Foodtopia Moments

Eating at Eattico in Termoli’s borgo antica (Old City) again, I made sure to try something different. I ordered a small fried achiuge (anchovies), and had their bacala sandwich. It had a pesto made from capers and black olives, pepperoni arrosto (roasted peppers), and steamed bacala. The mix of flavors was outstanding.

A Morning of Business

Having a car at my disposal is much more comfortable than just using trains and my feet. Yesterday, I rented a car so that I can handle some business at city hall, my Italian bank, and at the water service office. Wow, business runs at a snail’s pace, and they are constantly adding unnecessary middle men. If you want to pay a bill, you can’t pay in the office. If you want to change address, that’s a different office. Just to deposit some money into my account to the guy, and this is no exaggeration, 45 minutes. I was dumbfounded. It took more than four hours to complete all of the work we need to complete, but we did it. The places we went were all within a ten minute walk if you did a circle. No travel was involved except the drive up to the center of the main part of town.

Being done at 1 in the afternoon, Zia and I picked up some food from Ristorante Netti and ate together on my patio. There was a light breeze and the sky was blue and clear. This gave me time for an afternoon at the beach. I was able to catch up on videos on Youtube, and take a few dips in the Adriatic Sea.

Tonight, I decided to use the car and head into Termoli. I had dinner at Eattico, the paninoteca (sandwich shop). I’ve been raving to people how good it is, but they all think the price is too high. Luckily, the place has lots of customers.Then I watched a beautiful sunset, before heading back. Sadly, the car has to go back tomorrow morning. Then it’s feet and trains (sometimes buses) the rest of the time here. 

Foodtopia Moments

Italy is known universally for its pizza and pasta, but in Italy the fish reigns supreme. Being a narrow peninsula, fish is a part of the culture. No matter where you are, a sea or large body of water is at most an hour away from much of the country (Northern Italy may have some more distant towns). Around here, lots of fish restaurants make an insalata di mare. Yesterday at Ristorante Netti, I tried theirs. It is mostly made up of tender calamari and succulent polipo (octopus), and is seasoned well, using plenty of delicious olive oil and natural spices. I totally recommend people traveling in Italy try this dish when they spot it. 

Campomarino Weekend

This has been a great weekend. I’ve written about 30 pages of a script, nearing the end, gotten plenty of time at the beach where I am starting book number two for the summer, and I got to spend quality time with great family and longtime friends.

The weekends are always busier here, just like in America. This weekend was no exception with the two town festivals taking place just days apart during last week (Santa Cristina on July 24 and Sant’Anna on July 26). Extra vendors have lined the streets, and there was an antique fair in Piazza Aldo Moro (which people have started calling Piazzetta Rosso because of all the red trim around the little square). Saturday night, Zia and I were able to spend time with my cousin Renato and his wife Dorette, along with their son Mario and his wife Cassandra. We went to Ristorante Netti, which was packed, and spent hours catching up and reminiscing. It was a great night.

Today I spent most of my hours at the beach. I realized this weekend that using the free WiFi at the beach would be a great way to catch up on some of my Youtube subscriptions. By today, I had also realized that the free WiFi has its limits and when the beach is packed it will run slow. However, during the 1 to 3:30 p.m. timeframe, when the bulk of people are at home eating lunch and taking siesta, the WiFi works great for videos. The rest of the time I read or chat with people back home. Tonight, the Monacos, longtime family friends, came for a visit. We went back to Ristorante Netti for another awesome night of catching up and talking about the future of the summer. After dinner we went on a short passiagiatta (evening walk) to the antique fair. We’re all looking forward to our next get together.

Foodtopia Moments

Last night I went to Eattico, a new street food restaurant in Termoli. I got a polipo (octopus) sandwich, which has marinated celery and potato along with the polipo, and I ordered a sgombro (mackerel) sandwich, which had a sweet sauce, tomatoes and red onions. It sounds piggish to order two sandwiches, but the plan was (and I stuck to it) only eat half of each, and finish the other halves tonight.

A Little Trip to Termoli

I was a little nervous about not having a car here, but the cost is unnecessary at this point. One thing I was wondering if I’d be able to do is travel to Termoli at night. Sitting on the beach yesterday, I looked up the train times and decided that I could go for a couple of hours and it would only cost me two euros. Years ago, the tobaccheria (smoke shop) stopped selling train tickets. So I used to just head to Termoli for free when we couldn’t buy a ticket. Yesterday’s trip was stunted a bit because unbeknownst to me, a new tobaccheria has started selling tickets. I was at the train station when a substitute bus (instead of train) pulled up. I figured I could just pay the driver. I was wrong. So I had to wait a little over an hour for another train. Thus, last night I needed to get a taxi back home.

While in Termoli, I picked up sandwiches at Eattico, one of my new favorite places in Termoli, and went to sit by the castle and eat. Eattico at 8:45 is much busier than 7:15 when I planned to go, so I couldn’t get a seat. I walked around Termoli, then headed back to the train station. The bathroom at the station had been locked about twenty minutes before it is scheduled to be closed, so I had to run into a kebab restaurant. Italy isn’t good with schedules. Posted times are kind of like suggestions.

I had the taxi drop me off in the center of town. Campomarino Lido, which was celebrating Sant’Anna last night, was filled with people in the center of town. There was a live concert, tons of street vendors selling anything from screwdrivers to sausage sandwiches. Seeing the whole street filled with vendors again was heartfelt, as that was the way it was when we first bought this condo. In 2002, 2003, and 2005, there were tons of street vendors, and open air theater, supermarkets, and a fiera (food, drink, and vendor festival) every two years. The past six years have seen many of those things cease to exist.

 For most of the day, I cooked and cleaned heading to the beach around 12:30. There were no clouds at all until about 6:30, when I was heading home. I definitely picked up some color today.  Hopefully I’ll get more tomorrow as well.

Foodtopia Moments

What’s old is new again is a cliché phrase, but for me it was a way to describe my pranzo (lunch). I made a sauce on Sunday, and have eaten it now three times. As I reheated the sauce, brasciole and turkey meatball that was left, I added a quarter of a ball of chopped buffalo mozzarella. The cheese melted right into the gravy, giving it a creamy texture, without adding a lot of cream. Topped with grana padano cheese, it was a great way to make old sauce taste different.