Torinese
cuisine shows
strong French influences,
especially evident in the winter
dish of
bagna caoda .
Fungi and game in autumn, and
truffles used as flavouring, are
also classics.
Agnolotti
and
cappelletti are the
best-known dishes, followed by
meat
buji (boiled) or
braised in wine. Cheeses to look
out for are
tomini ,
robiole
and
tume . The humble
grissini
(bread sticks) found wrapped in
greaseproof paper on every
restaurant table across the land
reach new heights in Turin (they
were allegedly invented to tempt
the appetite of the sickly
boy-king Vittorio Amedeo II in
the seventeenth century). The
sweets, too, are marvellous,
many of them invented in the
Savoy kitchens to tempt the
royal palates: among the
decadent delights are
spumone
piemontese , a mousse of
mascarpone cheese with rum;
panna
cotta , smooth, rich cooked
cream; and light pastries like
lingue
di gatto (cat's tongues) and
baci di dama (lady's
kisses). Turin is also credited
as the home of
zabaglione
, used to fill
bignole ,
or iced choux pastries; Spanish
friar San Pasquale Bayon, a
gifted cook and parish priest of
the city's church of San Tommaso
in the sixteenth century, is
said to have invented the egg
yolk, sugar and Marsala mixture.
There are plenty of restaurants
in which to indulge in these
dishes all over the city, as
well as any number of cheaper
eating places serving the kind
of food you can find anywhere in
the country. For food on the
run, there are snack bars
and takeaways on Via
Nizza, some tempting delicatessens
on Via Lagrange and a superb
rosticceria on Corso Vittorio
Emanuele II for DIY lunches. For
a drink, a snack, a pastry or an
ice cream, you should also look
in on one of the city's fin
de siècle cafés
, which are a Turin institution.
The prices are steep, but the
atmosphere more than
compensates.
Restaurants
Arcadia , Galleria Subalpina 16.
Try this place for an eclectic
mix of Italian food and sushi.
It's affordable at lunchtime,
but pricier in the evening.
Closed Sun & Aug.
L'Arcimboldo , Via Santa Chiara
54. Specializes in ...
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Cafes
Baratti and Milano , Piazza
Castello 29. Established in 1873
and preserving its
nineteenth-century interior of
mirrors, chandeliers and carved
wood, in which genteel Torinese
ladies sip leisurely teas. Great
hot chocolate. Al Bicerin ...
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Snacks, takeaways and
self-service places
Brek , Piazza Carlo Felice
(closed Sun) and Piazza
Solferino (closed Mon). Slick,
high-quality self-service, with
tables outside in summer.
Frullati Varturi , Piazza
Castello 15. Very central
lunchtime option, with
sandwiches and an...
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