the side, and a Parmesan puff and a tiny cone of bread each (we hadn’t even picked our menu or gotten the glasses of Prosecco we ordered).
After we got our bubbly, we received the amuse of three bites. The pace was still a bit fast and I didn’t quite remember what the bites were which is unfortunate because I do remember they were tasty. We both had a first course of Al-Aimo — a dish dedicated to chef Aimo Moroni with tomato, oil, ricotta, fava beans, white asparagus, green beans, basil and zucchini flower. A fresh taste of Italian vegetables with a lovely ricotta dressing. This first course, and our next one was paired with Marco De Bartoli Sole e Vento Bianco. This Sicilian white was made with 70% muscat d’Alexandrie and 30% grillo. It had a sweet and delicate finish and paired well with the two dishes.
For our next course, there were two options on the menu: Max’s famous dish of potato and cream based soup with fish stock and cuttlefish called Cuttlefish Cappuccino; or his new colorful take called Murrina Cappuccino. Murrina glass was a type of glass created in Venice (particularly on the island on Murano) that is known for being brightly colored. The Murrina Cappuccino started with the same base but then added additional flavors of the sea including cuttlefish, squid, sea urchin, clams, and algae all mixed to resemble Venetian glass. I liked my version better but for someone who doesn’t care for clams or sea urchin (like my husband), his version was perfect for him. Our next two courses were paired with a 2017 Raccaro Malvasia Collio from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and was made with 100% malvasia grapes. It was a crisp wine with apple, lime and melon notes. The next dish was Pane, Olio e Latte di Dentice — Bread served with mullet botargo and raw Dentex. Fare la scarpetta is a phrase in the Italian language that means “make the little shoe,” it refers to the small piece of bread used to mop up the last of the sauce on your plate. The salted, cured fish roe with the sea bream type fish was cutely served in the little shoe with a nice slice of bread to scoop it up.
Our next course was a choice between two takes on Italian classics: Cannellone Croccante di Ricotta e Mozzarella con Passata di Pomodoro — Crispy Ricotta and Mozzarella Cannellone with tomato dipping sauce or Napul’e — Fried Neapolitan pizza. The cannellone was light as air and the pillow of dough that made up the pizza matched that. They then poured us a 2017 Cirò Rosato – Azienda Agricola Scala. The rose had a nice fresh fruit taste with a hint of red flowers. This was paired with our next two dishes starting with Tagliolini al Fumo con Scaglie di Tuorlo d’Uovo — Smoked Tagliolini with egg yolk shavings. The plate had the perfect indentation to use as a “spoon”. The bowl was designed by the owners and was perfect for any long pasta dish. This was delicious! The tagliolini was dressed with creamy cheese sauce and dotted with gelled chicken broth cubes. It was topped with a slice of egg yolk.
Next up was one of Le Calandre’s most famous dishes: Risotto allo Zafferano, Liquirizia e Chorizo con Consomme di Asparagi — Saffron and Licorice Risotto with Chorizo served with a consomme of asparagus. I enjoyed this dish but it had a very strong licorice flavor that Chuck did not care for. It wasn’t my favorite dish and the consomme with the green bean straw was just silly and didn’t do a thing for the risotto. We were poured a Iuli Rossore Barbera, named coyly after the color it puts in your cheeks. The 100% barbera had a ripe red fruit, chocolately nose followed by a palate packed with flavor, ripeness and underlying acidity and tannin. This paired with our next two dishes and the first was Battuta di Vacchetta Piemontese al Tartufo Nero — hand-chopped raw Piemontese beef with black truffle. I liked the rustic presentation but was worried the truffle would overpower the tartar. No need to worry as the flavors all came through. Next we had a choice between Moeche Imbottite e Fritte — fried soft-shelled crab or Osso Alle Erbe — Bone marrow with herbs. My husband enjoyed the soft-shelled crab (one of the tiniest I’ve ever seen) and said it was very good.
For my dish, I got a leg! Talk about over the top presentation of bone marrow! Here’s your femur! lol The breadcrumbs were a nice addition to soak up some of the fat and give each bite a nice crunch and chew. We were poured a 2014 Tasi Amarone to go with our last savory dish. It had jammy flavors with cooked fruit notes, black cherry, spices and tobacco. Velvety on the palate with fine tannins and a long finish that enhanced the structure and the aromas. I have to say, we were pretty full at this point of the meal when the Maialino de Latte e Costine di Mora Romagnola Arrostite con Colatura di Pomodoro e Pure di Fave al Basilico — Roast suckling pig and pork rib with tomato-y pork sauce and a fava bean puree was presented. This was perfectly prepared and delicious but I was so full that I cannot tell you if the beans were cooked well because I didn’t even finish the pork. The bread was cleared and in its place was set down a space odyssey. Little bites to cleanse the palate before dessert. Apples, marshmallows, raspberries and figs. I was thankful they were small but none of them were very memorable.
An empty bowl was set before us on a thin piece of cellophane. The server said this is called Fede — faith and we are to “find our dessert”. Turns out it was a very thin layer of vanilla creme brulee topped with a layer of gold leaf instead of the standard hard sugar crust. The dessert was a choice between: Mozzarella di Mandorle — “mozzarella” made with almond, honey, egg whites, sugar and water that was dressed with olive oil and black olive slices and sprinkled with oregano and a basil leaf; or Cioccolato, Nocciola e Caffe — Chocolate, hazelnut and coffee in three elements. My dessert was the “mozzarella” and it was served with a Sicilian wine from the same winery as the first course but this was their sweet “father of the vineyard”, Marco de Bartoli Bukkuram Sole d’Agosto Passito di Pantelleria 2015. The muscat d’Alexandrie grapes are both picked and dried and left to dry on the vine and then combined in even quantities to juice and ferment. The dessert was a great presentation of a sweet meringue shell that was not too sweet and invited the oil, basil, oregano and olives to compliment the creativity. My husband’s dessert was served with a port-like sweet red, Maculan Madoro 2004. Each of the three chocolate desserts had a unique but similar flavor profile and they all were easy to finish despite our full bellies.
The food was delicious and the atmosphere, once inside the restaurant, made you forget where you were. You just knew you were in Italy somewhere, enjoying a very special meal.
Le Calandre, Via Liguria 1, 35030 Rubano, Italy; Tel. +39 049 630303; Reservations required; Lunch Wed – Sat 12-14. Dinner Tue – Sat 20-22.
Food Travel & Me 